Burnside is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southeast of Christchurch International Airport. As with most suburbs in Christchurch, it has no defined boundaries and is a general area.

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Burnside
Suburb
Burnside Park
Coordinates: 43.499857°S 172.568658°E / -43.499857; 172.568658
Country	New Zealand
City	Christchurch
Local authority	Christchurch City Council
Electoral ward	Waimairi Fendalton
Community board	Waimāero Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood
Area [1]
• Land	457 ha (1,129 acres)
Population  (June 2023)[2]
• Total	9,420

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Harewood	Bishopdale
	Burnside	Bryndwr
Avonhead	Ilam	Fendalton

Burnside was originally part of a farm, approximately 1,700 acres (6.9 km²) in size, owned by the early settler William Boag (1828-1904), who arrived in 1851 from Perthshire. It was named for the small creeks that formed the headwaters of the Waimairi Stream.^[3][4] The name Burnside was made official by the Waimairi County Council in 1959,^[5] although Burnside Road had been renamed Memorial Avenue in 1950.^[6]

For the first hundred years of European settlement, the area in and around Burnside was farmland, with sheep, cattle and orchards occupying the land.^{[citation needed]}

Burnside, comprising the statistical areas of Burnside, Burnside Park and Russley, covers 4.57 km² (1.76 sq mi).^[1] It had an estimated population of 9,420 as of June 2023, with a population density of 2,061 people per km².

Burnside had a population of 7,713 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 378 people (5.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 522 people (7.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,712 households, comprising 3,810 males and 3,903 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female, with 1,458 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 1,683 (21.8%) aged 15 to 29, 3,372 (43.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,200 (15.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 70.2% European/Pākehā, 7.2% Māori, 2.9% Pasifika, 24.6% Asian, and 3.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 32.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.9% had no religion, 39.1% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.4% were Hindu, 1.6% were Muslim, 2.0% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 1,788 (28.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 780 (12.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,185 people (18.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,024 (48.3%) people were employed full-time, 1,023 (16.4%) were part-time, and 219 (3.5%) were unemployed.^[7]

Burnside High School is a secondary school catering for years 9 to 13.^[11] It has a roll of 2,439. The school opened in 1960.^[12]

Cobham Intermediate is an intermediate school catering for years 7 to 8.^[13] It has a roll of 631. The school, initially named Fendalton Intermediate, opened in 1963.^[14]

Burnside Primary School and Roydvale School are contributing primary schools catering for years 1 to 6.^[15][16] They have rolls of 298 and 269, respectively. Burnside School opened in 1956, and Roydvale in 1967.^[3] Kendal School, which opened in 1962,^[3] closed in 2014.^[17]

Christ the King School is a state-integrated Catholic primary school for years 1 to 8.^[18] It has a roll of 308.

All these schools are coeducational, and all except Christ the King are state schools. Rolls are as of February 2024.^[19]

Burnside contains a central park (Burnside Park), and its two central roads are Memorial Avenue and Greers Road. It contains a smaller park (Jellie Park) opposite Burnside High School on Greers Road.