Rangiora

Rangiora is a rural town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest town in north Canterbury and the seat of the Waimakariri District Council.

Geography
Rangiora is 25 km to the north of Christchurch, close to the northern end of Canterbury's Inland Scenic Route (formerly State Highway 72), which skirts the inner edge of the Canterbury Plains, running southwest to Timaru via Oxford and Geraldine. The Ashley River is just to the north of the town.

Population
As of the 2006 census the population of the urban area was 11,871. There were approximately 4,500 more people living in the surrounding rural area. The urban area has seen a growth rate of over 10% in the last five years, while the rural areas have seen population growth in excess of 25%.

Climate
The highest official temperature ever recorded in New Zealand was 42.4°C (108.3°F) at Rangiora on 7 February 1973.

Education
The town has several primary schools, a small state-integrated area school (Rangiora New Life School) and one large state co-educational secondary school (Rangiora High School).

Rangiora High School has over 1800 students and over 180 staff. It is one of the largest secondary schools in the South Island and also one of the oldest, having been established by an Act of Parliament in 1881. Rangiora High School opened on Monday 28 January 1884. The school celebrated its 125th Jubilee at Easter 2009. Well-known former students of Rangiora High School include former Cabinet Minister Rodney Hide, Cabinet Minister Nick Smith, member of the Order of New Zealand and former Cabinet Minister the late Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, former All Black captain Todd Blackadder, and former Silver Fern player and former Tall Fern captain Donna Loffhagen.

Rangiora New Life School was established in the 1970s originally as a primary and intermediate Christian 'co-ed' school, but was later expanded to include a Secondary school built across the Southbrook Stream from the original primary school. It has a roll of over 300 students, many of whom are not of religious conviction (the school having a policy of acceptance towards personal religion). The school has not had any notable students to date.

Rangiora New Life School has been notable, among other things, for its high success rate of students passing their respective NCEA qualifications. In 2010, all Year 11 students at RNLS passed their NCEA Level 1 standards, the highest pass rate in North Canterbury and also in New Zealand.

Attractions
Rangiora has become a gateway for local wineries, which have become popular in North Canterbury and, around Rangiora, there are a number to choose from. For more than twenty years the Rangiora Showgrounds has hosted an annual "petrol-head" show called Street Machines and Muscle Car Madness which features a large array of vehicles. Rangiora boasts New Zealand's first and only commercial meadery. Located just outside the town it produces mead made from pure New Zealand honey and this is exported to many countries.

In 1956, Rangiora hosted New Zealand's first traction engine rally at the Rangiora Showgrounds. Eight traction engines, owned by members of the Southbrook Traction Engine Club, attended. In 2006, this notable milestone was celebrated by the arrival of visiting Burrell showman's engine Quo Vadis and accompanying carousel Gallopers Abreast from England to attend the celebrations.

Sports


Rangiora Football has undergone strong growth recently. The Mainpower Oval has hosted many national cricket matches and is also used by Canterbury Country cricket as its base. Rangiora High School has produced many excellent sportspeople in rugby, basketball, netball, athletics, and rowing in recent years. Former All Black captain Todd Blackadder and former Silver Fern player and Tall Fern captain Donna Loffhagen both attended Rangiora High School. Tony Hawke who represented the Canterbury Rams in New Zealand's National Basketball League (NBL) in 2006 also attended Rangiora High School.

Culture
Rangiora boasts two theatre companies: The North Canterbury Musical Society and The Rangiora Players. There are also a number of music, dance and drama schools based in the town, including the Dale Hartley School of Speech and Drama. The Regent Cinema, which opened in 1926, is located within the historic Rangiora Town Hall. There are also screenings in the larger auditorium which also hosts live shows and youth events.

The Rangiora Town Hall
The Rangiora Town Hall was designed by H. St. A. Murray on the behalf of the Rangiora Borough Council, and built by F.Williamson of Christchurch at a cost of ₤10,850 NZP. Construction began in 1925, and the Hall was opened on 27 May 1926 by the Mayoress of the Rangiora Borough, Mrs Robina McIntosh. Seating 600, the main hall was designed to host both moving pictures, and also live performances from around the district. The original Rangiora Public Library was located on the first-floor along the northern (High Street) frontage.

