Ashburton, New Zealand

Ashburton
Hakatere (Māori)
Secondary urban area

Aerial view of Ashburton, looking west. The Ashburton River or Hakatere is visible at left.
Nickname(s): Ashvegas
Ashburton is on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Ashburton

Ashburton

Coordinates: 43°54′20″S 171°44′44″E / 43.90556°S 171.74556°E / -43.90556; 171.74556Coordinates: 43°54′20″S 171°44′44″E / 43.90556°S 171.74556°E / -43.90556; 171.74556
Country  New Zealand
Region Canterbury
Territorial authority Ashburton District
Electorates Rangitata
Te Tai Tonga (Maori electorate)[1]
Government[2]
 • Mayor Angus McKay
Area
 • Territorial 6,187.40 km2 (2,388.97 sq mi)
Population (June 2015 estimate)[3]
 • Territorial 33,200
 • Density 5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)
 • Urban 19,600
Demonym(s) Ashburtonian
Time zone NZST (UTC+12)
 • Summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13)
Postcode(s) 7700
Area code(s) 03
Website ashburtondc.govt.nz

Ashburton (Māori: Hakatere) is a large town in the Canterbury Region, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The town is the seat of the Ashburton District, a territorial authority encompassing the town and the surrounding rural area, which is also known as Mid Canterbury. It is 85 kilometres (53 mi) south west of Christchurch and is sometimes regarded as a satellite town of Christchurch.[4]

Ashburton township has a population of 19,600, with an additional 12,400 living in the wider district. The town is the 23rd largest urban area in New Zealand and the third-largest urban area in the Canterbury Region, after Christchurch and Timaru.

Naming

Ashburton's historic train station before it was demolished in 2013[5]

Ashburton was named by the surveyor Captain Joseph Thomas of the New Zealand Land Association, after Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton, who was a member of the Canterbury Association. The town is laid out around two central squares either side of the railway line and main highway, Baring Square East and Baring Square West.

"Ashvegas", Ashburton's common nickname, is an ironic allusion to Las Vegas.[6]

Location

Ashburton Territorial Authority

Ashburton is on State Highway 1 86 kilometres (53 mi) south of Christchurch. The Main South Line railway line runs through the centre of town, but passenger trains ceased on 10 February 2002. The town is the centre of an agricultural and pastoral farming district, part of the Canterbury Plains. It has one large suburb, Tinwald, south of the town and the Ashburton River. Tinwald was the junction for the now-closed Mount Somers Branch railway line. The town has three other suburbs: Allenton, Hampstead and Netherby.

The Ashburton District extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Southern Alps, and from the Rangitata River to the Rakaia River, including the towns of Methven, Mount Somers, and Rakaia.

Climate

On the whole, Ashburton shares a similar climate to Christchurch i.e. a dry temperate climate (Cfb). However, since it lies further inland at a higher altitude to Christchurch, Ashburton experiences a greater range of temperatures. During summer Ashburton can exceed 30 °C (86 °F), whilst winter can see regular frosts and annual snowfall. Ashburton's heaviest snowfall was 60 centimetres (24 in) on 12 June 2006.

Climate data for Ashburton
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 23.7
(74.7)		 23.0
(73.4)		 21.0
(69.8)		 17.9
(64.2)		 13.9
(57)		 11.2
(52.2)		 10.7
(51.3)		 12.3
(54.1)		 15.2
(59.4)		 18.0
(64.4)		 19.9
(67.8)		 22.0
(71.6)		 17.4
(63.3)
Average low °C (°F) 11.1
(52)		 10.8
(51.4)		 9.5
(49.1)		 6.4
(43.5)		 3.4
(38.1)		 0.9
(33.6)		 0.5
(32.9)		 1.8
(35.2)		 3.8
(38.8)		 6.0
(42.8)		 7.9
(46.2)		 9.9
(49.8)		 6.0
(42.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 58.5
(2.303)		 53.6
(2.11)		 62.5
(2.461)		 65.5
(2.579)		 61.6
(2.425)		 51.1
(2.012)		 62.7
(2.469)		 66.1
(2.602)		 43.7
(1.72)		 56.6
(2.228)		 57.8
(2.276)		 56.2
(2.213)		 696.2
(27.409)
Source: NIWA Science climate data[7]

Economy

Ashburton lies in the middle of the fertile alluvial Canterbury Plains which permits agricultural activity such as dairying provided irrigation is used.

