Ashburton (New Zealand)

Ashburton was named the land surveyor of the New Zealand Land Association by Joseph Thomas in honor of Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton , a member of the Canterbury Association , which was responsible for setting up the British colony in Canterbury.

Ashburton is located 86 km south of Christchurch . A railway passes through the city ​​center, but passenger traffic on it was stopped in 2002 . Ashburton is the center of a large agricultural and grazing district located on the Canterbury Plain . ^[1] The city’s main industry is food ( butter , flour, etc.), although there are also several large industrial enterprises (wood processing, the only bus plant in New Zealand ^[2] , the largest manufacturer of spinning wheels in the world ^[3] ) The city has a large suburb, Tinwold , located south of Ashburton.

Ashburton County extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Southern Alps and from the Rangitat River to the Rakaya River. On its territory are the cities of Methven , Mount Somers and Rakaya . ^[4] The area of ​​the district is 6187.4 km².

The indigenous inhabitants of the area in whose territory the county and the city of Ashburton are located were representatives of the New Zealand Maori people. European development of the area began only in the 19th century , and the city itself was located on lands formerly owned by the Canterbury Association. The foundation date for Ashburton is considered to be 1858 , when William Turton and his family opened a guest house on the north bank of the Ashburton River. ^[five]

Gradually, the city grew and the neighborhood turned into agricultural fields and pastures. A school was opened in Ashburton in 1872 , and in 1876 the Earl Council of Ashburton was created. In 1878, Ashburton received the status of borough . In 1989, the borough and county council were merged into the Ashburton County Council. ^[five]

Ashburton is the third largest city in Canterbury, after the cities of Christchurch and Timaru .

According to the 2006 census , there were 27,372 residents living in the okrug, which is 1929 people, or 7.6%, more than was recorded during the 2001 census . ^[6]

Indicators by gender in the district were as follows: 13,767 men and 13,605 women. Indicators by age categories: 20.7% of residents under 15 years of age, 16.3% of residents over 65 years of age. The median age was 39.8 years. The average age of the Maori people was 20.1 years. Among them, the proportion of residents under 15 years old was 38.6%, over 65 years old - 3.5%. ^[7]

The racial makeup of the population was 82.2% of Europeans , 6.1% of Māori , the rest were representatives of the peoples of Oceania and Asians . The proportion of Latin Americans and Africans was insignificant. ^[8] The proportion of residents born abroad was 10.5%. Of the foreigners came from the UK . The main language of communication in the city was English . The other language is Maori (it was owned by 1.1% of the entire population of the district, or 10.9% of the representatives of the indigenous New Zealand Maori people). ^[eight]

The share of families with children was 41.2% of the population; the proportion of childless families is 48.4%; the proportion of single-parent families with at least one child is 10.5%. ^[9] Single-family households accounted for 71% of all Ashburton households. The average household size is 2.5 people. ^[10] 55% of households had Internet access , 92.7% had a home telephone , and 74.2% had a mobile phone . ^[eleven]

The average income per person over 15 years of age is NZ $ 24,400. The proportion of residents over 15 years of age with an average income of NZ $ 20,000 or less was 42.2%, and for residents with an income above NZ $ 50,000, 13. eight %. ^[12] The unemployment rate in Ashburton in 2006 reached 2.2%. ^[13]

• Eden, Dorothy is a writer.
• Shipley, Jenny - 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1997-1999).