Originally the Rangiora Borough Council resolved to spend only ₤6000 to build and furnish the hall, was obliged to loan some ₤8000 pounds from the Christchurch Tramway Board to finance the construction of the hall, outraging residents at the prospects of having to pay increased rates. The interior furnishings were paid for using the insurance monies from the Institute Hall, which had been burned down in 1926.

The building originally housed the Everybodys Theatre, later the Regent Theatre. The former ticket windows were located on either side of the main doors; these are still extant, though the windows have since been replaced with single panes of glass, and one of the ticket offices has been removed. The Hall also housed the library from 1926 to 1967, when it moved to the former Council Chambers. The Rangiora Borough Council occupied the former library space from 1967 to 1981, when the present Council offices were opened on the (former) Institute Hall property.

The building has been altered very few times since it was originally built. At some stage the building was altered which resulted in the loss of 200 seats, reducing the current capacity to around 400. With the introduction of television and video, the former library on the first-floor was converted in the 1980s into a smaller second theatre, designed solely as a movie theatre. The main theatre itself is still capable of showing movies as required, and the original projection room is still in place to facilitate hire of the main hall to show movies for special occasions. In 2009, the building received an electrical re-wire and the interior was refurbished.

At some point in the 1920s-1930s, two properties adjacent to the Town Hall along High Street were demolished, and the site turned into the Town Hall Reserve; this property separates the Town Hall and the Police Station, built in 1999 to replace another station that had become inadequate. There is also a small carpark to the south of the building, behind the stage area. This carpark also has a loading dock that leads directly into the stage left wing, allowing backdrops and other properties to be brought into the building.

In September 2010, the Town Hall was damaged by the September 4 earthquake. The last group to use the Town Hall was the Rangiora New Life School, whose Secondary students had performed Exodus - The Musical (written by Christopher Tambling and Michael Forster) over the week of 25–27 August. The building was out of service until mid-2011, when it was reopened for use again. While it had been undergoing repairs at the time of the February 22 earthquake, the building thankfully did not sustain any further damage, which would have prolonged the time required for repairs.

The first show to use the restored facility was the North Canterbury Musical Society with their performance of Guys and Dolls in June 2011. While the Hall appeared to be in good condition, it was later found by engineers to be below the 30% structural integrity requirements of the New Building Standards code introduced after the Canterbury earthquakes. In December 2011, Council engineers closed the Hall, necessitating the closure of the Regent Theatre, located in the former library.

Since then, the Regent Theatre, operated by Patrick Walsh, has temporarily relocated to the Waikari Town Hall. The building is fenced off, with concerns that the building may not be able to withstand a large earthquake (the back wall in particular, which is of structural concern). In September 2011, the Waimakariri District Council received a draft plan for an extended Town Hall featuring a performing arts extension alongside and to the rear of the building (in what is now the Town Hall Reserve and the carpark at the southern end of the building).

The drawings at this stage are preliminary only, although the WDC has approved the $9.6m NZD cost of strengthening and extending the Hall. Contracting will be opened in 2013 after final plans are drawn up in consultation with the public. At this stage, the plans call for construction of an extension to the south and west of the building, and modification of the ground- and first-floor foyers to create a larger circulating space. The main auditorium will not receive any major alteration work and will remain largely as it does at present.

At the time, the Council presented several options to the community in regards to this:
 * Strengthen the existing Town Hall for $3.8m - this figure has subsequently risen to $4.9m. This would see the building remain 'as is', and no changes would be made.
 * Extend the Town Hall with the addition of a new Performing Arts Centre for $7.5m - this figure has subsequently risen to $9.6m. This is the preferred option by the Council and by other performing arts groups. This would see a new building built alongside and to the rear of the existing hall on the carpark at the southern end of the building and on the Town Hall Reserve.
 * Build a new Town Hall with a footprint similar to that of the existing structure for $5.55m.
 * Build a new Town Hall that would be larger than the existing one and containing Performing Arts spaces for $10.5m.
 * Build a new multi-purpose community centre - the WDC does not give a price estimate for this.

Plans to modify the Rangiora Town Hall into a dedicated Performing Arts Centre have existed since 1987, although there has been little, if any, work carried out to convert the building in this time. The concept was drafted into the Draft Ten-Year Plan 2012-2022 for Waimakariri District, and planning was reactivated in June 2010, three months before the September 4 earthquake. With the closure of the building in December 2011, the plans to carry this proposal out were fast-tracked, with the intention of combining the strengthening work in the original building with the construction of the new extension. The current proposal, dating to 5 September 2011, was drawn up by Fulton Ross, although it is merely a proposal and will not be acted upon unless the Council and the local community agree to the proposal.

In mid-2012, the Waimakariri District Council announced that the $9.6m required for the strengthening and extension of the Hall had been 'green-lit', and that design work was being undertaken by Fulton Ross. While this has delighted the various Performing Arts groups in the community, they have become increasingly unpopular due to the $9.6m cost of extending and strengthening the Town Hall, as well as the further $1m required to fit the extension out. Several complaints were fielded in the Northern Outlook newspaper against the extension of the Hall, which many deem to be a 'want' and not a 'need'. This has been in light of concerns of increasing rates to cover the rebuild of Kaiapoi and Rangiora, as well as lack of funding in other communities in the district.

The Rangiora Town Hall was registered by the Historic Places Trust as a Category II historic place on 6 September 1984. The Rangiora Town Hall is also listed on the Council's Landmarks scheme. It received its Landmark status on 27 May 2010.

The Heritage Precinct
Unofficially the High Street of Rangiora stretching from the Rangiora Town Hall at King Street up to Ashley Street is a 'heritage precinct' due to the presence of many historic buildings. Among them are the former Junction Hotel (1880), the Post Office (1936), the Farmers building (1919) and the Johnston Building (1896). Some of these buildings are listed under the Council's Landmarks heritage scheme, along with the Town Hall.

Due to the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes, several buildings have been fenced off due to safety concerns. This has caused people to go elsewhere for shopping, thus 'killing' High Street. In 2012, it was confirmed that one non-heritage registered building, the Lamberts Building, would be demolished, while the fate of others remains unknown. The building was demolished in August 2012. Several notable items recovered during the work were donated by the contractor to the Rangiora Museum.

The fate of the former Junction Hotel (1880) and a neighbouring building is presently unknown (September 2012). The lessor of a restaurant operating from the Junction Hotel has indicated an interest in purchasing the two properties and demolishing them to build a more modern structure. The Farmers building (1919) remains closed while Farmers conducts an independent engineering audit to determine whether the building is repairable. One other heritage building, formerly home to Paper Plus and Toyworld, remains closed while options are investigated as to its future; present indications are that it may be restored and strengthened.

It is believed that more buildings may be demolished due to the costs of strengthening the buildings to meet structural requirements, and also to restore them as necessary.

Museums in Rangiora
Rangiora is home to its own museum, located next to the Rangiora Bowling Club on Blackett Street. This museum constitutes the upper floor of a former bank building that was located along Rangiora's High Street, and contains items of historical interest from around the district. It also includes several signs recovered from the Lamberts Building when it was demolished in August 2012, relating to three previous tenants in the building.

A second museum, the Sparks Museum, is located to the east of the town, adjacent to the Northbrook Chapel. This museum is a private undertaking, and is open by request (donation required for entry). The collection is housed in four buildings, with the third building housing a collection of historic shop interiors from 'heritage' Rangiora include a blacksmiths. The museum grounds are also home to the former Rangiora Post Office clock tower, which was originally part of Rangiora's first post office, which was demolished in 1936 to make way for the current building.

The Herons' Steam Museum is located to the west of the town, past the Rangiora Racecourse. Although not listed as open to the public, the museum contains (or contained) a collection of industrial displays, working models and steam machinery including several traction engines, which have made regular gala appearances in the past.

