Sheffield, New Zealand

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Sheffield
Village
Sign next to SH73 welcoming visitors to Sheffield
Sign next to SH73 welcoming visitors to Sheffield
Sheffield is located in New Zealand
Sheffield
Sheffield
Coordinates: 43°23′S 172°1′E / 43.383°S 172.017°E / -43.383; 172.017Coordinates: 43°23′S 172°1′E / 43.383°S 172.017°E / -43.383; 172.017
CountryNew Zealand
RegionCanterbury
Territorial authoritySelwyn District
Time zoneUTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Postcode
7500
Area code(s)03

Sheffield (formerly Malvern) is a small village located in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, near the Waimakariri Gorge.

Rural scene near Sheffield, with the Southern Alps in the background

Sheffield has a close association with its neighbouring village Waddington, which is 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) further south-east along State Highway 73.[1] The two villages share a community committee.[2]

The two villages have a combined population of 444 according to the 2001 New Zealand census and are located between Darfield and Springfield on State Highway 73 and the Midland Line railway. The towns were settled in the 19th century by farmers attracted to the area for sheep grazing.

Sheffield has a railway station and was once a railway junction. The first railway line reached the town in the late 1870s from a junction in Darfield with the Whitecliffs Branch. This line, then known as the Malvern Branch line, grew to become the Midland Line between Christchurch and the West Coast. On 28 July 1884, the Oxford Branch was extended over the Waimakariri River to Sheffield, making the town a railway junction. Plans existed to continue this extension south from Sheffield as part of the proposed Canterbury Interior Main Line, but this never came to fruition and the rail link with Oxford closed on 14 July 1930.

Government[]

Sheffield is part of the Selwyn electorate.[3] The Selwyn District Council provides local government services for Sheffield.[4]

Sheffield War Memorial[]

Sheffield War Memorial (2021)

The Sheffield community marked 100 years since the end of World War One by planting an oak tree for each of the 20 soldiers from the Sheffield area who lost their live. The oaks were grown from acorns collected from the Gallipoli Oak which is next to the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch.

Saint Ambrose's Anglican Church[]

Saint Ambrose's Anglican Church (2021)

The original church was built in 1878. A decision to replace it occurred in 1939 and work started in 1955, but it was not until 26 August 1962 that it was finally consecrated.[5]

Sheffield Hotel[]

Sheffield Hotel (2021)

Originally built in 1882.

Sheffield Community Hall[]

Sheffield Community Hall

References[]

  1. ^ "Sheffield & Waddington". Selwyn District Council. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Community Townships". Selwyn District Council. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Selwyn Electorate Profile – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Selwyn District Council". Selwyn District Council. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  5. ^ "St Ambrose brochure" (PDF).
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