Waihao Valley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Waimate is a 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, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main North/South road. Waimate is 45.7 km south of
Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...
, Canterbury's second city, 20 km north of the
Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast. It starts at the confluence of the Ōhau Ri ...
, which forms the border between Canterbury and the Otago province to the south and 47.5 km north of Oamaru, the main town of the
Waitaki District Waitaki District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury Region, Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions ...
. Waimate is well known for its population of Bennett's wallabies. These marsupials were introduced from Australia and now live wild in the countryside surrounding the town. It is also recognised for the White Horse Monument which is a silhouette of a white horse that can be seen on the hills behind the town. It commemorates the Clydesdale horses that helped breaking in the land in earlier days. Visitors to the monument's lookout are rewarded with panoramic views of the town and the district's green plains out towards the Pacific Ocean.


History

From 1877 until 1966, Waimate was served by the
Waimate Branch The Waimate Branch was a branch line railway built in southern Canterbury, New Zealand to link the Main South Line with the town of Waimate, the centre of the surrounding rural area. It opened in 1877 and operated until 1966; for some of this ...
, a
branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
that connected with 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 ...
some seven kilometres east in
Studholme Studholme is a locality in southern Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Michael Studholme, a pioneer European settler who arrived in the area in 1854. Geography Studholme is situated on the coastal plains of the W ...
. For roughly seventy years ending in 1953, the line ran beyond Waimate to Waihao Downs. When the branch line was closed on 31 March 1966, Waimate became the first major town in New Zealand to lose its railway connection.


Geography

The Waimate District is bounded by the Waitaki River in the south, the Pareora River in the north and the Hakataramea Valley to the west. The district is a very productive agricultural area with a mix of pastoral, cropping, dairy farming, fruit and vegetable growing. The
Waihao River The Waihao River is a natural watercourse in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows into the Wainono Lagoon near Studholme. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives translations of "water of net fishing" or ...
, which starts in the Hunter Hills catchment area runs eastwards on the southern side of the Waimate township joining with the
Waimate Creek Waimate Creek is a natural watercourse in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its original Māori name was Te Waimatemate, which means "slowly moving waters". Catchment Waimate Creek runs roughly eastwards, rising ...
. They both eventually end up discharging very close to the sea into the Wainono Dead Arm, which then flows into the
Wainono Lagoon Wainono Lagoon is a shallow lagoon in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. A number of rivers flow into the lagoon, including the Hook River from the north and the Waihao River from the south. Nearby settlements include ...
near
Studholme Studholme is a locality in southern Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Michael Studholme, a pioneer European settler who arrived in the area in 1854. Geography Studholme is situated on the coastal plains of the W ...
.


Climate


Demographics

Waimate is described as a small urban area by Statistics New Zealand and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Waimate had a population of 3,456 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 171 people (5.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 168 people (5.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,602 households, comprising 1,638 males and 1,815 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.9 males per female, with 474 people (13.7%) aged under 15 years, 465 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,374 (39.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,143 (33.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.4% European/
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
, 7.6%
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 0.8%
Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...
, 1.7% Asian, and 1.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.0% had no religion, 37.8% were
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.5% had
Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 0.3% were
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and 2.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 243 (8.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,005 (33.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 213 people (7.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,056 (35.4%) people were employed full-time, 405 (13.6%) were part-time, and 99 (3.3%) were unemployed.


Nearby communities

*
Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is approximately 11 miles west of Belfast and eight miles north-west of Lisburn, and sits on the banks of the Glenavy river. In the 2011 census it had a population ...
*
Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
*
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
* Ikawai *
Makikihi Makikihi is a small town in the Waimate District of south Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 1 12.2 kilometres south of Saint Andrews, Canterbury, and 15.5 kilometres northeast of Waimate. It is clos ...
* Morven *
Otaio The Otaio River is a river of the south Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It initially flows north from its source on the northern slopes of Mount Studholme in the Hunters Hills, turning northeast to enter the southern end of the ...
*
Saint Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settlement ...
*
Studholme Studholme is a locality in southern Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Michael Studholme, a pioneer European settler who arrived in the area in 1854. Geography Studholme is situated on the coastal plains of the W ...
*
Waihao Downs Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...
* Waihaorunga *
Waituna A waituna is a freshwater coastal lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed where a braided river meets a coastline affected by longshore drift. This type of waterbody is neither a true lake, lagoon nor estuary. This classification d ...


