ASHBURTON DISTRICT FAMILY HISTORY GROUP INCORPORATED

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Ashburton District

New Zealand

                                                                                                                         

William Turton Courtesy of Ashburton Museum

The Domain in Autumn

Town Clock in Baring Square East

                                                                    

Ashburton District, situated south of Christchurch, covers 6175 square kilometres in the Canterbury region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand with a population of 27,372 (2006 est).  It is the third largest centre in Canterbury, after Christchurch and Timaru.  The area around Ashburton is frequently referred to as Mid Canterbury, which is the name used by the District’s representative sports teams.  It covers from the Southern Alps in the west to the Pacific Ocean, Rakaia River in the north, to the Rangitata River in the south, including the towns of Methven, Mt. Somers and Rakaia. The Mâori name for the town is Hakatere.  While there was pre-European settlement of the area by Mâori, they mainly used the coastal area to journey along the Canterbury Bight between Taumutu by Lake Ellesmere in the north and Arowhenua south of the Rangitata River in the south or they travelled along the foothills.  Ashburton was named by surveyor, Captain Joseph Thomas of the New Zealand Canterbury Association, after the 3rd Baron of Ashburton, later Lord Ashburton.  It was originally a treeless plain, covered in tussock, except for a few cabbage trees and matagouri  and swept periodically by gales from the north-west.  The wide snow fed braided rivers meant fords constantly changed and crossing could be difficult. The first building was an accommodation house built on a ferry reserve on the northern bank of the Ashburton River in 1858 by William Turton, where he lived with his wife, Frances and their two young children.  William Turton also ran a ferry service and was the Postmaster. The town, surveyed by Robert Parks in 1863-64 served local farms.  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. By 1864 the coaches of Cobb & Co. were using the route through Ashburton in a two-day service between Christchurch and Timaru and maintained it until the completion of the railway in 1874 when the rail/road bridge was built over the Ashburton River. Early European settlement was based on sheep farming, with the district originally divided into large runs.  Cropping began in 1866 and very quickly developed into a large industry.  Grain stores and stock and station agencies lined the main road and railway which runs through the centre of the town. Dairying  is now a large industry in the area. One of the more prominent rural runholders was John Grigg.   Originally from Cornwall, John Grigg purchased  land of over 30,000 acres between 1863 and 1873 to make up the run called ‘Longbeach’  south of Ashburton River.   A smaller Longbeach Estate is still held by Grigg descendants. Methven, in earlier days called the ‘Highland Village’ because of the number of Scottish Farmers and Workingmen, was named after the farm of Robert Patton who came from Methven, Perthshire, Scotland in 1869.  Robert Patton built the first Methven Hotel in 1880 on the site of where the famous ‘Blue Pub’ now stands. A second hotel, the Canterbury Hotel was built in 1883.  The Railway which connected Rakaia and Methven ran from 1878 until 1976.  The town is fast developing into a ski resort town with the Mt. Hutt ski area close to the town. The Mâori name for Mt. Hutt is  Opuke,  was named after John Hutt who was the first Chairman of the Canterbury Association. It is 2170m in height and was first investigated as a ski area by the Methven Lions Club in 1969 and developed over the years by the Mt. Hutt Ski Field Development Company. It was taken over in 1980 and is now run by a Public Company. It is well known internationally and a popular ski area, close to Christchurch

                                                                                                                                                       

Frances Turton Courtesy of Ashburton Museum

John Grigg statue in Baring Square East