Waitahuna
Waitahuna is a small rural hamlet in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Lawrence.
Waitahuna | |
---|---|
Hamlet | |
Boyldon Street, Waitahuna | |
Waitahuna | |
Coordinates: 45°59′S 169°46′E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Otago |
Territorial authority | Clutha District |
Time zone | UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time) |
Postcode | 9532 |
Area code(s) | 03 |
Local iwi | Ngāi Tahu |
In the 19th century, the town thrived after the discovery of gold. The Waitahuna Gully Miner's Monument commemorates this discovery and the miners who lived in the area. Another notable man-made feature is the Waitahuna River Suspension Bridge, built around 1905 or 1906.
The town was briefly a railway terminus, when a branch line from a junction in Clarksville with the Main South Line was opened to the town on 22 January 1877. A little over two months later, the line was opened beyond Waitahuna to Lawrence and it went on to become the Roxburgh Branch. Passenger trains served Waitahuna until 4 September 1936; from that date until the line's closure on 1 June 1968, the line was freight-only. Despite the line's closure, Waitahuna's goods shed, station building, and even men's toilets still stand at the site of the former railway yard.
Education
Waitahuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,[1] with a roll of 20 as of March 2020.[2]
References
- "Waitahuna School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
- "Waitahuna School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.
External links
Media related to Waitahuna at Wikimedia Commons
- Education Review Office's review of Waitahuna School, October 2005
- Lawrence visitor's guide - includes some Waitahuna details