Ashhurst
Village
Ashhurst is a typical small
rural New
Zealand town, a population of about 3500 people and nestled under the south
western Ruahine
ranges.
It is the southern gateway to the beautiful and fertile
Pohangina Valley.
Ashhurst is also the gateway to the east coast of the North Island, to
Hastings, Napier, Gisborne, Pahiatua and Masterton,
through the awesome
Manawatu Gorge and Woodville.
Traveling west
takes you to Palmerston North City,
and north west to the Rangitikei district through Feilding , Bulls and Wanganui.
Traveling south takes you to Massey University, and beyond Linton,
Shannon, Foxton, Levin, the Kapiti Coast and Wellington.
Click here
for local and regional
maps,
or find us at
Google Maps
Ashhurst was named for
Lord Ashhurst, who owned land in the immediate area - part of the
larger Manchester Block -
click here for more information.
The
Maori name for the area is
Raukawa, after a native aromatic plant (Pseudopanax edgerleyi).
(source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashhurst ). Today, Raukawa is
known as an
area between Ashhurst and Palmerston North, with Raukawa Road providing
angler access to the Manawatu River and the Higgins and Blackley
Contractors shingle pits.
When it was first settled, Ashhurst
was the main center for the Valley,
and a transport link. Up until the late
1950's, and before motor vehicles became the main form of transport, the
passenger and freight trains did
stop at the station here and they were well patronised. Stock
yards for the stock trains also operated here. Those days are
long since history and remembered only by the older folk.
 |
| Commercial Hotel - Cambridge Avenue. |
Some of
the the earliest Ashhurst history
can be found here. More will
possibly be added in the future.
Ashhurst had originally been
part of the Oroua County Council and as far as the locals were
concerned, was not catered for adequately. It was incorporated as part of
Palmerston North City in 1989. Major changes have taken place for Ashhurst since then. Perhaps the most important one was the new water supply, replacing one
that tasted unpleasant, looked and smelled bad and one that fell far
short of what was publicly acceptable. A new sewerage treatment
plant, new storm water pipe upgrades, refuse transfer station, several roadway
reconstructions
including
Winchester Street improvements and a new North Street culvert,
footpaths, the Domain
sports ground changing sheds, and better
public services like the
Library have also been introduced since the incorporation.
Being a satellite of Palmerston North, a large percentage of the
population travel into P.N. to work. But Ashhurst has two
motor vehicle workshops, numerous small business enterprises,
had two pubs (bars)
although in 2009 the Masonic Tavern closed,
several
Churches,
and a tourism/adventure company. Over the
years, shops have closed down and businesses have moved into Palmerston
North. Ashhurst once had two banks and a post office. Until
recently it had it's own GP, and did have it's own pharmacy - it is now
just a "medicine depot" with prescriptions being filled from within the
city.
For many years Ashhurst also had two sources of
petrol and diesel, but BP pulled out some years ago. Mobil
this year (2009) decided that it's underground
fuel tanks were past their use-by date, and were going to charge
the local operator over $500,000 to replace them.
Thankfully a new supplier has been found. There is a
Manawatu Evening Standard newspaper story
here.
Click here for a list of
Ashhurst
businesses.
 |
| Cambridge Avenue - the main street in Ashhurst - looking south |
NZ Postal
services are handled by the Ashhurst Four Square. Mail
deliveries are provided by
NZ Post, and there are Private Boxes
available. Rural mail delivery in the Pohangina Valley is by
private contract from NZ Post. Private mail company DX
has a post box plus mail delivery service in Ashhurst. The
Ashhurst 4
Square is an agency for the PNCC and a Palmerston North dry cleaner.
Ashhurst has a good selection of
sports fields, parks or recreational areas -
click here
for more information.
 |
| The Triangle Park and Children's Fort and
Plunket building |
Schools
Ashhurst School caters for children up to Form 2 (year 8).
Ashhurst also has
one child care centre, one play center and one
Kindergarten.
Students wishing to attend a separate intermediate school (years 7-8)
need to go into one of the 3 Palmerston North intermediate schools.
High school students (years 9-13) are
bussed into the Palmerston North High
Schools.
Click here for list of schools and educational institutions.
Facilities
The Village and Valley Center is one of Ashhurst's crown jewels.
Basketball, squash, a good kitchen facility, and lounge space for
meetings etc. One of
Ashhurst's churches use this facility on
Sundays. It has been used most years for the Ashhurst Craft Fair.
Sport
Good winter and summer sport grounds at both the Ashhurst Domain and Lincoln
park. Athletics held at Lincoln Park during the summer months.
Different grades Rugby and Soccer teams, plus junior hockey
through Ashhurst School.
Click here
for information about the domain and other parks in
Ashhurst.
Also check out the lists of
Organisations and clubs here in
Ashhurst and the Pohangina Valley.
Brookfield's public golf course 7
minutes away. Other golf courses close by at Fielding, Pahiatua (other side of the Tararua Rangers), and several within Palmerston North.
Internet Search engines like
Live Search,
Google,
WebCrawler and
Wiki can provide
other
information about Ashhurst.
PDF : Manawatu Visitor Guide
(5.73 Mb)
