Sumner is a coastal seaside suburb of Christchurch New Zealand and was surveyed and named in 1849 in honour of John Bird Sumner the then newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and president of the Canterbury Association. Sumner became a popular beach resort for Christchurch settlers, even more so when a tram link was built in 1888. Originally a separate borough, Sumner became part of Greater Christchurch in 1945, under the Christchurch City Council.