Rotherham is a small village in the

Hurunui District Hurunui District is a territorial local government district within the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch. It stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide. Its land area is . Local go ...

of the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

region in New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is between

Culverden Culverden is a small town in the northern Canterbury Region, 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 ...

and Waiau on the Inland Kaikōura Road, on the northernmost part of the Amuri Plain. It lies near the south bank of the

Waiau Uwha River Waiau Uwha River, previously known as the Waiau River, is a river in north Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. The Waiau Uwha River rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows eastward to the Pacific Ocean. The Waiau Uwha River has the ...

, 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 ...

and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

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, ...

. On 8 February 1886, a

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 ...

was opened to Culverden, but construction then stalled as debate raged about the final route and destination of the line. Some proposals included a line through Rotherham, and in 1914, work finally began on extending the line to Waiau via Rotherham. This extension was opened on 15 December 1919 and the line became known as the

Waiau Branch The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury, New Zealand, 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 ...

. Rotherham station had a relatively large station building by the standard of rural New Zealand stations, possibly due to plans that suggested terminating the line in Rotherham rather than in Waiau. The station also had stockyards and a

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before, after, and during loading to and unloading from a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, althou ...

; the stockyards were removed in 1970, and the goods shed was sold and relocated by July 1975. The railway itself closed on 15 January 1978, with the station building left in its original location and acquired for use by a local farmer. The Inland Kaikoura Road was formerly New Zealand State Highway 70; the state highway designation was revoked in 2004.

Demographics

Rotherham is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Rotherham is part of the larger Amuri statistical area. Rotherham had a population of 144 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 ...

, an increase of 27 people (23.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 42 people (41.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 54 households, comprising 87 males and 57 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.53 males per female. The median age was 42.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 33 people (22.9%) aged under 15 years, 21 (14.6%) aged 15 to 29, 63 (43.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 24 (16.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 93.8% 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 ...

, 14.6%

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 ...

, 2.1% Pasifika, and 6.2% Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.2% had no religion, 27.1% 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 ...

, 2.1% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and 2.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (13.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 30 (27.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 21 people (18.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 54 (48.6%) people were employed full-time, 21 (18.9%) were part-time, and 3 (2.7%) were unemployed.

Education

Rotherham School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of .

References

{{Hurunui District Populated places in the Canterbury Region Hurunui District