Ashburton is a large town in the Canterbury Region, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The town is the seat of the Ashburton District. It is 85 kilometres (53 mi) south west of Christchurch and is sometimes regarded as a satellite town of Christchurch.
Darfield is a town in the Selwyn District of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 35 kilometres west of Christchurch. Its population is 3,400 as of June 2024.
Methven is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located near the western edge of the Canterbury Plains, 35 km (22 mi) north of Ashburton and 95 km (59 mi) west of Christchurch, and at an elevation of 320 m (1,050 ft). The town is a service centre for agriculture in the surrounding area, and is a base for skiing at the nearby Mount Hutt skifield. The town slogan is "Amazing Space".
The Canterbury Plains are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki River. The smaller Amuri Plain forms a northern extension of the plains.
The Rakaia Gorge is located on the Rakaia River in inland Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island.
Ashburton was a New Zealand electorate, first created in 1881 and centred on the South Island town of Ashburton.
The Methven Branch was a branch line railway that was part of New Zealand's national rail network in Canterbury. It opened in 1880 and operated until 1976.
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the South Island.
Glentunnel is a village located in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.
Waddington is a small village located in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, near the Waimakariri Gorge.
Mid Canterbury is a traditional, semi-official subregion of New Zealand's Canterbury Region extending inland from the Pacific coast to the Southern Alps. It is one of four traditional sub-regions of Canterbury, along with South Canterbury, North Canterbury, and Christchurch City.
Rakaia was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region from 1972 to 1978 and 1993 to 2008.
State Highway 2 runs north–south through eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand from the outskirts of Auckland to Wellington. It runs through Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Hastings and Masterton. It is the second-longest highway in the North Island, after State Highway 1, which runs the length of both of the country's main islands.
Windwhistle is a small farming settlement in the Selwyn District of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 77 near the Rakaia Gorge. Windwhistle is 81 kilometres drive to the west of Christchurch and 22 kilometres north of Methven. Windwhistle's name comes from the way the wind sounds when the Canterbury north west wind blows.
Ellesmere was a parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It existed for two periods between 1861 and 1928 and was represented by six Members of Parliament.
State Highway 73 is a major east-west South Island state highway in New Zealand connecting Christchurch on the east coast with Cass/Hokitika via the Southern Alps. It is mostly two lane, with some single-lane bridges north of Springfield but is mostly dual carriageway in Christchurch. The fourth and fifth-highest points of New Zealand's state highway network are on this road at Porters Pass and Arthur's Pass respectively.
The Ashburton River / Hakatere is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, flowing across Mid Canterbury from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean. The official name of the river was amended to become a dual name by the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull.
State Highway 79 (SH 79) is a New Zealand state highway connecting the South Canterbury communities of Rangitata, Geraldine, and Fairlie. Starting at State Highway 1 the highway is 61 kilometres in length and runs in a general east–west direction. 6.3 km of the highway through Geraldine runs concurrently with the Inland Scenic Route, formerly State Highway 72. The road is a two-lane single carriageway, with a one-lane bridge crossing the Orari River.
Barrhill is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the Canterbury Plains, on the right bank of the Rakaia River, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) inland from Rakaia. It was founded by Cathcart Wason in the mid-1870s and named by him after his old home Barrhill in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Wason set it up as a model village for the workers of his large sheep farm. The population of the village peaked in the mid-1880s before the general recession initiated a downturn for the village. Wason had expected for the Methven Branch railway to run past Barrhill, but the line was built in 1880 on an alignment many miles away, which caused Barrhill population to decrease.
The Pipe Shed in Methven, New Zealand, is a section of pipe cast in 1940 that was converted to a shed for storing explosives. The pipe was one of approximately 800 manufactured for the Rangitata Diversion Race (RDR), and is the only one that remains visible. It serves as a memorial to what was the largest public works project of its time, and is registered as a Category I structure by Heritage New Zealand.
SH 73 (South Terrace/West Coast Road) at Darfield 
SH 1 (West Street) at Ashburton 