Public transport
Rangiora is linked to Christchurch by public transport. "The Blue Line" bus service operates daily over 4 routes. The service runs half hourly (Monday to Saturday) from 5.30am until 6.30pm; then hourly until 10.00pm, extended to 11.30pm on Saturdays; The service runs hourly on Sundays until 9.30pm.

Route 90 - Christchurch direct via Kaiapoi and Lineside Road;

Route 92 - Christchurch direct via Kaiapoi and Woodend, Waikuku;

Route 912 - Kaiapoi to Rangiora via Woodend;

Route 913 - Kaiapoi to Rangiora via Woodend, Waikuku

Adult Metrocard fare: City to Kaiapoi $NZ3.30; City to Rangiora $NZ4.20;

Adult cash fare: City to Kaiapoi $NZ4.40; City to Rangiora $NZ5.60;

Child Metrocard fare: City to Kaiapoi $NZ1.65; City to Rangiora $NZ2.10;

Child cash fare: City to Kaiapoi $NZ2.20; City to Rangiora $NZ2.80

(These fares are correct as of October 2012. It is recommended to check that these fares are correct before travelling; information can be found at the Metro Info website: www.metroinfo.co.nz)

The Main North Line reached Rangiora in 1873 as part of the Canterbury Provincial Railways' 5' 3" gauge (1600mm) network that would eventually stretch north to Amberley. In 1875, a collision occurred between two trains at the Rangiora Station; although there were no fatalities, both engines were damaged as was some of the rolling stock involved. In 1878, the railway was converted to the narrow gauge 3' 6" (1067mm) chosen by Sir Julius Vogel for the New Zealand Railways.

From 1878 until 1959, Rangiora was also the junction for the Oxford Branch, which ran from Rangiora to Oxford West station. This line, constructed to tap the timber and agricultural resources of the Oxford area, connected with the Eyreton Branch at Bennetts Junction and at Oxford West for the short Malvern Branch (as it was then known), which connected the Oxford Branch to Sheffield on the Midland Line. This line, known for its high road-rail bridge across the Waimakariri Gorge, was closed in 1931 after years of spasmodic use. The Eyreton Branch connection at Bennetts was also closed in 1931.

The Oxford Branch itself closed in 1959, although the formation, several goods sheds (at Fernside and Springbank) and the former East Oxford Station (demolished in 1999) were left as reminders of the old railway. The original line ran down past the Plough Hotel on High Street; while there are no signs of this, the railway later ran down Blackett Street and so the street is noticeable wider than most streets as it had to accommodate both the railway and the street.

In 2002, the Waimakariri District Council re-erected station nameboards along the line as memorials to the railway, including one at Bells, on the intersection of High Street and the Rangiora-Oxford Road. It was also noted in 2006 that the former Bennetts railway station had been acquired from its use as the Cust cricket pavilion for restoration at Oxford.

Suburban trains ran between Christchurch and Rangiora between 1878 and 1977, when declining patronage caused New Zealand Railways to discontinue the service. The station has since been converted at various times into a garden centre, and more latterly, a cafe. The building today comprises the former stationmaster's office, waiting rooms, and lobby; originally built in an L-shape, the station has lost the extension which formerly held the women's and men's toilets, and other offices. The railway yard has also been reduced in size with the closure of the Oxford Branch. The yard presently comprises the main line and two loops, one of which is disused following a derailment which damaged the points at the northern end of the second loop.

In 1945, the Main North Line railway from Christchurch to Picton was completed, passing through Rangiora. Since 1945, passenger services have connected Rangiora with Christchurch and Picton; initially, this service was provided by Vulcan railcars up until 1978, when they were replaced by locomotive-hauled trains. The TranzCoastal, introduced as the Coastal Pacific in 1987, passes through Rangiora heading North in the morning and South again in the afternoon. This has recently been cut back to three trains each way per week in the off-peak season, following a similar format applied to the Overlander between Auckland and Wellington in 2006.