Brightwater - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brightwater is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

20 kilometres southwest of Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

in Tasman district in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It stands on the banks of the Wairoa River

Wairoa River, Tasman

This Wairoa River is located in the north of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows north for 45 kilometres before combining with the Wai-iti River to form the Waimea River. This flows into the southern end of Tasman Bay near Richmond....

. Brightwater was named by Alfred Saunders, the owner of a local Flax mill

Flax mill

Flax mills are mills concerned with the manufacture of flax. The earliest mills were ones for spinning yarn for the linen industry.John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse , both of Darlington developed the process from Richard Arkwright's water frame, and patented it in 1787...

situated on the banks of the Wairoa River

Wairoa River, Tasman

, after a popular song at the time "Bright Water", which was about choosing non-alcoholic drinks over spirits. The settlement was named in 1855, but the area was settled as early as 1843.

Brightwater was the birthplace of Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

-winning scientist, the "father of nuclear physics", Sir Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford

Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM, FRS was a New Zealand-born British chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics...

and has an eleborate Lord Rutherford Birthplace memorial on the aptly named Lord Rutherford Road.

Population

Brightwater had a population of 1,794 at the time of the 2006 census, an increase of 369 people (25.9 percent) since the 2001 census.

Education

The Town of Brightwater has one primary school, Brightwater School. This decile 9 school opened in 1888, and provides for children in years 1-6, and had 278 pupils, in 2010.Brightwater School is situated on the main street of the village. The school is made up of six buildings- three blocks of 3 classrooms; a block of two classrooms; a reception area and library; a Dental Clinic and Reading Recovery building; a sports/gear shed; and a boiler house. The school also includes two sports fields, two playgrounds, a hardcourt area, a large shade structure, an adventure playground, a swimming pool and dressing sheds. The current principal of the school is Gerald Baldwin.

Businesses

Brightwater is mainly an agricultural town. Because of its climate of little rain, its hot October to March period, and its common frosts in winter, its main industry is wine growing.

Vineyards

There are many vineyards in and around Brightwater including;

Brightwater Vineyards

Seifried Winery

Kaimira Ventures Ltd.

Orinoco Vineyards

Artisan Crafts

Brightwater also has a small artisan industry including;

Reco Wrought Iron

Royce McGlashen Pottery

Sports and Recreation

Brightwater's main recreational area is the Brightwater Domain. The Domain includes the town hall, a skatepark

Skatepark

A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...

, a playground, tennis courts and several playing fields.
Brightwater has a small number of sports teams (mainly rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

teams), the most famous of which being the Goldpine Wanderers, the Brightwater rugby team, sponsored by Goldpine, a local company which sells timber building products such as fenceposts.