Albury | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 44°13′50″S170°52′26″E / 44.23056°S 170.87389°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Government | |
• Territorial Authority | Mackenzie District Council |
• Regional council | Environment Canterbury |
Local iwi | Ngāi Tahu |
Website | Mackenzie District Council |
Albury is a small village in the southern part of the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is inland from Timaru and located on State Highway 8 between Pleasant Point and Fairlie. It is in the Mackenzie Country (Mackenzie District).
The population of Albury was 66 people in 27 households in the 2013 New Zealand census. [1]
Albury is located in a rural farming district, and for over six years in the 19th century served as the temporary terminus of the branch railway line that would become the Fairlie Branch. The line was opened on 1 January 1877 and an extension beyond the town to Winscombe opened on 24 August 1883. [2] [3] Although the Fairlie Branch closed on 2 March 1968, some formation from the line can still be seen around Albury. [4] Albury is thought to have been named by the Kennaway brothers. [5]
Albury School is a co-educational state primary school covering years 1 to 6, [6] with a roll of 30 as of August 2024. [7] The school was founded in 1882. [8] It currently has two classrooms, one for years 1 and 2 and one for years 3 to 6. Most children go on to the high school in Fairlie (Mackenzie College).
The water supply for the village and those close to SH8 comes from the Downlands scheme. Most of the district is served by the Albury Rural Water Scheme that supplies water for both stock and homesteads. Prior to these schemes houses would pump water from the rivers, or get it from an open water race that was built for stock and human use. Remnants of the water race supplying Mt Nessing Station (A very large farm or ranch greater than 8000 acres (32 km²)) can be seen on the Mt Nessing Golf Club's course. Water for the Albury Scheme is taken from a tributary branch of the Opawa River. This scheme was built in the late 1960s/early 1970s and uses no pumps - the system is driven by gravity. It was served by one low dam until 2000-2002 when another branch of the river was dammed to increase the water flow to the headworks. This was necessary as water flow was becoming too low in the original branch. Filtering for the scheme is performed by a long, dual channel trough that contains various grade of gravel with the coarsest at the bottom (Sand Filter). Little maintenance is required apart from periodic flushing of the filter by flowing water backwards through it.
Every year around March/April the Albury Pub/Tavern/Bar is the destination of a mountain bicycle race. The race is called the "Pass to Pub". The race goes for about 35 km from Burkes Pass to the Albury Tavern. Local organisations put on barbecues and sell items for fundraising activities at the end.
Timaru is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located 157 km (98 mi) southwest of Christchurch and about 196 km (122 mi) northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to 28,900 people, and is the largest urban area in South Canterbury, and the third-largest in the Canterbury Region overall, after Christchurch and Rolleston. The town is the seat of the Timaru District, which includes the surrounding rural area and the towns of Geraldine, Pleasant Point and Temuka, which combined have a total population of 48,900.
Fairlie is a Mackenzie District service town located in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. The estimated population was 950 as of June 2023. Being on state highway 8 between Christchurch and Queenstown, tourism is fast becoming a major industry within the town. Kimbell is 8 km west of Fairlie via state highway 8. Geraldine is 45 km east via state highway 79 and Timaru is 58 km southeast of Fairlie via state highway 8. Fairlie sits at an altitude of 301 metres above sea level.
Twizel is the largest town in the Mackenzie District, in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand. The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme. Today, Twizel is a service and tourist town for visitors to the area. It has a resident population of 1,850 ; during the summer, holidaymakers nearly triple the town's population.
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Mackenzie District is a local government district on New Zealand's South Island, administered by the Mackenzie District Council. It is part of the larger Canterbury Region. The region takes its name from the Mackenzie Basin, an elliptical intermontane basin which covers much of inland Canterbury.
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The Fairlie Branch was a branch line railway in southern Canterbury which formed part of New Zealand's national railway network. Construction began in 1874, and at its farthest extent, it terminated just beyond Fairlie in Eversley. Its closure came in 1968, but a portion remains open in Pleasant Point as the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway.
Winscombe is a lightly populated locality in the southern part of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated inland from Timaru on State Highway 8 between Pleasant Point and Fairlie. It is located in a very rural setting.
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