Oxford (Māori: Tawera)[4] is a small town serving the farming community of North Canterbury, New Zealand.

It is part of the Waimakariri District and is a linear town, approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long.

[8] It was originally a logging town: trees were felled from forests in the area, and hauled by beast to Christchurch.

A mural depicting life from that era is painted on the side wall of the butchers shop.

During 2009, Main Street underwent a major renovation with the road resurfaced, pedestrian refuges in strategic locations and new footpaths with garden beds.

This project was a joint undertaking by the Waimakariri District Council and the Oxford Promotions and Action Committee (OPAC), but they ran out of money and did not finish both sides of the street.

[citation needed] Oxford is located at the inland edge of the Canterbury Plains, approximately 50 km northwest of Christchurch.

It includes walking and mountain biking tracks and is a recreational hunting area.

The town prides itself on its ability to self-fund community projects through organisations such as the Lions.

The heyday of the OB&I movies was the middle of the 20th century, when three or four films would be shown every week and queues often extended around the building.

This was before private car ownership became popular, as the nearest cinema was in Christchurch, some 50 km distant.

Littledene: a New Zealand rural community[19] published in 1938 is perhaps the most comprehensive; the book is a "sociological study of a typical New Zealand small town", with the fictional name of Littledene, but the research and details of the book all relate to Oxford.