Geraldine, New Zealand

Geraldine
Heratini (Māori)
Town

A busy small-town straight street, flanked by shops and the occasional small tree. In the foreground is a pedestrian crossing. Three people are crossing right-to-left - two ladies stepping off the crossing and another entering it. Another lady is crossing left-to-right about halfway across. In the background is a Shell petrol station and behind that a small hill with a large house about halfway up.

Talbot St (New Zealand State Highway 79) in Geraldine
Geraldine
Coordinates: 44°05′25″S 171°14′36″E / 44.09028°S 171.24333°E / -44.09028; 171.24333Coordinates: 44°05′25″S 171°14′36″E / 44.09028°S 171.24333°E / -44.09028; 171.24333
Country  New Zealand
Region Canterbury
Territorial authority Timaru District
Population (2006)[1]
 • Total 2,244
Time zone New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12)
 • Summer (DST) New Zealand Daylight Time (UTC+13)
Postcode 7930

Geraldine (Māori: Heratini) is a town in the Canterbury Region on the South Island of New Zealand. It is about 140 km south of Christchurch, and inland from Timaru, which is 35 km to the south. Geraldine has a country village atmosphere, with majestic old forests, early settlers cottages and little arts and crafts corners.

History

The Geraldine area started to be settled by Europeans in the 1840s and it was in 1854 that Samuel Hewlings built the first bark hut in Talbot Street. He married a Māori woman, Nga Hei, and the totara tree that he planted to mark the birth of his daughter still stands. Sheep runs were quickly established in the area together with pit saw milling of the native bush. When the bush had been cleared, wheat crops were grown across the plains.

Originally called Talbot Forest, Geraldine was renamed FitzGerald in 1857 after the first superintendent of Canterbury, the Irishman James Edward FitzGerald. The name was finally changed to Geraldine, which was the FitzGeralds' family name in Ireland.

Geraldine became a Town Board in 1884 and a Borough in 1905. It was incorporated in the Ashburton electorate in 1908, when its hotels were closed. It remained "dry" until 1950, when the Geraldine Licensing Trust Hotel opened.

Today

Geraldine’s reputation as a home to artists and artisans is growing all the time and many of these people have their work on sale in the town itself or from nearby studios. Also on display in a local shop is a recreation of the Bayeux Tapestry. It is at approximately half scale.

Geraldine is home to a plethora of eateries and wineries that surround and stretch along the main street.

Surroundings

A short drive from Geraldine is Peel Forest. This is a very precious and extensive podocarp forest with abundant birdlife, and with many reminders of the region’s early European pioneers. Follow the road beside the Rangitata River (a world-class white-water rafting and salmon fishing river, which also provides vital irrigation to surrounding districts) into the upper Rangitata River valley for some of the most spectacular alpine and high country scenery in New Zealand. It is not difficult to see why The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson chose this valley as an important location in his films.

Geraldine is in the heart of a prosperous farming area with dairy cows, sheep, cattle, deer, cropping and fruit growing in abundance. Almost 3,500 people live in the town and its surroundings areas. It is the headquarters for the nearby state forests and has modern shopping amenities such as a book shop, hardware shop, dairies and many more.

Education

Geraldine has two schools.

Geraldine Primary School[2] is a decile 8 state co-educational contributing[nb 1] school, with 319 students (as of March 2016).[3] The principal is Lindsay Robertson.

Geraldine High School (est 1963)[4] is a decile 8 state co-educational secondary school that provides for students years 7 through 13, with 547 students (as of March 2016).[3] The principal is Simon Coleman.

Entertainment and media

Movies are shown at the Geraldine Cinema (est. 1924), located on Talbot St.[5] Geraldine's first radio station, Z100FM, operated in 1999-2000. This changed to Four Peaks FM in 2001. Just Country FM currently broadcasts from the town.[6]

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ Years 1-6

References

  1. ↑ "QuickStats About Geraldine". 2006 Census. Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Geraldine Primary School". Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Directory of Schools - as at 18 April 2016". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  4. ↑ "Geraldine High School". Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Geraldine Cinema". Timaru District Library. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  6. ↑ "Radio Heritage Foundation". Radio Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  7. ↑ "Hayden". New Zealand World Rally Team. Retrieved 2013-12-16.

External links

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