Leithfield is a small town in north Canterbury, New Zealand

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

. It is on State Highway 1

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

, five kilometres south of Amberley

Amberley, New Zealand

Amberley is a town located in the Hurunui District of north Canterbury, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 approximately 50 km north of Christchurch...

 and 42 kilometres north of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

. The Leithfield area consists of two semi-distinct areas, Leithfield Beach to the east of State Highway 1 and Leithfield Village adjacent to and immediately to the west of State Highway 1.

Though Leithfield has the second largest and second fastest growing population (2385 at 2006 NZ Census) in the Hurunui District

Hurunui District

The Hurunui District is a political district on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch, New Zealand. It forms part of the Canterbury region and stretches from the east coast to the main divide. Its land area is ....

, its regional importance is behind that of Amberley

Amberley

-Places:In Australia:* Amberley, Queensland, near Ipswich** RAAF Base AmberleyIn Canada:* Amberley, OntarioIn New Zealand:* Amberley, New Zealand, in north CanterburyIn the United Kingdom:* Amberley, Gloucestershire, England...

 with its wine industry and the tourist centre of Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 65 kilometres southwest of Kaikoura , in the Hurunui District. The town lies on a minor road 9 kilometres north of State Highway 7, the northern route between Christchurch and the West Coast...

. This is due in large part to its proximity to the district centre at Amberley. Despite this proximity, the Leithfield community supports a school, library, summer swimming pool, and many small businesses.