In 2012, Ashburton was noted for having more cooperative companies operating in its district than in any other area of New Zealand, and was subsequently named by the New Zealand Cooperatives Association the "Cooperative Capital of New Zealand". Several of the 40-plus companies are national companies based outside the district, such as Fonterra, Foodstuffs and Silver Fern Farms (meat processing), but many were local cooperatives, such as the Ashburton Trading Society (farm supplies) and Electricity Ashburton (electricity distribution).[8]

Ashburton media includes the Ashburton Guardian daily newspaper, the Mid Canterbury Herald, a free weekly community newspaper owned by Fairfax Media which comes out every Wednesday, The Courier, another free weekly community newspaper owned by the Otago Daily Times, and the Mid Canterbury-focused AshburtonOnline website. Radio Port FM is based in Timaru; Newstalk ZB and Classic Hits ZEFM are re-broadcast from other out-of-town stations.

There is a small recreational airport, Ashburton Aerodrome, serving the town.

Education

There are seven primary schools, an intermediate school, a secondary school and a composite school in Ashburton. All rolls are as of March 2016.[9]

Recreation

Ashburton Domain
Aerial view of Ashburton, with the Southern Alps in the background

There is a cinema, swimming pool and two local golf courses. There is a walking track coastwards along the northern side of the river from SH1. This was overgrown for many years, but has now been restored. The same track extends West along the river with a mountainbike track of exceptional quality.

The brand new http://ashburtonartgallery.org.nz/ sits on State Highway 1 just outside the centre of town.

The Ashburton Club and Mutual School of Arts (MSA) was founded in 1885 and continues to this day. The MSA is a member of the NZ Chartered Clubs Association and is located in the central town. The club itself currently has around 4,000 members on its records.[10]

The Aerodrome is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) from the town centre and NZAS is an active light (GA and Microlight) aviation hub and home of the Mid Canterbury Aero Club (GA) and Ashburton Aviation Pioneers (microlight) both of whom offer flight training. The Aerodrome is unique with no landing fees and a large aviation museum on site.

The beaches adjacent to Ashburton are steep and shingly with a strong undertow, making them unsafe to swim, but suitable for surf-casting. In part to rectify the limitations imposed by the lack of recreational waterways, Lake Hood was constructed just south-east of Tinwald. It can be used for rowing, swimming, and water-skiing. The Ashburton, Rakaia, and Rangitata Rivers offer good fishing, the Rakaia in particular is renowned worldwide for its salmon fishing. Upper reaches of the Rangitata are frequently kayaked and rafted, reaching Grades 3-4. The Rakaia is known for jet-boating. The Ashburton Lakes (Lake Heron, Lake Camp, Lake Clearwater, and a number of smaller lakes) are around an hour and a half inland, and offer water sport and fishing opportunities. On the road to these lakes are Mount Somers and the Mount Somers walkway.

Mount Hutt is a South Island ski field an hour inland, just past Methven.

Prominent residents

Prominent residents have included the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jenny Shipley, international operatic tenor Simon O'Neill, Olympic silver medal cyclist Hayden Roulston and New Zealand television and radio personalities Simon Barnett and Robyn Malcolm.

Rugby union player Chris King was born in Ashburton.

Hugo Friedlander was the second Mayor of Ashburton (1879–1881, 1890–1892 and 1898–1901), but left for Auckland in 1918 due to anti-German feelings caused by WWI.[11]

John Grigg was a local landowner and Member of Parliament in the mid 19th century.

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.elections.org.nz/mapping/
  2. ↑ "Mayor Bede O'Malley". Ashburton District Council. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  3. ↑ "Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2015 (provisional)". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015. For urban areas, "Infoshare; Group: Population Estimates - DPE; Table: Estimated Resident Population for Urban Areas, at 30 June (1996+) (Annual-Jun)". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Editorial comment 15 June 2011 - Ashburton Guardian
  5. ↑ "Rail Heritage Trust of New Zealand - Ashburton Station and Footbridge". www.railheritage.org.nz. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  6. ↑ Peters, Pam; Collins, Peter; Smith, Adam (2009). Comparative Studies in Australian and New Zealand English: Grammar and Beyond. John Benjamins. p. 57.
  7. ↑ "Niwa Science climate data".
  8. ↑ "Ashburton Crowned ‘Cooperative Capital of NZ’". New Zealand Cooperatives Association (via Scoop.co.nz). 15 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Directory of Schools - as at 18 April 2016". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  10. ↑ Ashburton Club and M.S.A. ; A century of achievement, 1885-1985. Pg.7
  11. ↑ McCausland, Ray. "Hugo Friedlander". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011.

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.