Ashley Clinton ( mi, Makeretu) is a rural community in the

Central Hawke's Bay District Central Hawke's Bay District is part of the Hawke's Bay Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Formed in 1989, it has an area of 3,333 square kilometres with a population of It had a population of 12,717 people as of the 2013 census. This is ...

and

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Ashley Clinton is located between

Norsewood Norsewood is a small rural settlement in the Tararua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is situated east of the Ruahine Mountain range and is located 20 kilometres northeast of Dannevirke. Geography T ...

and Ongaonga, some 18 kilometres west of

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. H ...

. It is an almost triangular block bounded to the west by the Ruahine Forest Park, the

Tukituki River The Tukituki River is found in the eastern North Island of New Zealand. It flows from the Ruahine Ranges to the Pacific Ocean at the southern end of Hawke's Bay. The river flows for , east and then northeast, passing through the town of Waip ...

to the north, and the

Makaretu River The Makaretu River is a river of the southern Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. One of numerous roughly parallel rivers, it flows east from the slopes of the Ruahine Range north of Dannevirke, passing close to the township of Ta ...

to the south. It is centred on the intersection of State Highway 50 and Ashcott Road. The area consists of sheep, dairy and mixed use farms.

Origin and history

Settler period

The Ashley Clinton area was acquired by the Government from the local Maori in the 1850s and consists of part of the Ruahine, Ruataniwha and Makaretu Blocks. Ashley Clinton's name was most likely derived from Ashley Clinton Estate,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. A primary school, Ashley Clinton School, was established in the main village in 1876 but has since closed. Its school hall was the centre for community functions, meetings, and gathering. In 1883 a Post Office was opened in Ashley Clinton. The Government named it Makeritu, which caused confusion with mail being occasionally misdirected. Makaretu, another small settlement nearby was seeking its own Post Office at this time but was declined as it was thought that they already had one due to the name similarity. The issue was raised with the Government, with both Makaretu and Ashley Clinton asking that the Post Office's name be changed to Ashley Clinton. The Post Office was renamed in January 1885. There was a store run by a Mr Loye at Ashley Clinton in 1883.

Fires, bush fires, and a fired teacher

In 1886 the school teacher, Charles Morton's, house was burnt down. The house also contained the community library which was also destroyed. The house and library were replaced in 1887. That same year horse racing (hurdles) was held at Ashley Clinton. The great

fire of 1888 destroyed two houses. Another bush fire passed by Asley Clinton in 1895 but caused no damage to infrastructure there. Another severe fire passed through the area in February 1896 destroying a number of settlers' homes along with the school house and a number of bridges in the surrounding district. These continued to plague the area with bush fires being reported as late as 1938. Later in 1896 the school headmaster was initially involved in an altercation with one of the school committee members, and was given notice by the Education Board. This brought about a court case appealing the decision — the first such appeal under the then new Public-School Teachers Incorporation and Court of Appeal Act 1895.

Development

A telephone service was installed in 1891. In 1893 the W Morton and Co sawmill was upgraded and offered more employment in the area. The mill, renamed as James Smith and Co. sawmill in 1895, was closed on 31 March 1896. Some time prior to 1893 a hall, Durham Hall, was constructed in Ashley-Clinton and used for various gatherings. Through this time a coach service ran from Ashley Clinton to

Takapau Takapau is a small rural community in the Central Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres west of Waipukurau, off State Highway 2, and has a population of more than 500. The original township was founded in 1876 by farmer Sydney ...

. By 1895 a butcher and a blacksmith had taken up residence in the immediate area, and a

rugby club Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

was formed. Rabbits had become a significant pest in the area with the Ashley Clinton Rabbit Association being formed in 1896 with the aim of eradicating them.

Since 1900

By the early 1900s Ashley Clinton had a miniature rifle club and a lawn tennis club. This was later followed by a Ladies Institute. In 1912 the former store and post office were replaced. In 1921 a glass war memorial was installed at Ashley Clinton Memorial dedicated to the five local men killed in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1971 drilling was carried out by Beaver Exploration (New Zealand) Limited at Ashley Clinton,

, and Ongaonga. Small pockets of natural gas were found. In 2013, residents of Black Road launched a campaign to have the road sealed.

Literature

* Ashley Clinton School - 86th Anniversary, 1876–1962, Author: By Ashley Clinton. School. Jubilee Committee · 1962

Education

In 1938 the Education Board proposed merging the Makaretu and Ashley Clinton schools at Sherwood. The site was deemed best suited as it was almost equidistant from both schools and could be serviced by a school bus from both areas. Two petitions were submitted with a number of parents in Ashley Clinton against the proposal and a number in Makaretu in favour.School consolidation
Retrieved 19 March 2023. Sherwood School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school. It is a decile 6 school with a roll of as of

References

{{coord, 39, 57, 15, S, 176, 21, 00, E, region:NZ_type:city, display=title Central Hawke's Bay District Populated places in the Hawke's Bay Region