This article is about the Canterbury locality. For the settlement in Otago, see Long Beach, New Zealand

Long Beach, New Zealand

Long Beach is a small coastal settlement in Otago, New Zealand comprising approximately 100 homes. Many of the sections were initially auctioned in October 1922 for a pound deposit. It is located within the city limits of Dunedin, and lies 15 kilometres northeast of the city centre, between...

.

Longbeach is a lowly populated locality in the 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...

. It is located in a rural area of 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...

 on the shore of 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...

 on the northern side of 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,...

's mouth.

Nearby settlements include 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:...

 and Eiffelton

Eiffelton

Eiffelton is a lightly populated locality in the Mid-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island.- Geography :Eiffelton is situated on the Canterbury Plains near the Hinds River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean in nearby Longbeach. The small township of Hinds is to Eiffelton's west...

 to the north, and on the other side of the Hinds River, Lowcliffe

Lowcliffe

Lowcliffe is a lightly populated locality in the mid-Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the shore of the Pacific Ocean between the mouths of the Hinds and Rangitata Rivers. Nearby settlements include Coldstream to the west by the Rangitata River, Longbeach to the...

 to the west. 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 the northwest, while the nearest significantly sized town 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...

, further north.

There is a Longbeach School, though it is actually located in nearby 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...

 rather than Longbeach. It was formed when three local schools amalgamated in 2000 and caters for students in grades 1 to 8.

In the 1860s, there was a proposal to build 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 between Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 and Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 on a coast

Coast

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

al route that would have passed through Longbeach, but this was abandoned in favour of a more inland route through Ashburton that had easier river crossings. However, Longbeach continued to lobby for a railway. In 1878, a proposal was made to extend the Southbridge Branch from Southbridge

Southbridge, New Zealand

Southbridge is a small town with a population of 720 and approximately 260 houses, on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located southwest of Christchurch, between Leeston, Dunsandel and the Rakaia River...

 across the Rakaia River

Rakaia River

The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand...

to Longbeach and Waterton. It was primarily intended to serve agricultural interests in the area. Although an appropriate location for a bridge was found, the government never acted on the proposal and it lapsed.