Ashers is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. [1] It is situated east of Invercargill on the Southern Scenic Route as it runs between Kapuka and Gorge Road. Other nearby settlements include Oteramika to the north and Kapuka South to the south. Also south is the Waituna Lagoon and Toetoes Bay.
Ashers is in a rural area and thus agriculture figures prominently. Significant lignite coal deposits are also located in the area. The Ashers-Waituna coalfield contains roughly 746 million tonnes of recoverable coal. Exploratory work has been undertaken, but commercial mining has not yet taken place. [2] A common stop for tourists and locals is the old Ashers Lignite pit, of which transformed into a 16-acre (65,000 m2) lakeside garden still featuring walls of lignite and retaining the original pit shape hosting a café and campervan park. [3]
On 1 March 1895, an extension of the Seaward Bush Branch from Mokotua to Gorge Road was opened, with a station located in Ashers. [4] Trains operated from Invercargill and return only a couple of times a week until a further extension to Waimahaka opened in 1899. At this point, a daily mixed train from Waimahaka to Invercargill and return began operating. The line's profitability declined from the 1930s, and in 1951, the mixed train was cut to run just once a week as a cost-saving measure, with goods-only trains on other days. On 1 June 1960, all passenger services through Ashers were cancelled; freight also continued to remain at unprofitable levels, and the whole line closed on 31 March 1966. Some of the line's old formation can still be seen in the vicinity of Ashers. [5]
The Tokanui Branch, also known as the Seaward Bush Branch, was a branch line railway located in Southland, New Zealand. It diverged from the Bluff Branch south of the main railway station in Invercargill and ran for 54 kilometres in a southeasterly direction. Construction began in 1883 and it operated until 1966.
The Ohai Line, formerly known as the Ohai Industrial Line and previously the Wairio Branch and the Ohai Railway Board's line, is a 54.5 km branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. It opened in 1882 and is one of two remaining branch lines in Southland, and one of only a few in the country. A number of smaller privately owned railways fanned out from Wairio; one of these lines, to Ohai, was originally built by the Ohai Railway Board and was worked by New Zealand Railways from 1990 and incorporated into the national network in 1992.
The Whitecliffs Branch was an 18.4 kilometres (11.4 mi) long branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's national rail network in the Canterbury region of the South Island. It was more industrial than the many rural branches on the South Island's east coast whose traffic primarily derived from agriculture, and it operated from 1875 until 1962.
Coalgate is a small town in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. The 2001 New Zealand census gave Coalgate's population as 276, and it is located roughly an hour west of Christchurch on State Highway 77. The town's name stems from it being the "gateway" to the lignite coal fields around Whitecliffs, the Rakaia Gorge, and Acheron River. Coal mining declined in the 20th century and has now ceased, but since the 1950s, commercial processing of nontronite has taken place in Coalgate.
Hedgehope is a locality in the central Southland region of New Zealand's South Island.
Woodlands is a small town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island on the banks of the Waihopai River. It is northeast of Invercargill between Dacre and Longbush. Other nearby settlements are Rakahouka to the northwest and Rimu and Waituna to the south.
Longbush is a community in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural area outside the city of Invercargill on the banks of the Waihopai River. Just to the northeast is the larger town of Woodlands.There are two possible origins of the name Longbush, with one being that it is simply named after the shape of the bush. The second, however, is that it was named by the first travellers between Invercargill and Dunedin "and used the term as an indication of the length and weariness of the journey."
Pukewao is a locality in the southeastern corner of the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located inland from Toetoes Bay in the very western part of the Catlins, and nearby settlements include Tokanui to the southeast, Fortrose on the coast to the southwest, and Te Peka and Waimahaka to the northwest.
Te Peka is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the western edge of the Catlins region, with Waimahaka to the west, Fortrose to the southwest, and Pukewao and Tokanui to the southeast.
Waimahaka is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area, inland from Toetoes Bay. Nearby settlements include Pine Bush and Titiroa to the northwest, Fortification and Te Peka to the east, Pukewao and Tokanui to the southwest, and Fortrose on the coast to the south.
Fortification is a locality in the western part of the Catlins region of Southland in New Zealand's South Island. Nearby settlements include Quarry Hills and Waikawa to the southeast, Tokanui to the southwest, and Waimahaka to the west. It is over 50 km east of Southland's main centre, Invercargill.
Titiroa is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the eastern bank of the lower Mataura River, inland from Toetoes Bay. Pine Bush is nearby to the northeast, and Waimahaka is to the southeast.
Gorge Road is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the Southern Scenic Route and is situated on the western bank of the Mataura River. Nearby settlements include Ashers to the west, and across the Mataura, Pine Bush and Titiroa to the east.
Pine Bush is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island.
Kapuka is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated between Mokotua to the west and Ashers to the east on the Southern Scenic Route; Oteramika is to the north, and Kapuka South, Waituna Lagoon, and Toetoes Bay are to the south.
Kapuka South is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on Toetoes Bay and Waituna Lagoon. Kapuka and Ashers are to the north on the Southern Scenic Route.
Oteramika is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is in a rural setting near Waituna and Woodlands to the north, Rimu to the west, and to the south on the Southern Scenic Route are Mokotua, Kapuka, and Ashers. The major centre of Southland, Invercargill, is over 15 km west.
Mokotua is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area east of Invercargill, between Timpanys and Kapuka on the Southern Scenic Route. To the south are Toetoes Bay and Waituna Lagoon; Rimu is to the north.
Timpanys is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area east of Invercargill and is on the Southern Scenic Route between Waimatua and Mokotua. Rimu is to the north and Waituna Lagoon and Tiwai Point are to the south.