Last updated October 2026
Levels is a rural locality in the Timaru District, spread across the Canterbury plains between Pleasant Point and Timaru. The name comes from The Levels, the sheep station taken up by the Rhodes brothers and named for a place in their home district of Yorkshire.
The locality is still mostly working farmland, with lifestyle properties among the farms, and it has no township centre of its own.
Two well-known facilities sit here: Richard Pearse Airport, the district’s public airport, and the Timaru International Motor Raceway, long known locally as Levels. Levels Cottage, a Category 1 slab and cob dwelling on Pleasant Point Highway, is the surviving trace of the station’s earliest years.
Official Locality Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 490, up 6% since 2018
- Land area
- 21.12 km²
- Location
- 9.5 km north of central Timaru
- Council
- Timaru District Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Levels Valley, Kerrytown, Washdyke, Seadown, Washdyke Flat
Visiting Levels: The Essentials
- Ward or local board
- Pleasant Point-Temuka Ward and Timaru Ward; Pleasant Point community
- Getting there
- Pleasant Point Highway (the Timaru-Pleasant Point Highway) and State Highway 1. The airport and motor raceway are reached from Falvey Road.
- Nearby landmarks
- Levels Cottage, Richard Pearse Airport, Timaru International Motor Raceway
What to Expect
Levels sits on the low plains inland from Washdyke, east of Pleasant Point. It is open farming country rather than a village. Houses and sheds are scattered along the highways and side roads, and the skyline is paddocks, shelter belts and the occasional hangar or racetrack building, not a main street.
The English name does not come from a Māori word. Timaru District lies within the traditional boundaries of Kāi Tahu. The hapū with mana whenua are Kāti Huirapa, whose rohe runs from the Rakaia River to the Waitaki River. Their principal marae is at Arowhenua, and they are represented by Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua.
The old station occupied country between the Ōpihi and Pareora Rivers, land that already had a long history of travel, settlement and food gathering before the pastoral run was taken up.
Brothers George, William and Robert Rhodes applied for that country in the early 1850s and stocked The Levels with sheep brought south from Banks Peninsula. George Rhodes managed the run.
The station was later sold, and in the early twentieth century the government broke most of it into smaller farm lots. That breakup is why Levels today reads as a district of farms rather than a single estate.
Day-to-day life is rural. There is no shopping strip, school or civic centre in the locality itself. Pleasant Point is the nearby service town, and Timaru has the district’s main shops, schools and services. People who live here are close to both, with the airport and the raceway as the landmarks most visitors actually come for.
History and Heritage
Levels Cottage, also recorded as the old Levels homestead, stands at 411 Pleasant Point Highway, almost opposite Levels Plain Road.
Heritage New Zealand lists it as Historic Place Category 1. It was built about 1853 or 1854 for George and Elizabeth Rhodes, a two-room slab cottage with cob and thatch that replaced an earlier V-hut. The couple lived in it only briefly. Larger houses went up in 1856 and 1862.
After George Rhodes died in 1864, most of the station was sold in 1865 to Matthew Holmes for the Canterbury and Otago Association, later part of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company. The cottage was used as a shed and had fallen into disrepair by the 1940s.
In 1946 it was given to the South Canterbury Historical Society, restored and partly reconstructed, and in 1960 the building and its immediate surrounds were gazetted as a private historic reserve.
Heritage New Zealand manages that reserve. The cottage is down a long driveway and is only just visible from the road. It is not a staffed visitor centre, so check access before planning a visit.
The wider station story is the origin of the locality. Charles Orbell managed the property from 1876 until 1904, when the government acquired it and divided it into smaller farms. Orbell, who had chaired the Levels County Council, kept the homestead block.
Levels County itself was a local-government area from the 1890s, with its offices in Timaru, not a town on this site. The name stuck to the plains even after the county and the great run had gone.
Getting Around
Most people reach Levels by car. The Pleasant Point Highway runs between Timaru and Pleasant Point, and State Highway 1 passes the eastern side of the locality. Falvey Road is the local link to both the airport and the raceway. The raceway can also be reached from State Highway 1 or the Timaru-Pleasant Point Highway.
Richard Pearse Airport, also called Timaru Airport, is the main airport in South Canterbury and has been operating since 1953.
Timaru District Council operates it. It is a public regional airport named for the South Canterbury pioneer aviator Richard Pearse, and the South Canterbury Aero Club is based there. It is a working airfield, not a park, so stay out of operational areas unless you are travelling or visiting the terminal.
There is no railway station or town bus hub in Levels. For longer trips, Timaru is the connection point for regional buses and for flights from the airport.
Getting Outdoors
Levels is working farmland, not a reserve with a network of public tracks. The outdoors here is open plains, shelter belts and rural roads. Respect private farm gates, stock and driveways.
The organised outdoor venue is the Timaru International Motor Raceway, owned by the South Canterbury Car Club. The club bought land on Falvey Road and opened a permanent circuit in November 1967, when it was known as Levels Raceway.
The track was later lengthened and is rated FIA Grade 3. It is a motorsport venue used for race meetings, not a public walking park. Check the club for event dates if you want to watch racing.
Official Sources for Levels
Heritage New Zealand: Levels Cottage: Category 1 listing for the pioneer cottage at 411 Pleasant Point Highway, with its history and reserve status.
Timaru District Council heritage assessment: council record for Levels Cottage, including the Rhodes station history and the 1904 farm breakup.
Timaru District Council: Richard Pearse Airport: council page for the public airport at Levels, which the council operates.
Who Lives in Levels
About 490 residents in 180 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
Near Levels
Just outside Levels, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Common Questions
Is Levels a suburb of Timaru?
No. Levels is a rural locality in the Timaru District, on the plains between Pleasant Point and Timaru. It does not have a township centre.
How did Levels get its name?
The Rhodes brothers named their sheep station The Levels after a locality in their native Yorkshire. The rural community takes its name from that station.
Can I visit Levels Cottage?
The cottage is a Category 1 historic place and a private historic reserve at 411 Pleasant Point Highway, managed by Heritage New Zealand. It is not a staffed visitor centre, and it sits down a driveway where it is only just visible from the road. Check with Heritage New Zealand about access before you go.
Is there a shopping centre in Levels?
No. Everyday services are in Pleasant Point, the nearby rural service town. Timaru has the district’s main shops.
How do I get to Levels?
Drive via the Pleasant Point Highway or State Highway 1. Falvey Road leads to Richard Pearse Airport and the Timaru International Motor Raceway.
What is Richard Pearse Airport?
It is Timaru’s public airport, also called Timaru Airport, on Falvey Road at Levels. Timaru District Council operates it. The airport is named for pioneer aviator Richard Pearse and is the main airport in South Canterbury.
Is the motor raceway open as a public park?
No. The Timaru International Motor Raceway, formerly Levels Raceway, is a circuit owned by the South Canterbury Car Club. It is used for race meetings. Check the club for event access rather than turning up expecting a public reserve.
Which iwi has mana whenua at Levels?
Timaru District is within the traditional boundaries of Kāi Tahu. Mana whenua are held by Kāti Huirapa, represented by Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, whose marae is at Arowhenua.
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Explore Timaru only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Levels is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.