Economy

Like much of rural
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, Waimate suffered from an economic downturn in the 1980s, with the closure of the dairy factory and a number of sawmills. For the last decade of the 20th century the biggest employers in the district were two furniture manufacturers, a vegetable processing plant and a factory making French fries and other
potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...
products at
Makikihi Makikihi is a small town in the Waimate District of south Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on State Highway 1 12.2 kilometres south of Saint Andrews, Canterbury, and 15.5 kilometres northeast of Waimate. It is clos ...
. All but the latter closed within the first few years of the 21st century. However, a newly developed large scale sawmill and the development of a large milk powder factory, coupled with the wealth of dairy farms and the nationwide real estate bubble of 2003–2007, saw a renewed confidence in Waimate.


Education

Further Information: List of schools in Canterbury, New Zealand#Waimate District Waimate Main School and Waimate Centennial School are contributing primary schools for students in years 1 to 6, with rolls of and students, respectively. Waimate Main opened in 1867 as Waimate Primary. Waimate Centennial opened in 1955 and catered for years 1 to 8 until 1982, when it reduced to years 1 to 6. Waituna Creek School is a rural full primary about 6 kilometres northwest of Waimate. It caters for students in years 1 to 8 and has a roll of . It was established in 1879. St Patrick's School is a Catholic state-integrated full primary for years 1 to 8 with a roll of students. The school website says it was first opened in the late 1880s, and the school celebrated 125 years of Catholic education in Waimate in 2005.
The New Zealand Tablet The ''New Zealand Tablet'' was a weekly Catholic periodical published in Dunedin from 1873 to 1996. History Originally aimed at the influx of Irish immigrants to the new country, the ''New Zealand Tablet'' was founded by the first Bishop of Dune ...
reported that St Patrick's School opened during 1881. Waimate High School is a secondary school for years 7 to 13 with a roll of students. Waimate District High School opened in 1883. It became Waimate High on a new site in 1929, and in 1982 it expanded to also take year 7 and 8 students.


Notable people from Waimate

* Eric Batchelor, a decorated
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
NCO who served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
*
Ken Catran Ken Catran (born 16 May 1944) is a children's novelist and television screenwriter from New Zealand. Career Catran is the author of many teen novels, including ''Taken at the Flood'', ''Voyage with Jason'', ''Doomfire on Venus'', ''Space Wolf'', ...
, novelist and screenwriter *
Margaret Cruickshank Margaret Barnett Cruickshank (1 January 1873 – 28 November 1918) was a New Zealand medical practitioner who died during the 1918 influenza pandemic. She was the first registered female doctor in New Zealand. Posthumously, she was the first wo ...
(1873–1918), the second woman to graduate in medicine in New Zealand and the first New Zealand woman to register and practise as a
general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...
. Although not born in Waimate, she spent her professional career there and her achievement is celebrated with a monument of her in the middle of the township. *
Mary Gorman Mary Gorman (10 May 1881 – 23 October 1915) was a New Zealand nurse who served in World War I and died when the SS Marquette (1897), SS ''Marquette'' was torpedoed and sunk in 1915. Early life Gorman was born in Waimate, New Zealand, on 10 May ...
, World War I nurse who died in the sinking of the SS ''Marquette'' *
A. M. Hamilton Archibald Milne Hamilton (1898–1972) was a New Zealand civil engineer, notable for building the Hamilton Road through Kurdistan and designing the Callender-Hamilton bridge system, and the Callendar-Hamilton aeroplane shed of the late 1930s. ...
, notable for building the Hamilton Road through
Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...
and designing the
Callender-Hamilton bridge The Callender-Hamilton bridge is a modular portable pre-fabricated truss bridge. It is primarily designed for use as permanent civil bridging as well as for emergency bridge replacement and for construction by military engineering units. Assemblin ...
system * Major General
Howard Kippenberger Major General Sir Howard Karl Kippenberger, (28 January 1897 – 5 May 1957), known as "Kip", was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces who served in the First and Second World Wars. Born in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, Ki ...
, officer commanding New Zealand forces in North Africa during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Though not born in Waimate, his father bought a farm there when he was young and he spent much of his early childhood there *
Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand and as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), minister of Foreign Affairs from 1972 until h ...
, 29th
Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...
, 1972–1974 *
Neill Rattray Neill Aylmer Rattray (7 November 1896 – 1 June 1964) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council, a farmer, and a war veteran of both world wars. Rattray was born in Dunedin on 7 November 1896. He was the son of Charles William Rattr ...
(1896–1964), farmer, war veteran, and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council *
Jim Sheddan Cornelius James Sheddan, (3 March 1918 – 9 December 2010) was a flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of five and a half German aircraft as well as seven V-1 f ...
(1918–2010), flying ace of the
Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...
during the Second World War *
Michael Studholme John Studholme (1829–1903) was a 19th-century British pioneer of New Zealand, farmer and politician in the Canterbury region of New Zealand.Mosley, vol.3 p. 2803 Early life John Studholme was born in 1829 the son of John Studholme, a landowne ...
, the first European settler in the region *Sir
William Maxwell Manchester William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
(1913–2001), founding plastic surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland in 1950 *
Kaylee Bell Kaylee Bell is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. In 2013, she won the Toyota Star Maker award in Australia making her the first New Zealand-born artist to win since Keith Urban in 1990. Bell is currently the 'Most Streamed Female Country Artist' ...
, New Zealand country singer-songwriter.


