Waltham is an inner suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located approximately two kilometres south-east of the city centre. State Highway 76, part of Christchurch's ring road system, and known there as Brougham Street, runs through the suburb, as does the Lyttelton Line rail corridor. Approximate boundaries of the suburb are Waltham Road, Moorhouse Avenue, Ferry Road, Ensors Road, and the Heathcote River. Waltham was originally part of the Sydenham borough and was incorporated into the City of Christchurch in 1903 when the borough was ended. In the early 1980s local residents and the Christchurch city council tried to name the western part of the suburb, Charleston, between Ferry Road and Ensors Road. This was done to maintain the residential nature of the area against perceived industrial expansion. The attempt was partly successful and that area today is referred to as both Waltham and Charleston. The full suburb is a mixture of residential and both light and heavy industry. History An early Christchurch settler, Charles Prince, owned a large house, called Waltham House, on nearby Colombo St South. In 1866 a meeting of local residents was held at the house and it unanimously agreed to name the district of the present day suburb, Waltham. The Christchurch gasworks was located at the inner boundary of Waltham until its closure around 1980. Waltham was home to a malt works and a collection of warehouses on Waltham road. These were demolished and redeveloped into 88 two and three bedroom townhouses after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Demographics Waltham comprises three statistical areas. Waltham and Charleston are primarily residential. Lancaster Park is an L-shaped area which extends north on the western side of Nursery Street to Cashel Street. Residential areas The residential areas cover . They had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Waltham, comprising the statistical areas of Waltham and Charleston (Christchurch City), had a population of 3,339 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 327 people (10.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 417 people (14.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,461 households. There were 1,725 males and 1,614 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female, with 474 people (14.2%) aged under 15 years, 996 (29.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,560 (46.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 306 (9.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 69.6% European/Pākehā, 13.7%