Timaru

Timaru is the capital of the Timaru district, a major port city and the largest city of the region of South Canterbury on the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 160 km south of Christchurch and 200 km north of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the southern peninsula. The crater Timaru on Mars is named after the city.

Location

In Timaru live about 42,000 inhabitants in the city proper is about 27,200. Add to that the wealthy, predominantly agricultural hinterland with connecting to the smaller rural communities Pleasant Point, Temuka and Geraldine. The town of Waimate is about 40 km south on the road to Oamaru and Dunedin.

The beach of Caroline Bay is a popular destination close to the center of Timaru, just north of the major port facilities. About Caroline Bay is the characteristically industrial suburb of Washdyke with the connection to the State Highway 8, the main road in the Mackenzie District. This is also a road link to Fairlie to Lake Tekapo and Aoraki and to Queenstown is given.

Timaru is built on a lava scree of Mount Horrible volcano, which last erupted thousands of years ago. This affects the effect that most of the main roads are uneven, as opposed to the flat landscape of the Canterbury Plains to the north. The volcanic rock was also used for the construction of local " bluestone " houses. Blaustein ( bluestone ) is a blue appearing in wet form form of dolerite rock.

History

Origin of the name

The origin of the name Timaru is not clear. Some people assume that it was derived from the concept of the language of the Māori Te Maru, which would mean space, shelter or refuge. Others derive Timaru on the composition of words ti and maru from. Ti is in the language of Māori a "cabbage tree " (English cabbage tree, Cordyline australis), up to 15m high, occurring only in New Zealand kind of club lilies, and maru is shady for the term.

Early settlement by the Māori

The Māori seem to have used the area around Timaru for many years before the arrival of the first Europeans in the 19th century as a resting place during the canoe trips along the East Coast. In the area traces of stone art of Māori were more than 500 jobs, particularly under rock overhangs and caves in the Opuha and Opihi river valleys, west of Timaru today. Archaeologists assume that Māori tribes ( iwi ) had settled permanently in the area before 1400. During the 17th century, settled here Ngāti mamoe were forced by the invasion of originating from the northern part of the peninsula of Ngai Tahu to the south in the area of ​​today's Fiordland National Park.

Settlers from Europe in the 19th century

The European settlement began with the establishment of a whaling station in the year 1838/1839 by the brothers of Otago and Weller Patiti Point, near the present town center. The supply ship The Caroline provided the name for the bay. Later, the sheep farm The level was built on a land acquired by the brothers Rhodes piece. Until 1859, few people lived in Timaru. This year, the ship Strathallan from England reached 120 immigrants Timaru. Constant bickering over the land between the brothers and the city administration led to the establishment of the two communities Government Town and Rhode Town in the harbor area, which were merged in 1868. As a result of the division until recently none of the major north -south road was connected. The main thoroughfare Stafford Street was laid out along a path for early Ochenwagen.

Because of the loss of several vessels on the coast to reschedule an artificial harbor in 1877 tackled. This shifting of sand along the Pacific coastline to the south was triggered, which attaches itself towards the northern breakwater. That was the beginning of a large-scale land reclamation measure around the Caroline Bay district around, an area that still has growth today.

20th century

The growth of the community of Timaru has stopped unabated during the 20th century, the majority were wooden colonial houses (bungalows) built in various development areas.

City ​​council

The Mayor of Timaru Janie Annear is.

Economy

Timaru is one of the largest freight port on the southern peninsula, there are also some smaller industrial companies and import and export company. Many of these manufacturers are concerned with the processing, packaging and distribution of meat, milk and other agricultural products.

The second largest fishing port of New Zealand is located in Timaru.

Traffic

Timaru is located on State Highway 1, the main road along the east coast of the South Island.

There are regular bus and minibus connections to Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown and in the Mackenzie district, start at the Tourist Office Visitor Information Centre. The tourist office can be the rides and other transportation also book.

The city is connected to the Main South Line. 2002, the long-distance passenger train was set on the original traffic from the Southerner part section, however. On the route but still regularly run freight trains.

The Timaru Richard Pearse Airport and is located in the north of the city. Here are the regular short-haul flights of domestic traffic to Wellington and general aviation aircraft are handled.

Bus public transport connecting the city center with the suburbs.

Education

There are several kindergartens and primary schools, including the Timaru South School with two buildings, one in Timaru and the other is 12 km away Pareora.

As secondary schools there are the Timaru Girls ' High School, the Timaru Boys' High School, the Mountain View High School, Roncalli College and the Craighead Diocesan School. Additional training is conducted at the Aoraki Polytechnic.

