Eiffelton is a lightly populated locality in the Mid-Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

 region 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...

's 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...

.

Geography

Eiffelton is situated on the Canterbury Plains

Canterbury Plains

The Canterbury Plains are an area in New Zealand centred to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury Region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki...

 near the Hinds River

Hinds River

The Hinds River is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Its north and south branches drain the eastern flank of the Moorhouse Range, part of the Southern Alps, and their confluence is near Anama and Mayfield. The river then flows across the Canterbury Plains towards the Pacific Ocean,...

, which reaches the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 in nearby Longbeach

Longbeach, New Zealand

Longbeach is a lowly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural area of the Canterbury Plains on the shore of the Pacific Ocean on the northern side of the Hinds River's mouth....

. The small township of Hinds

Hinds, New Zealand

Hinds is a small town in the Mid-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the Canterbury Plains on the south bank of the Hinds River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean between the nearby localities of Longbeach and Lowcliffe...

 is to Eiffelton's west. Other nearby settlements include Lynnford

Lynnford

Lynnford is a lightly populated locality in the Mid-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated between Hinds and Eiffelton on the banks of the Hinds River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean not far to the southeast, between the nearby localities of Longbeach and Lowcliffe...

 between Eiffelton and Hinds, Willowby

Willowby, New Zealand

Willowby is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in Mid-Canterbury south of Ashburton, the major town of the area. Other nearby settlements include Hinds and Lynnford to the southwest, Eiffelton to the south, and Huntingdon to the...

 to the north, and Flemington

Flemington, New Zealand

Flemington, New Zealand may refer to:* Flemington, Canterbury* Flemington, Hawke's Bay...

 and the ghost town of Waterton

Waterton, New Zealand

Waterton is a former town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is still officially recognised as a locality.-Geography:...

 to the east. The closest town of significant size is Ashburton

Ashburton, New Zealand

Ashburton is a town and district in the Canterbury Region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the third-largest centre in Canterbury, after Christchurch and Timaru. The area around Ashburton is frequently referred to as Mid Canterbury, which is also the name of the...

 to the north.

Ashburton balls

Eiffelton's major claim to fame is that in 1978, it was the site of the discovery of an object similar to the Ashburton balls six years after the original balls were found. The balls were pieces of space debris

Space debris

Space debris, also known as orbital debris, space junk, and space waste, is the collection of objects in orbit around Earth that were created by humans but no longer serve any useful purpose. These objects consist of everything from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to erosion, explosion...

 from the failed Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n space vessel Cosmos 482

Cosmos 482

Kosmos 482 , launched March 31, 1972 at 04:02:33 UTC, was an attempted Venus probe which failed to escape low Earth orbit.Beginning in 1962, the name Kosmos was given to Soviet spacecraft which remained in Earth orbit, regardless of whether that was their intended final destination...

.

Religion

Eiffelton once had a Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 church. Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 was first said in the area in 1888 in Waterton's town hall, but it was subsequently held in Eiffelton at either the school or the town hall. On 4 June 1961, a proper church was built, the Church of St Thomas More, and 300 people gathered for its formal opening. It seated 80 for regular services, but declining attendance meant that Mass was held only monthly in the early 1970s. It closed on 7 November 1976, with the altar taken to a church in Hinds and the church's building moved to a nearby site to be used by local scouts

Scouting

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

.

Services

Eiffelton has a town hall and formerly had a primary school. As of 2000, it merged with two other nearby schools and relocated to a site in Willowby. It also had a play centre for children under primary school age, but between 2001 and 2005, the play centre also relocated to Willowby.

Transport

Eiffelton is not located on major transport routes. It is not far from State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...

 and the Main South Line

Main South Line

The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...

 railway, which both pass through Hinds.