Waterton, New Zealand facts for kids
Waterton is a place in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It used to be a busy town but is now mostly empty. It is still officially known as a "locality," which means it's a small area with a name, even if not many people live there anymore.
Where is Waterton Located?
Waterton is found on the Canterbury Plains, which is a large, flat area. It's south of a town called Ashburton, right by the Pacific Ocean. The area is located between two rivers, the Ashburton River / Hakatere and the Hinds River. Some nearby places include Ashton and Wheatstone to the northeast, and Longbeach to the southwest.
The Story of Waterton
Waterton started in the late 1800s when European settlers moved to the Canterbury Plains. By 1888, the town even had its own town hall.
At its busiest, Waterton was an important service town for the farms around it. About 235 people lived there. It had many useful places like:
- A general store
- A post office
- A public library
- A hotel
- A school
The town's economy was mostly about agriculture (farming). There was a place to process meat called an abattoir and a mill to make flour. However, during the second half of the 1900s, Waterton started to get much smaller and quieter.
Waterton Today: A Quiet Place
Today, Waterton is almost like a ghost town. Most of the land that used to be part of the town has been combined and turned into four new "lifestyle blocks." These are larger pieces of land often used for homes with some farming or hobbies.
In 2006, the local council agreed to close the old streets of Waterton. These streets were just unpaved roads by then. This allowed the new property owners to include the roads into their land.
Not much is left of the old Waterton. You can still see some parts of the old town hall. The local cemetery is also nearby. An old church from Waterton was moved to the Plains Vintage Railway in Tinwald.
