Watlington, New Zealand

Watlington is a suburb of Timaru, in the South Canterbury area and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located southwest of the town centre.

Talbot Park was an aged-care hospital-level facility in Watlington for over a century, until it closed in May 2021.

Demographics
Watlington covers 1.21 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

Watlington had a population of 2,253 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 45 people (−2.0%) since the 2013 census, and unchanged since the 2006 census. There were 909 households, comprising 1,122 males and 1,134 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 39.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 438 people (19.4%) aged under 15 years, 432 (19.2%) aged 15 to 29, 999 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 387 (17.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 90.0% European/Pākehā, 10.5% Māori, 2.4% Pasifika, 4.7% Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 12.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.7% had no religion, 35.8% were Christian, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.8% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 189 (10.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 477 (26.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 186 people (10.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 951 (52.4%) people were employed full-time, 273 (15.0%) were part-time, and 54 (3.0%) were unemployed.

Education
Timaru Christian School is a non-denominational state integrated school for years 1 to 10 with a roll of as of  It opened in 1996, and moved to the current site about 2009. The site was formerly occupied by Watlington Intermediate, which opened in 1974 and closed in 2004.