Ashburton Forks, formerly known as Spread Eagle, is a small town which lies between the forks of the

Ashburton River / Hakatere The Ashburton River / Hakatere is a river in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, flowing across Mid Canterbury from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean. The official name of the river was amended to become a dual name by the Ngāi Tahu Claims ...

in the Canterbury Province of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It is approximately 50 km west of Ashburton and about 17 km from the foot of the Southern Alps.

Early settlers

William Campbell, blacksmith by trade, of

Oakfield Demesne Oakfield Demesne is a house, grounds and townland in County Donegal, Ireland, originally built in 1739 for the Dean of Raphoe. Since 1996 it has been owned by Sir Gerry Robinson and his wife, Lady Heather Robinson. The demesne includes the 100 ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

established the Spreadeagle Farm at Ashburton in the early 1880s with his wife Mary (née Falloon).

Demographics

The statistical area of Ashburton Forks, which also includes

Mount Somers Mount Somers ( mi, Te Kiekie) is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, nestled in the foothills of the Southern Alps. The population in the 2001 census was 2,307. Due to its scenic location, it has seen growth in the number of holiday homes ...

, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Ashburton Forks had a population of 2,214 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 207 people (10.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 528 people (31.3%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 840 households. There were 1,197 males and 1,017 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.18 males per female. The median age was 33 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 501 people (22.6%) aged under 15 years, 468 (21.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,065 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 183 (8.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 82.9% European/Pākehā, 5.6% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 10.4% Asian, and 5.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 22.5%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 48.6% had no religion, 42.1% were Christian, 1.1% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 2.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 303 (17.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 243 (14.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $41,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,104 (64.4%) people were employed full-time, 309 (18.0%) were part-time, and 21 (1.2%) were unemployed.

References

{{Ashburton District, New Zealand Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand

Early settlers

Demographics

See also

References