Bunnythorpe is a village in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawa ...

region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

, north of the region's major city,

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. Dairy farms predominate the surrounding area but the community facilities include Bunnythorpe School, with a roll of about 80 pupils as of 2010 as well as a Rugby Football Club,

Country Club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

and several manufacturing plants. The population was 686 in the 2018 census.

History

The

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and se ...

Railway passed over government owned land, which was subdivided and later became Bunnythorpe. The village takes its name from Henry Bunny, the Secretary-Treasurer of the

Wellington Provincial Council Wellington Province, governed by the Wellington Provincial Council, was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. It covered much of the southern half of the North Island until November 18 ...

, which functioned from 1853 to 1876. On the other side of the rail line, the town of

Mugby Junction "Mugby Junction" is a set of short stories written in 1866 by Charles Dickens and collaborators Charles Collins, Amelia B. Edwards, Andrew Halliday, and Hesba Stretton. It was first published in a Christmas edition of the magazine '' All the Ye ...

was to be established. It was proposed in 1878, that the link between the North Island Main Trunk and the Napier line would be here. However plans changed and the junction was located at Palmerston North. The building of Mugby Junction never eventuated. Glaxo Factory, Bunnythorpe, New Zealand 05

Glaxo Factory, Bunnythorpe, New Zealand 05

Bunnythorpe gave birth to the Glaxo company and its products. In 1904 Joseph Nathan and Sons founded a baby-food manufacturer which processed local milk into a baby food named Glaxo (sold in the 1930s under the slogan ''Glaxo builds bonny babies''). , still visible on the main street of Bunnythorpe is the factory for drying and processing cows' milk into powder, with the original Glaxo logo clearly visible, but nothing to indicate the birthplace of a major multinational. Products were made in Bunnythorpe until 1973. the building is commercially owned. The Glaxo company became a major

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

manufacturer and after a series of mergers it became part of the United Kingdom's

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...

in 2000. In 1979 the Glaxo factory was transformed into the Pantha BMX manufacturing plant, which was the first BMX plant in New Zealand and also the home of the first BMX track. The Bunnythorpe

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

was established in 1924, with the electricity transmitted from

Mangahao Power Station Mangahao Power Station is a hydroelectric power station near the town of Shannon, New Zealand. After being delayed by war, access road construction and foundation testing was started by late 1919 and the station opened in November 1924. It makes ...

stepped down to supply the Palmerston North Municipal Electricity Department and the Manawatu-Oroua Electric Power Board. It shortly afterwards became a major switching point, with transmission lines extending from Bunnythorpe to Napier-Hastings, Whanganui, and Masterton. Today, the substation is owned by national grid operator Transpower, and continues to be the main switching point for the lower-central North Island.

Geography

Bunnythorpe is about midway between the Manawatu region's main city of

and its second largest settlement,

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has ...

. To the east of the village lies

Ashhurst Ashhurst ( mi, Whārite) is a town and outlying suburb of Palmerston North, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. Location Ashhurst is sited 14 kilometres northeast of the Palmerston North city centre. The town s ...

, and Kairanga sits to the west. Bunnythorpe is part of the Manawatu Plains and is on relatively flat land, with few rolling hills in surrounding farming properties. Several small streams run through the town: the Mangaone Stream and Jack's Creek run parallel towards the south-west through Palmerston North. Several smaller waterways merge with these streams, passing through Bunnythorpe's south.

Demographics

Bunnythorpe is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Newbury statistical area, which covers . The population of Bunnythorpe was 684 in the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

, an increase of 9 (1.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 39 (6.%) since the 2006 census. There were 342 males and 345 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. Ethnicities were 624 people (91.2%) European/Pākehā, 120 (17.5%) Māori, 3 (0.4%) Pacific peoples, and 21 (3.1%) Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Of the total population, 141 people (20.6%) were under 15 years old, 123 (18.0%) were 15–29, 333 (48.7%) were 30–64, and 90 (13.2%) were over 65.

Climate

Bunnythorpe has a very similar temperate climate to Palmerston North, but temperatures tend to be slightly lower in winter and can be significantly lower during the summer months of December to February. The average summer temperature is 20.6 C and the average temperature during the coldest months of June–August is 11.2 C.

Parks and recreation

World War II Memorial, Bunnythorpe, New Zealand 06

Bunnythorpe is popular among younger children as it is a small community and regarded as quite safe. Children often spend weekends and spare time utilising the open access to the primary school's playgrounds and sporting fields. There is also a Rugby Football Club on Raymond St with clubrooms and this is the site of the ANZAC memorial Cenotaph. The Mangaone Stream bridge off Maple Street on Te Ngaio Road is also popular among the children, with eels and fresh water

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

among the catch.

Transport

Road

The main access to Bunnythorpe comes via Railway Road from Palmerston North and Wellington in the south; Ashhurst-Bunnythorpe Road from Ashhurst, Woodville and the Hawkes Bay in the east; Kairanga Bunnythorpe Road from the west; and Campbell Road to the north, serving Feilding.

Air

Bunnythorpe is less than 10 minutes' drive from Palmerston North Airport in Milson, where regular flights to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

are available.

Rail

The

Railway runs through the centre of Bunnythorpe but trains no longer stop in the village, as the station was closed in 1985. Freight and passenger trains run from between Wellington and Auckland, though passengers must board these services in Palmerston North.

Bus

A service operates between Feilding and Palmerston North hourly, which stops in Bunnythorpe. The main stop in Palmerston North is Main Street which is also the main Palmerston North suburban bus terminus, where buses can be caught to other suburbs. Inter-City buses depart from Palmerston North. Local watering hole, the Bunnythorpe Tavern

Government

Local

Bunnythorpe until recently was part of the Manawatu District. In a quest to attract growth to the region, Manawatu District agreed to transfer a portion of its territory to Palmerston North City; Bunnythorpe was a part of this portion.

Central

Bunnythorpe is represented in the Rangitīkei electorate by Ian McKelvie of National. Bunnythorpe is part of Te Tai Hauāuru Maori electorate.

Education

Bunnythorpe School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .