Mount Somers () is a small town in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

. The population in the 2021 census was 160. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes. Unlike many country towns in New Zealand, Mount Somers' economy has not been solely agricultural. Coal, clay, sand, and limestone have been mined in the hills behind the town, and from 1885 until 1968 the community and its industries were served by the

Mount Somers Branch The Mount Somers Branch, sometimes known as the Springburn Branch, was a branch line railway in the region of Canterbury, New Zealand. The line was built in stages from 1878, reaching Mount Somers in 1885. A further section to Springburn was ...

railway from the

Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...

. From 1889 to 1957 an extension ran to Springburn, and the branch was sometimes known as the Springburn Branch. From Mount Somers railway station a private

bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology, a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They ...

ran into the hills behind the town, providing access to the various industrial operations there. Relics of both the railway and tramway are still visible today. Mount Somers is famous amongst the international

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

and

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

music communities as it is the home of Peter King and his lathe cut record business. Peter hand cuts records onto

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

plastic one at a time using an old

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

and also home made record cutting heads.

Demographics

Mount Somers is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, and covers . It is part of the Ashburton Forks statistical area. Mt Somers

Mount Somers had a population of 147 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 12 people (8.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 30 people (25.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 63 households. There were 75 males and 72 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 45.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 33 people (22.4%) aged under 15 years, 15 (10.2%) aged 15 to 29, 72 (49.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 27 (18.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.9% European/Pākehā, 8.2% Māori, and 2.0% Pacific peoples (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.1% had no religion, 38.8% were Christian and 2.0% were Buddhist. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (13.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 27 (23.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 57 (50.0%) people were employed full-time, 21 (18.4%) were part-time, and 3 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Education

Mt Somers Springburn School is a full primary school catering for years 1 to 8. It has students as of The school opened in 1876.

References

External links

Mt Somers & Highcountry
* Railways of New Zealand
Mount Somers Tramway
and th
Mount Somers/Springburn Branch
{{Authority control High Country stations Ashburton District Populated places in the Canterbury Region