Retail

The retail sector is focused in the area of Stafford Street. There are also - spread over the city - a few shopping centers with large parking lots. In Timaru there is a branch of the large New Zealand retail chain The Warehouse. The department store Ballantynes ​​is located in the city center.

Tourism

In recent years, efforts have been made to extend the offer for the tourists and boost local tourism. The tourist office is centrally located in the old Landing Services Building, very close to the train station, and provides information for the entire region of South Canterbury.

The South Canterbury Museum is the most important museum in the region, it features exhibits related to geography and environment, fossil finds, stone art of Māori, testimonies of the early settlement of the district and local maritime history, ivory carvings, the natural history collection of EP Seally and information about Richard Pearse, the inventor, and his attempts to manned flight in the first years of the 20th century.

The Aigantighe ( a Scottish Gaelic word, pronounced in English something like "egg and tie " ) Art Gallery in Wai -iti Road is the third largest art museum in the South Island and one of the best art galleries in the country. It shows a collection of New Zealand, Pacific, Asian and European art from the 16th century to the present, also a sculpture collection. The gallery was founded in 1956 and is located in a building dating back to 1908.

In Timaru there are a number of public gardens and parks. The Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden on Caroline Bay Park is a new attraction, which originated in revamping the Timaru Plaza. In the park landscape of the Bay Area, there is a mini golf course, an ice rink, a maze and a stage for music events. It is also the annual Summer Carnival during the Christmas holidays place until New Year's Day. In the south of the city you will find a large area landscaped botanical garden which was created in 1864 with a remarkable collection of roses and ferns. In the West, the well-kept Centennial Park Reserve, which was created in 1940 with a comfortable walk, the 3.5 km long hiking trail through the wooded valley of the Otipua Creek is located.

The DB Mainland Brewery in Sheffield Street, you can visit and taste the products also.

In Timaru, there are plenty of cafes, wine bars and restaurants, most are in the Bay Area and in the area around Stafford Street.

The town is irregularly visited by cruise ships.

Media

The local newspaper for the District of The Timaru Herald has been published since the mid-19th century. The print shop is located in Ashburton, the newspaper is read in the Otago region and the South Canterbury region.

The free, weekly community newspaper, The Timaru Courier has a circulation of over 24,000 copies and is distributed to all households on Thursdays.

In Timaru send the two local radio stations FM Port FM and Classic Hits, also there are other FM radio stations belonging to major broadcasting networks.

Leisure, recreation and sports

Drama and Performing Arts

In the theater Royal Stafford Street in the most entertainment events. The No Indications winner of Timaru rock festival in 2006 come from South Canterbury, they could at least occupy a top 12 place.

Public Libraries

The library of the District Timaru in the Sophia Street offers an extensive range of library books and documents relating to the city's history.

Sports facilities

In Timaru, there are several public sports facilities that meet international requirements. There are sports facilities for rugby, tennis, sailing, swimming, netball, cricket, golf, hockey, croquet and bowling. The Aorangi Park is the main venue. From the community also two swimming pools are operated.

In the Alpine Energy Stadium rugby games are held.

Timaru has several golf courses. These include the courts Highfield, Gleniti and Timaru. and in the environment of the place Pleasant Point, St. Andrews and Maungati.

Associated with the city people

• Shane Archbold, cyclist, born in Timaru
• Allen Curnow, writer and journalist, born in Timaru.
• Bob Fitzsimmons, boxer, lived and worked as a blacksmith in Timaru. There is a life-size statue of him in the city center.
• John Hattie, educator, born in Timaru
• Danyon Loader, born in Timaru swimmer, gold medalist over 200 and 400 meters freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, silver medalist over 200 meters butterfly at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
• Jack Lovelock, gold medal winner in the 1500 -meter run at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, attended Timaru Boys High School and left school submissions received Eichenkranz the award ceremony. There is a statue of him on the school grounds, which was created by the same sculptor who has also created by Bob Fitzsimmons at the Strathallan Corner.
• Richard Pearse, aviation pioneer, lived in Waitohi, 15 kilometers north of Timaru.
• Kevin Smith, actor, known from the television series Xena - Warrior Princess, grew up in Timaru.

Trivia

• At the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 John Edward "Jack" Lovelock won the 1,500 -meter run, although at that time all the gold medal winners also a so-called Olympic Oak was awarded. Since he did not return to New Zealand, but moved to the UK, took friends with the seedling that was planted in 1941 in front of the Timaru Boys' High School. The " Lovelock - oak " stands there today and was declared a national treasure. Every year, students collect the acorns in order to draw new seedlings.
• The race horse Phar Lap comes from the area north of Washdyke.
• During the year 1978, the passenger liner SS Australis was (also known as SS American Star or SS America ) before selling it to another shipping company for several months in the port of Timaru at anchor.