Rolleston /ˈrɒləstən/ (Māori: Roretana, Tauwharekākaho)[citation needed] is the seat and largest town in the Selwyn District, in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.

[4] The town has a population of 31,600 (June 2024),[2] making it New Zealand's 23rd-largest urban area and the second-largest in Canterbury (behind Christchurch).

[5] In the 1970s, Prime Minister Norman Kirk had a dream of turning the town of fewer than 1,000 people into a city of 80,000.

The council purchased rural land adjacent to the Main South Line opposite the town the following year.

[16] In late 2020, the Selwyn District Council were considering applications (private plan changes) to rezone land around Rolleston to accommodate a further 4500 houses.

The Selwyn District Council are planning to also build a pedestrian square to provide an "identifiable heart" of the town.

[18] Rolleston was close to the epicentre of the 2010 Canterbury earthquake being near the end of the Greendale Fault, experiencing movement two times the strength of that in Christchurch City.

Residents were without power following the quake, some for more than 48 hours, and were required to boil water for weeks before services were restored.

[20] The 2011 Christchurch earthquake caused a minor amount of extra damage, mostly to buildings which had already been previously affected.

[citation needed] The population of Rolleston has expanded rapidly since the Christchurch earthquakes due to the land stability and fast tracking of building consents by the Selwyn District Council.

[27] Rolleston is set to build the South Island's biggest retail complex called The Station.

[28] The radiata pine plantations that were once a feature of this part of Canterbury have largely been replaced by more water-intensive grazing land to take advantage of the "dairy boom" of the early 21st century.

Rolleston is very exposed on the Canterbury Plains and is therefore slightly drier, with a more continental climate, than nearby Christchurch.

[citation needed] Rolleston is described by Statistics New Zealand as a medium urban area, and covers 23.71 km2 (9.15 sq mi).

[48] The Labour Party promised to invest $100 million in Christchurch's public transport, including commuter rail between Rolleston and the city if it won the 2017 election.

Andrew Little said the Rolleston to Christchurch commuter railway line would be a permanent service and the Labour Party wanted to see it up and running "within a few years".

[49] A commuter railway line would require significant central government money and land acquisitions to be achievable.

In September 2020, the extension of the Christchurch Southern Motorway was completed, connecting Rolleston and Addington at Brougham Street.

Burnham was a major staging post for the NZDF and overseas military forces during the Christchurch Earthquakes.