Balfour, New Zealand facts for kids

Balfour is a small town located in the Southland Region of New Zealand. According to the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings, it has a usually resident population of 135, unchanged from the previous census in 1996.

Accounts of Balfour's naming differ: according to one report, it was named after an employee of the Waimea Company who lived there; alternatively it may have been named after James Melville Balfour, Marine Engineer to the New Zealand Government and uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Geography

Balfour is located between the Hokonui Hills and the Mataura River in the Waimea Plains, and is about fifteen kilometres southeast of Lumsden. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 94, the main road linking Gore with the tourist destination of Milford Sound.