Roxburgh, New Zealand

Roxburgh (previously called Teviot and Teviot Junction) is a small New Zealand town of about 600 people in Central Otago.[2] It is in Teviot Valley on the banks of the Clutha River, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Alexandra in the South Island. State Highway 8, which links Central Otago with Dunedin city, passes through the town. Roxburgh is well known for its Roxdale fruit and "Jimmy's Pies."

Roxburgh
Town
Roxburgh
Roxburgh
Coordinates: 45°32′S 169°19′E
CountryNew Zealand
RegionOtago region
Territorial authoritiesCentral Otago District
Population
 (2013 Census)[1]
 • Total522
Time zoneUTC+12 (NZST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode
9500
Area code03
Local iwiNgāi Tahu
The main street of Roxburgh

An important centre during the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s, in more recent times Roxburgh has relied on a mixture of livestock and stone fruit production for its economic survival. It is one of the country's most important apple growing regions and other stone fruit such as cherries and apricots are also harvested locally.

Five kilometres to the north of the town is the Roxburgh Dam, the earliest of the major hydroelectric dams built on the Clutha. There is also an opencast lignite mine located just north of town at Coal Creek.

History

The town was called Teviot, and from 1863 to 1866 Teviot Junction, but this name is instead now used for places such as the Teviot Valley and the Teviot River. The name Roxburgh was adopted on 18 April 1877.[3] The name of the town comes from Roxburghshire in Scotland and was after the first European settlers arrived in the area.[4] Originally

From 1928 until 1968, Roxburgh was served by the Roxburgh Branch, a branch line railway that ran to the town from the Main South Line. The railway never actually reached the town itself as the terminus was located about 2 km south of Roxburgh at the small settlement known as Hercules Flat. For the entire period the line served Roxburgh, it made a working loss, but it helped to promote economic development in the town and was an important means of supplying materials for the Roxburgh Dam. Today, relics of the town's former status as a railway terminus still exist, including a turntable pit, a water tower for steam locomotives, and the station building has been converted into a hayshed and workshop. Most of the houses which once housed railway workers (also known as "Railway Houses") still stand and are now in private ownership.

The Roxburgh War Memorial was unveiled on 24 May 1923. It is a square obelisk and lists the names of the 42 men from the town and local region who died in both World War One and Two.[5] When unveiled it included mounted on a plinth, a German Rheinmetall 17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer and a Maxim MG 08 Heavy Machine gun which was mounted on a tripod. The Mortar was captured by the 12th Company ( Nelson ) 2nd Canterbury Infantry Battalion on 2 August 1918, and returned to New Zealand as a war trophy.[6][7] The Maxim Gun was stolen some time during the 1970s and the mortar was relocated on 16 March 2003 when a new Memorial Plaque was placed outside the Council Building & Returned Services Association club-rooms.

Town scenes from the 2004 film In My Father's Den were filmed in Roxburgh.[8]

Entertainment
View of the Clutha River towards Roxburgh Bridge.

Roxburgh has New Zealand's oldest operating cinema. It opened 11 December 1897 on Scotland Street and is still operating. The cinema seats 258 persons and is one of only four cinemas left in Central Otago. Live shows are also performed occasionally.[9]

Education

Roxburgh Area School is a co-educational state area school for Year 1 to 13 students,[10][11] with a roll of 165 as of March 2020.[12]

References
  1. 2013 Census QuickStats about a place : Roxburgh
  2. "Place name detail: Roxburgh". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  3. Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling (ed.). Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. p. 354. ISBN 9780143204107.
  4. "Roxburgh". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Otago & Southland Provincial Districts]. © 2012 Victoria University of Wellington.
  5. "Roxburgh war memorial". New Zealand History. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  6. Fox, Dr Aaron. "Distribution". Silent Sentinels. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  7. Cooke, Peter (2013). Great Guns: The Artillery Heritage of New Zealand. Defence of New Zealand Study Group. ISBN 9780473255558.
  8. "Film locations". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  9. Mount Benger Mail, 10 December 1897 (Hocken Library, Dunedin)
  10. "Roxburgh Area School Official School Website". roxburgh.school.nz.
  11. "Roxburgh Area School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  12. "Roxburgh Area School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.

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