Since the late 1800s, the same name has adorned each building that has occupied the corner of East and Burnett Streets on the northern side. Have you ever wondered how Somerset House, and the adjoining Somerset Grocer café got their unique names? It’s because the site was once home to the Somerset Hotel, built in... Continue Reading →
The idea to build a hydroelectric power station at Lake Coleridge came during a time when New Zealand was beginning to take electricity use seriously. During the 1880s and 1890s, growing interest in electric power led the Christchurch City Council to consider building a hydroelectric power station on the Waimakariri River. However, this never came... Continue Reading →
The Ashburton District has had a long history of thriving businesses, of which there have been an impressive number and variety. Coachbuilders, factories, agents, retail stores, and many more enterprises, big and small, have played their role in supporting our local economy and communities. Let's take a look back at a selection of photographs of... Continue Reading →
Once upon a time, before texts, emails, and apps like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat there was… talking to each other! Aside from sending letters, the telegraph system provided a relatively quick means of communication across Aotearoa. It developed first across the South Island and then up into the North. What was once a technological marvel... Continue Reading →
The Ashburton Museum’s archives and photograph collections, which are owned by the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society Inc, consist of over a century and a half’s worth of images depicting people, places and events. These collections are a treasure trove of local history. Some quite interesting photographs in our collection come from Methven, a township... Continue Reading →
When you come across the scant remains of a place like Waterton, you start to wonder what led to such a fate. The old cemetery on Grahams Road is the last inkling of this once a popular township, which fell prey to issues caused by a need for labourers elsewhere, as well as that classic... Continue Reading →
What remains of the quaint model village of Barrhill is undeniably unique, the few original buildings standing as a reminder of what was once a thriving settlement and a dream-come-true. Barrhill was laid out in the 1870s by John Cathcart Wason, owner of the Corwar Estate, to accommodate his workers and their families. Parents and... Continue Reading →
As the principal pioneer of the area that came to be Ashburton, William Turton held a lot of responsibility. From 1858, he established himself as the ferryman of the Hakatere/Ashburton River, and soon enough he was granted a license to operate an accommodation house, which became the hub of the area during the early days.... Continue Reading →
An interesting comment on the early records of the Ashburton District is the information these original documents may reveal, or in some cases the paucity of information. The records (2 minute books, 3 incomplete receipt books and a Treasurer’s notebook/cashbook for 1895 - 1948) held by the Ashburton Museum for the Mayfield/Ruapuna Cemetery on Coskeries... Continue Reading →
Te Pātaka o kā Tuhituhi/Te Waharoa a Hine Paaka, Ashburton's new Library and Civic Centre, will unite the Ashburton Public Library and the Ashburton District Council under one roof - an idea that may give some of you a bit of déjà vu.
Ashburton Museum Blog 