Kirwee is a town located west of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It was named after Karwi in India by retired British Army colonel De Renzie Brett. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings revealed that Kirwee and its surrounding rural area has a usually resident population of 2,646, an increase of 393 or 17.4% since the 1996 census.