Medbury is a rural locality in the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located just off State Highway 7 near the Hurunui River. There is no longer a significant population base forming a township, just rural properties. On 15 December 1884, an extension of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line that ran to

Waikari Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where William Orange was vicar in the 1920s. The New Zealand Ministry for Cul ...

was opened to Medbury, and it remained the terminus for a little over a year before another extension was opened, this one to

Culverden Culverden is a small town in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies at the centre of the Amuri Plain. Culverden has traditionally been surrounded by sheep farms. Dairy farms have now become more common as a resul ...

, on 8 February 1886. This line was envisaged as becoming the Main North Line to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Blenheim, but instead, a coastal route via

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

and Kaikoura was chosen. The line through Medbury had its furthest terminus in Waiau and it became known as the

Waiau Branch The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ...

. Medbury station had a loading bank, stockyards, and a

water tank A water tank is a container for storing water. Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemi ...

for steam locomotives, and a

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

was installed in 1924. The station was closed due to low traffic in 1974, with the line's closure taking place on 15 January 1978. The goods shed still stands, relocated to a farmer's paddock. Paul Protheroe - my grandmother Neillie Macleod, formally Brooker was brought up in this area at the end of the 19th/early 20th century. The Brooker family were prominent in the area at that time and were stationed in Medbury, on a farm.

External links

Information about and photos of Medbury's railway station
{{Hurunui District Hurunui District Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand