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Balfour is a small town located in the Southland region of New Zealand. Accounts of Balfour's naming differ: according to one report, it was named after an employee of the Waimea Company who lived there; alternatively it may have been named after James Melville Balfour, Marine Engineer to the New Zealand Government and uncle of
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
.


Geography

Balfour is located between the
Hokonui Hills The Hokonui Hills, also known as ''The Hokonui Mountains'' or simply ''The Hokonui'', are a range of hills in central Southland, New Zealand. They rise to 600 metres above the surrounding Southland Plains, of which the hills mark a northern ext ...
and 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 ...
in the Waimea Plains, and is about fifteen kilometres southeast of Lumsden. It is located on
New Zealand State Highway 94 State Highway 94 is a New Zealand state highway connecting the large Southland town of Gore with one of New Zealand's most popular destinations, Milford Sound. It also passes the significant townships of Lumsden and Te Anau as well going thr ...
, the main road linking
Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...
with the tourist destination of
Milford Sound Milford Sound (, officially gazetted as Milford Sound / Piopiotahi) is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage ...
.


Demographics

Balfour is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand. It covers , and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. It is part of the much larger Lumsden-Balfour statistical area. Balfour had a population of 117 at the
2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...
, a decrease of 9 people (−7.1%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 21 people (−15.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 48 households, comprising 66 males and 54 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.22 males per female. The median age was 40.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 18 people (15.4%) aged under 15 years, 27 (23.1%) aged 15 to 29, 42 (35.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 30 (25.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.9% European/
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
, 10.3%
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, and 2.6% Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.8% had no religion, and 35.9% were
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
. Of those at least 15 years old, 6 (6.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 33 (33.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 9 people (9.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 51 (51.5%) people were employed full-time, and 18 (18.2%) were part-time.


Railway

In 1880, the
Waimea Plains Railway The Waimea Plains Railway was a secondary railway line (not a branch line) that linked the towns of Lumsden and Gore in northern Southland, New Zealand. It skirted the Hokonui Hills, and operated as a through route between 31 July 1880 and ...
was opened; it linked Gore on 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, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...
with Lumsden on the
Kingston Branch The Kingston Branch was a major railway line in Southland, New Zealand. It formed part of New Zealand's national rail network for over a century: construction began in 1864, Kingston was reached in 1878, and it closed in 1979. For much ...
and passed through Balfour. The line was an important economic link for many years, and the original Kingston Flyers that gave their name to today's Kingston Flyer tourist train in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
passed through Balfour on their way to Gore or
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
from the 1890s through to Easter 1957. With the improvement of road transportation and changes in government regulations, the railway lost its profitability, and in 1971, most of it was closed. Balfour now became the terminus of a short branch line from Lumsden, and it was hoped that shipments of wheat from surrounding farms would provide sufficient traffic to keep the line open. Unfortunately, the quantities of traffic desired from Balfour did not eventuate and the railway was closed on 15 January 1978. Today, the old Balfour station platform has been incorporated into a children's playground.


Economy

The town's industry is predominantly
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
. In the surrounding area, cattle, sheep, grain, and deer are farmed. A dairy factory once operated in the town. Dairy farming has again become economically important in recent years. A lime works, started in 1910, recently closed.Northern Southland Naturally
"Balfour"
, accessed 3 November 2007.


Education

Balfour School is a state contributing primary school for years 1 to 6 with a roll of as of The school was established in 1887.


Sport

Balfour annually hosts a
rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...
tournament. This tournament typically involves teams from Southland and
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
. It is also a popular location for
trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
.


References

{{Southland District Populated places in the Southland Region