McLeans Island

McLeans Island is a rural area north and northwest of Christchurch city, and south of Waimakariri River.

The area was an island in the Waimakariri River until the 1930s, when flood control measures and Great Depression work schemes blocked the south branch of the river which separated the island from the south bank. It was named for the Scottish McLean family, who established Waimakariri Station on the south bank in the 1850s. Allan and John McLean owned the land after their brother Robertson returned to Scotland.

Part of the area is in Waimakariri River Regional Park, which contains McLeans Forest where there are walking, running and cycling tracks. Orana Wildlife Park is a zoo in the area. The McLeans Grassland Reserve, a 154-ha scenic reserve preserving one of the last remnants of pre-human Canterbury Plains vegetation, was created in 2021.