Geraldine, New Zealand

Geraldine is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located in Germany about 140 kilometers south of Christchurch and 35 kilometers north of Timaru. Geraldine has a village atmosphere with woods and old settlers homes. Geraldine is the center of a predominantly agricultural area, dairy cattle, sheep and cattle, deer breeding, farming and farming systems operating in bands. From here also the surrounding state forest is managed. The place had 2001 2.205 inhabitants.

The area of Geraldine were colonized by Europeans since the 1840s. 1854 Samuel Hewlings built the first bark hut in today's Talbot Street. He married the Māori Nga Hei. The Totara tree he planted at the birth of his daughter, still stands today. It sheep pastures were created and processed the trees of the native forest in Sägegruben. As the forest was cleared, and wheat was grown on the plains.

The place was originally called Talbot Forest and was renamed in 1857 in honor of the first Superintendent of Canterbury, the Irishman Edward FitzGerald in FitzGerald. The name was later changed to Geraldine FitzGerald surname in Ireland.

Geraldine was a councilor in 1884 and in 1905 a Borough. It was incorporated in 1908 in the electoral district of Ashburton. At that time, the hotels of the town were closed. There was no alcohol serving until 1950, when the Geraldine Licensing Trust hotel opened. Geraldine has a reputation as a place of artists and artisans who sell their works in the city or nearby studios.

In the near Geraldine, the Peel Forest, a Podocarpus forest, where in addition to a rich bird life also remains of early European settlement can be found located.