Edendale is a town in the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

region of New Zealand's

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 ...

. The township is situated on the

Southland Plains The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two prin ...

just to the west of the

Mataura River The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is long. Description The river's headwaters are located in the Eyre Mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, New ...

. Before the town was called Edendale, it was known by the names Maorirua, Mataura Plains and Stuart's Bush.

History

Edendale was originally an estate of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, who surveyed the township and sold it in lots. The estate contained over 120,000 acres. In the course of years the company sold 80,000 acres to hundreds of farmers. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company built the first large scale dairy factory in New Zealand in 1882, and secured a bonus of £500 from the government. The homestead of the Edendale estate was bought in 1902 by its former manager, Mr Donald Macdonald. Macdonald was instrumental in advocating the use of lime on the soils of Southland which vastly improved their quality. The Edendale Homestead is a Category I building listed by the Historic Places Trust. Built circa 1882, the homestead is approach by a mile long drive through a beautiful and mature avenue of native trees, such as totara, black and white kahikatea and matai. Descendants of Mr Macdonald continue to own the property.

Demographics

Edendale is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Edendale-Woodlands statistical area. Edendale had a population of 591 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 42 people (7.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 75 people (14.5%) 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 243 households. There were 312 males and 276 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.13 males per female, with 126 people (21.3%) aged under 15 years, 84 (14.2%) aged 15 to 29, 288 (48.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 90 (15.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 91.9% European/Pākehā, 13.7% Māori, 2.5% Pacific peoples, 2.5% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 49.2% had no religion, 43.7% were Christian and 0.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (10.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 126 (27.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 258 (55.5%) people were employed full-time, 72 (15.5%) were part-time, and 12 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Edendale-Woodlands

Edendale-Woodlands statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Edendale-Woodlands had a population of 2,262 at the

, an increase of 69 people (3.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 132 people (6.2%) since the

. There were 864 households. There were 1,218 males and 1,044 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.17 males per female. The median age was 36.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 519 people (22.9%) aged under 15 years, 387 (17.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,098 (48.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 264 (11.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.2% European/Pākehā, 10.3% Māori, 1.6% Pacific peoples, 8.6% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 14.5%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.7% had no religion, 44.7% were Christian, 0.1% were Buddhist and 1.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 237 (13.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 375 (21.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $41,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 327 people (18.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,089 (62.5%) people were employed full-time, 282 (16.2%) were part-time, and 51 (2.9%) were unemployed.

Economy

Edendale has a milk processing plant operated by

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...

which was originally operated by the Southland Dairy Co-operative. The Edendale milk processing plant was a cheese processing plant but in the 1990s expanded to include milk powder processing. The plant has been expanded several times since and was in 2009 the largest raw milk processing plant in the world. In the main centre of Edendale, there are several small businesses and operations. These include a butcher, a dairy, a garage, a post office and a primary school.

Transport

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

passes Edendale on its route between Gore and Invercargill. A bypass west of the dairy factory opened in December 2019, moving State Highway 1 out of the town itself. The

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

portion of the

South Island Main Trunk Railway The Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch and the Main South Line between Lyttelton and Invercargill, running down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, are sometimes together referred to collectively as the South Isla ...

passes through Edendale, having served the town since April 1875. Although passenger services through the town ceased on 10 February 2002, Edendale had been served by some of New Zealand's premier passenger trains – first the South Express, then the

South Island Limited The ''South Island Limited'' was a passenger express train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between 1949 and 1970. It operated over the almost route between Christchurch and Invercargill. It was replaced by the '' Southerne ...

, and finally the Southerner. Edendale was a railway junction for almost eighty years. On 2 October 1882, a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

from the South Island Main Trunk, the

Wyndham Branch The Wyndham Branch, also known as the Glenham Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand, Southland, New Zealand. The first section was opened in 1882 and it operated until 1962. Although its name would imply that it terminat ...

, was opened from Edendale to Wyndham on the opposite side of the Mataura River. On 1 May 1890, this line was extended to Glenham. Traffic was light from the beginning, with the extension to Glenham closed on 14 July 1930 and passenger services to Edendale – originally provided by

mixed train A mixed train or mixed consist is a train that contains both passenger and freight cars or wagons. Although common in the early days of railways, by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. Typically, servic ...

s and then by RM class

Model T Ford The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

s – were cancelled on 9 February 1931. By the late 1950s, the line to Wyndham was essentially just an extension of the Edendale railway yard and insufficient quantities of freight meant that the line was closed just weeks before its eightieth anniversary and Edendale ceased to be a railway junction on 9 September 1962.

Education

Edendale Primary School is the sole school in Edendale, serving approximately students from Years 1 to 6 (ages 5 to 11). The nearest intermediate and secondary school is Menzies College, east of the town in Wyndham.