Lumsden, New Zealand

History

Originally the district in general was known as The Elbow. When this name was given to the then new railway station, residents of Castlerock, then also known as The Elbow and on the opposite bank of the Ōreti River, brought the matter to George Lumsden of the Otago Provincial Council. He referred that matter to the Railways Department who, in the absence of any other suggestion, chose the name Lumsden for the town.

In 2017, it was suggested that Lumsden is becoming a satellite town for Queenstown, despite the 100 km commuting distance. It was much cheaper to buy or rent a house in Lumsden and work in Queenstown where wages are potentially higher.

The Lumsden Presbyterian church, which was built in 1891, was decommissioned in 2022. It was purchased and moved to Rangiora with plans to convert it into a house. The historic church and surrounding trees were observed to remain on site in mid August 2023.

Railways

Lumsden also used to be a major railway junction with lines departing to all four points of the compass. The Kingston Branch from Invercargill ran north–south through the town, while to the west was the Mossburn Branch and to the east was the Waimea Plains Railway that connected with the Main South Line in Gore. In 1971, most of the Waimea Plains Railway closed, but sixteen kilometres from Lumsden to Balfour remained open until 1978. In 1979, the line north to Kingston was closed after repairs to flood damage would not have been economic, and both the Mossburn Branch and the connection south to Invercargill closed in December 1982.

The railway station is now preserved as a tourist information centre. The Lumsden Heritage Trust, formed in 2013 has recovered and restored original carriages and trains. It has displayed the chassis of New Zealand Railways steam locomotive P 60 at the town's southern entrance, as well as two unrestored locomotives, V 126 and V 127, two Drewry diesel shunters and three wagons by the old station, to commemorate its former prominent status in New Zealand's national rail network. In April 2022 a historic 1883 A Class 199 elevated roof passenger carriage was added to the Lumsden Railway precinct.

Demographics

Lumsden is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand. It covers 4.52 km2, 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.

Before the 2023 census, Lumsden had a smaller boundary, covering 3.63 km2. Using that boundary, Lumsden had a population of 492 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 72 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 66 people (15.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 228 households, comprising 258 males and 237 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.09 males per female, with 99 people (20.1%) aged under 15 years, 99 (20.1%) aged 15 to 29, 213 (43.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 81 (16.5%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 87.2% European/Pākehā, 12.2% Māori, 1.2% Pasifika, 6.7% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 55.5% had no religion, 31.1% were Christian, 1.2% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, and 0.6% were Buddhist.

Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (12.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 120 (30.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 39 people (9.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 189 (48.1%) people were employed full-time, 63 (16.0%) were part-time, and 15 (3.8%) were unemployed.

Lumsden-Balfour

The Lumsden-Balfour statistical area covers 767.62 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

Lumsden-Balfour had a population of 1,320 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 54 people (4.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 108 people (8.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 531 households, comprising 711 males and 609 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.17 males per female. The median age was 36.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 300 people (22.7%) aged under 15 years, 231 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 597 (45.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 195 (14.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 88.6% European/Pākehā, 8.4% Māori, 0.7% Pasifika, 6.1% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 13.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.9% had no religion, 39.5% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 0.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 159 (15.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 237 (23.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 138 people (13.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 579 (56.8%) people were employed full-time, 177 (17.4%) were part-time, and 21 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Education

Lumsden School is a contributing primary school for years 1 to 6 with a roll of students as of

Northern Southland College is a secondary school for years 7 to 13 with a roll of students.

Both schools were established in 1976, replacing Lumsden District High School which ran from 1962 to 1975, and the original Lumsden School which ran from 1879 to 1962.

Notable people

Born in Lumsden

• Cathy Baker (16 October 1957), New Zealand field-hockey player
• Bill English (30 December 1961), New Zealand Prime Minister (2016–2017)
• Daryl Gibson (2 March 1975), New Zealand rugby-union player and coach
• Jacob Duffy (2 August 1994), New Zealand cricketer
• Amy Rule (15 July 2000), New Zealand rugby-union player

Residents

• Lou Vincent New Zealand cricketer

Climate

| Jan record high C = 32.3 | Feb record high C = 31.2 | Mar record high C = 29.7 | Apr record high C = 26.3 | May record high C = 22.0 | Jun record high C = 18.8 | Jul record high C = 18.3 | Aug record high C = 18.8 | Sep record high C = 23.6 | Oct record high C = 24.6 | Nov record high C = 27.5 | Dec record high C = 29.7 | year record high C = 32.3 | Jan avg record high C = 28.1 | Feb avg record high C = 27.7 | Mar avg record high C = 25.8 | Apr avg record high C = 22.1 | May avg record high C = 18.9 | Jun avg record high C = 15.8 | Jul avg record high C = 14.9 | Aug avg record high C = 16.2 | Sep avg record high C = 19.3 | Oct avg record high C = 22.2 | Nov avg record high C = 24.2 | Dec avg record high C = 26.7 | year avg record high C = 29.3 | Jan avg record low C = 1.9 | Feb avg record low C = 1.7 | Mar avg record low C = 0.3 | Apr avg record low C = -1.8 | May avg record low C = -3.6 | Jun avg record low C = -5.2 | Jul avg record low C = -6.3 | Aug avg record low C = -4.8 | Sep avg record low C = -3.0 | Oct avg record low C = -2.1 | Nov avg record low C = -0.7 | Dec avg record low C = 0.8 | year avg record low C = -6.6 |Jan record low C = -0.4 |Feb record low C = -0.6 |Mar record low C = -2.9 |Apr record low C = -5.0 |May record low C = -7.0 |Jun record low C = -7.4 |Jul record low C = -9.0 |Aug record low C = -7.2 |Sep record low C = -6.0 |Oct record low C = -4.3 |Nov record low C = -3.6 |Dec record low C = -3.5 |year record low C = -9.0 |access-date = 19 May 2024}}{{cite web |access-date = 14 Aug 2024}}

References

References

1. Harriss, Gavin. (November 2021). "Lumsden, Southland". NZ Topo Map.
2. Hamilton, G.A. ''History of Northern Southland''. The Southland Times Company Ltd., Invercargill, 1952, reprinted 1971.
3. (2017-06-29). "Lumsden a 'satellite town' for Queenstown 100km away, commuters say".
4. (2022-10-18). "Lumsden decommissioned church farewelled".
5. Jackson, Blair. (2022-02-06). "'Honey we bought a church' Rangiora couple relocating Lumsden church".
6. (21 July 2021). "Rare railway carriage restored as Lumsden information kiosk".
7. "ArcGIS Web Application".
8. {{NZ census 2018. 7029180–7029182
9. {{NZ census 2018. Lumsden-Balfour (358200). lumsden-balfour. Lumsden-Balfour
10. {{TKI. 3980. Lumsden School
11. {{TKI. 395. Northern Southland College
12. (23 April 2016). "College reunion focuses on future". [[Southland Times]].
13. "Lumsden School". Invercargill City Libraries.
14. Kelly, Rachael. (2023-05-26). "Former Black Cap Lou Vincent living the quiet life in Lumsden".