Gimmerburn is a farming community on the
Maniototo Plain in the
Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
region of New Zealand.
It is situated 11 km southwest of
Ranfurly and largely consists of sheep and dairy farms with the focal point of the community being the Gimmerburn Domain, a sporting and recreational complex.
History
Gimmerburn was originally surveyed by
John Turnbull Thomson
John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century Colonial Singapore, Singapore and New Zealan ...
who named the area, and is part of the "
Thomson's Barnyard
Placenames in New Zealand derive largely from British and Māori origins. An overview of naming practices can be found at New Zealand place names.
A
* Ahuroa – from , descriptive name derived from a nearby hill.
* Akaroa – from South Islan ...
", a group of localities named for farm animals.
Gimmerburn was principally sheep country until the development of the
Maniototo Irrigation Scheme. Following the opening of the irrigation scheme in 1984, farms were able to sustain large dairy farm cattle herds.
At its peak, Gimmerburn had its own post office and school, the latter being formed in 1882 with classes being held in a shepherds hut.
[Sorrell 1999, p. 484]
Notes
References
*Sorrell, P., (1999) ''The Cyclopedia of Otago & Southland.'' Dunedin, NZ: Dunedin City Council. Vol. 4, p. 484.
Populated places in Otago
Central Otago District
The Maniototo
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