Hornby is a major residential and retail suburb at the western edge of Christchurch, New Zealand.

[4] Due to rising confusion with the nearby town of Southbridge, a decision was made to rename the area to Hornby in 1878, although the origins of this name are unclear.

One explanation holds that the suburb was named after Hornby-with-Farleton in Lancashire by Frederick William Delamain, who came to Christchurch from England in 1852.

[4] Another version suggests that the name refers to Geoffrey Hornby, who was the Admiral of the British flying squadron and who visited Christchurch in 1870, just prior to the suburb being renamed on 2 September 1878.

[6] In 1922, the suburb was chosen by Kempthorne Prosser to be the location for a new super-phosphate plant, used to develop fertiliser.

The plant was the company's first in Christchurch and third overall, developed in response to an 1881 incentive from the New Zealand government to facilitate the construction of a local fertiliser industry.

[7] This fertiliser plant remains in operation, and is now run by Ravensdown limited, which bought Kempthorne Prosser in 1978.

The plant was the location of a large fire in 2018, which prompted nearby evacuations in fear of an explosion and caused thick black smoke to be visible across the region.

[8] Prior to the development of adjacent suburbs such as Wigram, Hornby's isolation from the rest of Christchurch as a result of Wigram Aerodrome and the industrial estates of Sockburn led to it occasionally being considered a town in its own right, however officially it has always been a suburb of Christchurch.

Before the 2023 census, the residential areas had a smaller boundary, covering 2.11 km2 (0.81 sq mi).

[16] The Islington-Hornby Industrial area covers 7.27 km2 (2.81 sq mi) to the south of Hornby.

Before the 2023 census, the industrial area had a smaller boundary, covering 7.18 km2 (2.77 sq mi).

[17] Hornby is located on an important road junction on State Highway 1, where southbound traffic turns sharply west, continuing towards to Dunedin and other points south.

This junction also connects traffic to the nearby suburbs of Sockburn and Riccarton towards the central city, and south to the Christchurch Southern Motorway, which forms part of State Highway 76.

Hornby contains two large retail malls, located either side of State Highway 1 to the west of the main junction.