Eltham, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Eltham is a small inland town in South Taranaki
South Taranaki District
South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hawera, Manaia, Opunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley...

, 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...

, located 50 km south of the city of New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....

 and southeast of the volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

 cone of Mount Taranaki/Egmont. Stratford
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...

 is 11 km north, Kaponga
Kaponga
Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki/Egmont. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltham to Opunake. Opunaki is 26 km to the west and...

 13 km west, and Hawera
Hawera
Hawera is the second-largest town in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight, 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth on State Highway 3 and 20 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki/Egmont.It is also on State Highway 45,...

 19 km south. State Highway 3
New Zealand State Highway 3
State Highway 3 is one of New Zealand's eight national highways. It serves the west coast of the country's North Island and forms a link between State Highway 1 and State Highway 2...

 runs through the town.

Eltham is South Taranaki's second largest town. Population was 1980 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 120 from 2001.

Eltham is known as the cradle of the Taranaki dairy industry (the co-operative system in particular), and for being the one place in New Zealand that manufactured rennet
Rennet
Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

 which is essential in the manufacture of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

.. It was also the first place to export butter to England.

Settlement began in Eltham in the 1870s with blocks of densely forested land being taken up mainly to the north of Mountain Road. A profusion of sawmilling companies cleared the district which when grassed was found to be ideal for dairy farming. In 1884, the year Eltham was declared a town district, settlers, mainly from England, arrived there and the town had a population of 25. Eltham was declared a borough in 1901, and became part of South Taranaki District with the local body amalgamations of 1989.

Industry

The town's main industry is cheese production, with much of Mainland Cheese's specialty range such as feta and camembert
Camembert (cheese)
Camembert is a soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Normandy in northern France.-Production:...

 being produced in the Bridge Street factory.

Other cheese products such as the processed cheese
Processed cheese
Processed cheese, process cheese, cheese slice, prepared cheese, cheese singles or cheese food is a food product made from normal cheese and sometimes other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt, food colorings, or whey...

 used in many burgers are produced at the company's Collingwood Street site, formerly occupied by the Taranaki Co-operative Dairy Company's milk powder plant, but now extensively remodelled.

Cheese has been used as a central symbol of the town, and to reinforce this view, the town's water supply tank was painted to represent a large block of cheese in 2002.

Eltham's other significant industry is the Riverlands (formerly J. C. Hutton's) freezing works, which has a satellite plant in Bulls
Bulls
Bulls may refer to:*Bulls, the male of cattle*Bulls, New Zealand, Rangitikei township*Papal bulls, a charter issued by a popeIn sports:*Bulls , a rugby union franchise operated by the Blue Bulls...

, in Manawatu. Both plants can process up to 1250 head of cattle daily.

Famous people

  • Ronald Syme
    Ronald Syme
    Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome...

     - Historian/classicist (1903–1989)
  • Amyas Connell
    Amyas Connell
    Amyas Douglas Connell was a highly influential New Zealand architect of the mid-twentieth century. He achieved early and conspicuous success as a student, winning the Rome Prize in Architecture in 1926...

     - Architect (1901–1980)
  • Brian "Jazz" Muller - All Black (1942- )
  • Bryce Robins
    Bryce Robins
    Bryce B. Robins is a New Zealand-born Japanese rugby union player who plays as a centre for the NEC Green Rockets in the Top League and Japan. He played for the Hurricanes in 2002 and 2003....

     - All Black (1958- )
  • Geoff Old - All Black (1956- )
  • Roger Urbahn - All Black (1934–1984)
  • Chau Tseung (or Chew Chong) - Founder of the factory system of butter manufacture in the late 1880s (1827-1844?-1920)
  • Charles Knight aka Tankboy - Television producer
  • Gavin Hill
    Gavin Hill
    Gavin Lyle Hill was a rugby league and rugby union player, who has resided in Wellington for the last 10 years before moving back to Auckland to take a coaching position in the Air New Zealand Cup....

     - Former Kiwi (1992-1996) and New Zealand Maori Rugby rep (1991)
  • Richard Karl Arnold - Former Newcastle Falcons Forward,now Falcons Academy Manager

A famous first for Eltham

High Street (which runs through the centre of town - as part of State Highway 3
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 connecting Stratford
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...

, Ngaere
Ngaere
Ngaere is a village situated on State Highway 3, 4 kilometres south of Stratford, New Zealand. The name Ngaere literally means "swamp" in English, and before settlement, the area was covered by a vast and ancient wetland....

, Normanby
Normanby, Taranaki
Normanby is a small village in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is approximately 6 km inland from Hawera along State Highway 3. Eltham is 13 km further north...

 and Hawera
Hawera
Hawera is the second-largest town in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight, 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth on State Highway 3 and 20 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki/Egmont.It is also on State Highway 45,...

) and Bridge Street (which heads westward towards Kaponga
Kaponga
Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki/Egmont. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltham to Opunake. Opunaki is 26 km to the west and...

 and joins State Highway 45
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 near Opunake
Opunake
Opunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway 45 passes through the town.The population was 1368 in the...

), were the first tar-sealed roads in New Zealand.

Scenic attractions

Eltham is also the gateway to Lake Rotokare
Lake Rotokare
Lake Rotokare is a natural lake in the New Zealand region of Taranaki. It is located 12 km east of Eltham in the 212 ha Rotokare Scenic Reserve.- History :...

, a scenic, natural lake surrounded by native bush (to the east of the town), and to the man-made Lake Rotorangi
Lake Rotorangi
Lake Rotorangi is the largest lake in the New Zealand region of Taranaki. The reservoir was created in 1984 by the damming of the Patea River.- History :...

.

Eltham's rivers

The two main watercourses which run through Eltham itself are the Mangawharawhara Stream, and the Waingongoro River.

The Mangawharawhara Stream runs to the east of the Main Trunk railway line, flows under the central business district via a culvert, and on past Eltham School and the Eltham Golf Club to the south of the town.

The Waingongoro River forms a western boundary to the town itself, flowing through the Presbyterian Church campsite (in the town's northwest) and Taumata Park (the town's main camping area and sports ground - in the western part of the town) and winding itself southwestward to meet the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

 at Ohawe Beach, near Hawera
Hawera
Hawera is the second-largest town in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight, 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth on State Highway 3 and 20 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki/Egmont.It is also on State Highway 45,...

.

Local administration

Eltham and the surrounding community enjoys a full library and council service (coming under the aegis of the South Taranaki District Council, based in Hawera
Hawera
Hawera is the second-largest town in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight, 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth on State Highway 3 and 20 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki/Egmont.It is also on State Highway 45,...

). Services provided include being able to register your dog, pay your rates or inquire about obtaining a building permit. The LibraryPlus is also a NZ Post agency. Other services include a Tot Time for the under 5s and regular ‘coffee and blog’ meetings for locals to learn about new technologies in a friendly environment. The LibraryPlus also has three APN computers, offering free internet and Skype to the public.

Education

Eltham School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating
Socio-Economic Decile
Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 3 and a roll of 186. The school was founded in 1886.

For more information

For more information on the history of the town, the Eltham & Districts Historical Society is located on the corner of Bridge and York Street (in the former Westpac building). The society has both historical and current information, including documents and photographs of Eltham and the surrounding area.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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