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Geraldine

Heratini (Māori)
Town
A busy small-town straight street, flanked by shops and the occasional small tree. In the foreground is a pedestrian crossing. Three people are crossing right-to-left - two ladies stepping off the crossing and another entering it. Another lady is crossing left-to-right about halfway across. In the background is a Shell petrol station and behind that a small hill with a large house about halfway up.
Talbot St (New Zealand State Highway 79) in Geraldine
Country New Zealand
Region Canterbury
Territorial authority Timaru District
Ward Geraldine
Area
 • Total 3.12 km2 (1.20 sq mi)
Elevation
120 m (390 ft)
Population
 (June 2023)
 • Total 2,970
 • Density 951.9/km2 (2,465/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Postcode
7930
Area code(s) 03
Local iwi Ngāi Tahu

Geraldine (Māori: [Heratini] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a town in the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is about 140 km south of Christchurch, and inland from Timaru, which is 38 km to the south. Geraldine is located on State Highway 79 between the Orari and Hae Hae Te Moana Rivers and 45 kilometres to the east of Fairlie.

History

The Geraldine area started to be settled by Europeans in the 1840s and it was in 1854 that Samuel Hewlings built the first bark hut in Talbot Street. He married a Māori woman, Nga Hei, and the totara tree that he planted to mark the birth of their daughter still stands. Sheep runs were quickly established in the area together with pit saw milling of the native bush. When the bush had been cleared, wheat crops were grown across the plains.

Originally called Talbot Forest, Geraldine was renamed FitzGerald in 1857 after the first superintendent of Canterbury, the Irishman James Edward FitzGerald. The name was finally changed to Geraldine, which was the FitzGeralds' family name in Ireland.

Geraldine became a Town Board in 1884 and a Borough in 1905. It was incorporated in the Ashburton electorate in 1908, when its hotels were closed. It remained "dry" until 1950, when the Geraldine Licensing Trust Hotel opened.

Today

Geraldine’s reputation as a home to artists and artisans is growing all the time and many of these people have their work on sale in the town itself or from nearby studios. Usually on display in a local shop (The Giant Jersey) is a recreation of the Bayeux Tapestry. It is at approximately half scale. The owners of the shop are on extended holiday and as such the tapestry is no longer visible. The store also used to house the world's largest jersey.

Surroundings

A short drive from Geraldine is Peel Forest. This is a very precious and extensive podocarp forest with abundant birdlife, and with many reminders of the region’s early European pioneers. Follow the road beside the Rangitata River (a world-class white-water rafting and salmon fishing river, which also provides vital irrigation to surrounding districts) into the upper Rangitata River valley for some of the most spectacular alpine and high country scenery in New Zealand. It is not difficult to see why The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson chose this valley as an important location in his films.

Geraldine is in the heart of a prosperous farming area with dairy cows, sheep, cattle, deer, cropping and fruit growing in abundance. Almost 3,500 people live in the town and its surroundings areas. It is the headquarters for the nearby state forests and has modern shopping amenities such as a book shop, hardware shop, dairies and many more.

Economy

Agricultural

The agricultural industry is at the heart of the local economy. In the 1960s sheep farming was the most common type of farming with some mixed farming (including wheat), dairy farming, and market gardening also present. While there has been a substantial increase in dairy farms in the region over the last twenty years, there are still large sectors involved in the cropping, deer, sheep and beef. Many small local businesses service the needs of the surrounding agricultural industry. Large agricultural processing facilities operate in the area include Fonterra's Clandeboye facility and Barkers of Geraldine as well as numerous smaller industrial operations. Geraldine is also home to Barkers which both grows the fruit and produces jams, chutney, sauces, syrups and blackcurrant juice from it.

Tourism

Geraldine is the gateway for many international and domestic tourists on their way from Christchurch down to the Mackenzie Country, the Southern Lakes District or the popular tourist destinations of Queenstown and Wanaka. There are numerous cafes, restaurants and shops which cater for tourists all year round. The town is also home to various tourist operators which showcase the local natural environment such as rafting, horse trekking and tours.

Demographics

Geraldine covers 3.12 km2 (1.20 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 2,970 as of June 2023, with a population density of 952 people per km2.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
2006 2,397 —    
2013 2,400 +0.02%
2018 2,706 +2.43%

Geraldine had a population of 2,706 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 306 people (12.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 309 people (12.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,173 households, with 1,179 occupied private dwellings and a further 108 unoccupied private dwellingsThere were 1,254 males and 1,449 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.87 males per female. The median age was 48.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 498 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 357 (13.2%) aged 15 to 29, 1,068 (39.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 786 (29.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 94.7% European/Pākehā, 7.2% Māori, 1.0% Pacific peoples, 2.3% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 16.2%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 48.8% had no religion, 41.0% were Christian, 0.1% were Hindu, 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 324 (14.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 543 (24.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,400 (with 13.5% earning over $70,000), compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 939 (42.5%) people were employed full-time, 354 (16.0%) were part-time, and 42 (1.9%) were unemployed.

In 1951, the population of Geraldine was 1080 people. This increased to 1640 people in 1956 and 1832 people in 1961.

Education

Geraldine has two schools.

Geraldine Primary School is a decile 8 state co-educational contributing school, with 238 students (as of April 2023).

Geraldine High School (est 1963) is a decile 8 state co-educational secondary school that provides for students years 7 through 13, with 608 students (as of April 2023).

Notable buildings

Town board office

The Town Board Office on Cox street, is now part of the Geraldine Historical Museum. It was originally built on Talbot Street in 1885 and cost 269 pounds in construction costs. It was designed by the architect D. McKenzie and built by Dierck and White. When Geraldine became a borough in 1905, the building was used by the Borough Council. It served the town until 1969 and it was then dismantled and re-erected in 1975 on Cox street by the Geraldine Historical Society to be used as part of the museum. The building is made of bluestone.

McKechnie's cottage

This modest cottage with a small outhouse in the backyard on Wilson street was built in 1873 by Hugh Morrison. It is one of the oldest buildings in Geraldine and it was built using plaster and lath. Between 1896 and 1902, it was used as a tailor's shop. In 1941, Douglas McKechnie bought it and lived in it for 47 years. He was the mayor of Geraldine between 1939 and 1949.

Crown hotel

The Crown hotel is now trading as the Geraldine Heritage Hotel and located at 31 Talbot street. The original building was destroyed by a fire and the current building was built in 1906. It is listed as a category two historic place with Heritage New Zealand.

St Mary's vicarage

The St Mary's vicarage is located on Talbot street. The Arts and Crafts house was built in 1900 and restored in 2019. The restoration was a finalist in the ‘domestic saved and restored’ category of the Canterbury Heritage Awards. It was listed as a category two historic place in 1983.

Post office

The post office was opened in November 1908 by the then prime minister Sir Joseph Ward. The two storied building located on the intersection of Talbot street and Cox street provided a mail room, public office, postmaster's room, telephone room and private boxes on the ground floor and quarters for the post master on the first floor. In 1997, the post office moved to different premises and the building was sold in 2005 for $349,500 at auction. It has been used by a variety of retail businesses since then. It is listed as a category two historic place with Heritage New Zealand.

Heritage listed buildings

The town has other category two heritage listed buildings, which include

  • Brick Cottage, 137 Talbot street
  • Corner shop (Talbot street)
  • Corner shop cottage (Talbot street)
  • Geraldine Co-operative Cheese Factory (Pleasant Valley road)

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