Notable places

A statue of
Zealandia Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori language, Māori) or Tasmantis (from Tasman Sea), is an almost entirely submerged continent, submerged mass of continental crust in Oceania that subsided after breaking away from Gondwana 83 ...
, a female allegorical representation of New Zealand similar to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
's
Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...
, is located just off the main street. Only three Zealandia statues exist in the whole country, the one at Waimate, one at Palmerston in Otago, and another in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. The Waimate and Palmerston statues were erected as
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
memorials, and the one in Auckland to commemorate troops who fought against Māori in the
New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
. St Patrick's Basilica Catholic Church, located on Timaru Rd, was designed in 1908 by
Francis Petre Francis William Petre (27 August 1847 – 10 December 1918), sometimes known as Frank Petre, was a New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zea ...
and is considered his most original design. St. Augustine's Anglican Church, located on John Street in Waimate, designed in 1872 by
Benjamin Mountfort Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (13 March 1825 – 15 March 1898) was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's uniqu ...
. Waihao marae, a ''
marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
'' (tribal meeting ground) of
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
and its Te Rūnanga o Waihao branch, is located in the Waimate district. It includes Centennial Memorial Hall, a ''
wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...
'' (traditional meeting house). Waimate Museum, located in Shearman St, was designed in 1878 by P.M.F. Burrows. Arcadia Theatre was originally built as Quinn's Arcade in 1906. Waimate White Horse is also located in the town.


Sport


Rugby

* Waimate Rugby Football Club has teams competing in the South Canterbury rugby competitions. The club is affiliated with the
South Canterbury Rugby Football Union The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park (Timaru), Fraser Park located in Timaru. History Club rugby in So ...
.


Golf

* Waimate Golf Club


Events

*
March Hare Motorcycle Rally March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...
, Annually, first weekend of March *
Waimate 50 Street Race Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...
, October *
Waimate Strawberry Fare Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...
Annual second weekend in December ** Waimate Shears October *
Waimate Rodeo Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...
, Annually 27 December *
Claytons Debating Tournament Claytons is the brand name of a non-alcoholic, non-carbonated beverage coloured and packaged to resemble bottled whisky. It was the subject of a major marketing campaign in Australia and New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s, promoting it as "the d ...
, Annually in July–August *
Waimate Museum Bookarama Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand, and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main N ...
, Annually at Labour Weekend * Waimate Edwardian Heritage Celebrations Annually second weekend in March


Movies and film

* ''
The Waimate Conspiracy ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...
'' (2006) was filmed in Waimate.


Sister cities

* Bourail, France * Milton-Freewater, USA


References


External links


Explore Waimate
Waimate District's promotional website.
An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966: WaimateUnofficial Waimate site
– pictures and links.
Waimate High School 1929–1954
{{Authority control Waimate District Populated places in the Canterbury Region