NameMap of EllesmereDescriptionWelcome to the collection of stories around the settlements and waterways of Ellesmere, through the heritage panel at the tuna (eel) sculpture at Leeston.
The Ellesmere district is bordered by the Rakaia River on the south-west, the Pacific Ocean and Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere on the south-east, the Waikirikiri Selwyn River on the north-east and what is now State Highway 1 on the west.
Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere is Aotearoa New Zealand’s fourth largest lake, and its largest coastal lagoon.
Ellesmere’s landscape was initially characterised by swampy wetland stretching inland from the lake, with drier shingle plains covered with tussock making up the remainder of the district.