Richard William Pearse was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers flew. Ambiguous statements made by Pearse himself make it difficult to date the aviation experiments with certainty. In a newspaper interview in 1909, with respect to inventing a flying machine, he said "I did not attempt anything practical with the idea until 1904".
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.
Geraldine 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.
Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 15 kilometres north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch. It is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town. It lies on the north bank of the Temuka River, just above its confluence with the Ōpihi River.
Waitohi, Waitohi Flat and Upper Waitohi are small farming centres from 5 to 16 km west of Temuka and north of the Opihi river, South Canterbury in New Zealand. They are about 20 km north of Timaru.
The Timaru Herald is a daily provincial newspaper serving the Timaru, South Canterbury and North Otago districts of New Zealand. The current audited daily circulation is about 14,500 copies, with a readership of about 31,000 people. The paper is owned by media company Stuff Ltd.
Pleasant Point is a small country town in southern Canterbury, New Zealand, some 19 km (12 mi) inland from Timaru, on State Highway 8. It is a service town for the surrounding farming district. One of its main attractions is the heritage railway, the Pleasant Point Museum and Railway, which operates steam locomotives and one of only two Model T Ford railcar replicas in the world. It attracts about 10,000 people a year. For almost one hundred years, the Fairlie branch line railway passed through the town. It closed on 2 March 1968, and the heritage line utilises 2.5 km (1.6 mi) of track along the branch's old route.
Roncalli College is a Catholic secondary school in Timaru, New Zealand. It was named after Pope John XXIII, whose birth name was Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. A co-educational school with about 500 students from Year 9 to Year 13, it stands on Craigie Avenue, next to the Sacred Heart Basilica. It is set on 3.12 hectares of land, with 13 free-standing buildings.
The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park located in Timaru.
Timaru Boys' High School, established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13.
Maurice Patrick McTigue is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Fourth National Government from 1990 to 1993, holding the Employment portfolio, among others. He represented the Timaru electorate in Parliament from 1985, when he won the by-election after the death of Sir Basil Arthur, having stood against him in the 1984 general election. He lost the seat to Jim Sutton in the 1993 general election.
Nūhaka is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island, lying on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Gisborne. The road to Mahia turns off the highway at Nūhaka.
Winchester is a small town in the South-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Winchester is 6.9 kilometres north of Temuka and 51 kilometres southwest of Ashburton.
Timaru Girls' High School is a secondary school in Timaru, New Zealand, founded in 1880. Timaru Girls' High provides education for girls aged between 13–18 years of age. It also has a boarding facility within the school grounds for pupils not living in Timaru itself and also caters for international students. The school motto is Scientia Potestas Est – Knowledge is Power. The school is a stone's throw away from the Catholic Roncalli College.
Temuka was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand from 1911 to 1946. The electorate was represented by four Members of Parliament.
Opihi is a small rural district located in the Timaru District, New Zealand. It is located just north of Pleasant Point and just to the west of Temuka. Richard Pearse lived in the area and conducted his 1903 experiments in powered flight along the banks of the Ōpihi River.
Ian Anthony Johnstone is a New Zealand broadcaster, presenter and journalist.
Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie was a Ngāi Tahu leader, health researcher, actor, composer and human rights commissioner. She was president of the Māori Women's Welfare League from 1977 to 1980 and research director from 1981 to 1985.
Milford Huts is a bach community in the Timaru district and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Milford Huts is on the northern side of the Ōpihi River mouth, 7.5 kilometres southeast of Temuka by road.
Waipopo or Waipopo Huts is a bach community in the Timaru district and Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Waipopo is on the southern side of the Ōpihi River mouth, 11.5 kilometres southeast of Temuka and 17.3 northeast of Timaru by road.
