Kelso is an abandoned small settlement in

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, located ten kilometres north of

Tapanui Tapanui is a small town in West Otago in New Zealand's South Island, close to the boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland region. It is a forestry town at the foot of the Blue Mountains, New Zealand, Blue Mountains and the Pomahaka Rive ...

on the Crookston

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, close to its junction with the larger Pomahaka River. Its population during the 1960s and 1970s was close to 300, with most of its economy based on sheep farming. A small dairy factory was a focal point in the village's early years. The township was first surveyed in 1875, and the first settlement began the following year. It was named by

John Turnbull Thomson John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century Colonial Singapore, Singapore and New Zealan ...

for the Scottish home town of one of the town's first settlers, James Logan. Originally intended as the main settlement in the

West Otago West Otago is the local name given to part of the region of Otago, New Zealand, lying close to the border with Southland. It is administratively connected to South Otago, but is geographically separated from it by a range of hills known as the B ...

area, this title eventually went to nearby Tapanui. The town was linked to Waipahi and 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 ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on 1 December 1880 with the opening of the

Tapanui Branch The Tapanui Branch was a railway line located near the border of the regions of Southland and Otago, New Zealand. Although the name suggests that it terminated in Tapanui, its furthest terminus was actually in Edievale. Construction of the ...

line. On 1 April 1884, this line was extended from Kelso to

Heriot Heriot, from Old English ''heregeat'' ("war-gear"), was originally a death-duty in late Anglo-Saxon England, which required that at death, a nobleman provided to his king a given set of military equipment, often including horses, swords, shields ...

. The township was frequently subject to flooding, notably in 1913 and 1917. It was inundated with flood water during two major floods of the

Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the ...

catchment in 1978 and 1980. The former led to the closure of the railway, and after the latter flood it was decided to relocate the settlement entirely. Today, little remains to indicate the location of Kelso, other than a stone memorial and faded wording referring to the township on several remaining buildings. A book of the history of Kelso was written by May Brownlie, titled ''Kismet for Kelso'' (published 1992).

References

*Conway, G. "In memory of a town that drowned." ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...

'' (Dunedin) 31 May 2008, p. 19. {{Clutha District Ghost towns in Otago 1876 establishments in New Zealand 1980 disestablishments in New Zealand Populated places established in 1876 Populated places disestablished in 1980