Greta Valley

Greta Valley is a town in North Canterbury, 83 km north of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was named after the River Greta in Yorkshire by local runholders Sir Charles Clifford and Sir Frederick Weld in the 1850s, but it is to the east of the Greta River and on the south bank of the Waikari River.^[1]

Greta Valley
Greta Valley village looking in a south easterly direction
Coordinates: 42°57′50″S 172°58′04″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	Canterbury
Territorial authority	Hurunui District
Ward	East Ward
Time zone	UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Greta Valley looking toward the intersection with New Zealand State Highway 1

Tavern Reserve, Picnic Area and Playground

Local Cafe

It is situated approximately halfway between Christchurch and Cheviot just off State Highway 1.

2016 earthquake

At 18:13 on 22 November 2016, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 struck the town of Scargill, 2 kilometres northwest of Greta Valley. The earthquake was described by locals as severe due to its shallow depth of 7 kilometres. As a result, there was significant damage to the local community hall, houses, and water tanks. The earthquake was considered an aftershock of the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.^[2]

Demographics

Greta Valley is part of the wider Omihi statistical area.^[3]

Education

Greta Valley School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,^[4] with a roll of 38 as of July 2025.^[5] Facilities include a swimming pool, two playing fields, a tennis court and a library.^[5]