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Kā Kōrero o Waikirikiri Selwyn Stories

Dunsandel

Description

NameDunsandelDescriptionIn 1862, in anticipation of the extension of the Great Southern Railway Line south-west from Rolleston Junction, land for a township called Selwyn was subdivided on the southern side of the Selwyn/Waikirikiri River, near where the Selwyn Bridge is located. Little development was undertaken until a railway station was opened in 1867, after which Selwyn briefly flourished. The village included a bakery, a blacksmith, a bootmaker, a butcher, a saddler, a wheelwright, a livery stable, a boarding house and hotel.

However, the village was prone to flooding from the Selwyn River, and when the railway was extended to the Rakaia River in 1873, many businesses moved to Dunsandel where a settlement had been established around the newly built railway station which was completed in 1873. At this time Dunsandel could boast a 24-room hotel, a general store, butchery, blacksmith shop and grain store.

It was stated in an article in The Ellesmere Guardian in 1943 that the site of Dunsandel was first known as ‘Killinchy Crossing’ and was only changed ‘to meet railway needs'. However, no evidence has been found to prove or disprove this claim.

The name Dunsandel was chosen for the township from the local sheep run, ‘Dunsandel’ which the railway line ran through from 1872 and which was owned by the British absentee landowner, the Hon. Robert Daly. He had named his run after the estate where he grew up, ‘Dunsandle’ in County Galway, Ireland. This name was derived from the Gaelic word ‘Dun’, meaning hill suitable for a fortress; and ‘Sandle’, thought to be an early Celtic chieftain. How Dunsandel came to be spelt differently from its originating name remains a mystery.

Although first established through the railway, the settlement quickly became an essential service township for local farmers. Access to water was easily obtained in the area through shallow wells, with a number of early settlers establishing large free-hold farms in the late 1860s, prior to the railway coming through. Many of the early farm houses were modest cob cottages made from mud and straw in the style typically found in rural Scotland and Ireland during the 19th century. Many substantial homesteads were later built to replace the cottages as the farmers’ wealth increased. Early details of the township are limited, but one of the first buildings of consequence appears to have been the blacksmith shop erected by William Walker in 1871 at the intersection of what is now State Highway 1 and Hororata Road. Descendants of Walker still remain in the district.

The railway was integral to the people of Dunsandel. It was not just a means of travel and of getting produce to markets, but it also had a huge social significance. The mail arrived by train daily and it was where people congregated on special occasions, such as farewells for newly-weds and local men going off to war, and welcoming them back. Special trains were a regular feature in the early years, with annual excursions to the A&P Show in Christchurch, along with church and school picnic trains taking locals as far as Timaru on occasions.

The railway also played a part in the education of local children. Free railway passes were provided to rural children to allow them to attend secondary school. Although a primary school had been established in Dunsandel as early as 1879, prior to the 1920s few children went on to secondary school and those few who did from the township daily had to travel on the train to Ashburton, and later to Christchurch. It was not until the 1950s that a school bus system was provided so that the children could then attend Lincoln High School.

Improved roading and the affordability of private cars led to the demise of local passenger rail services to Dunsandel in the late 20th century. This led to the closure of the railway station in 1973 and its demolition several years later. Despite this, Dunsandel’s future remains secure in still providing much-needed local services for the agricultural sector.
Geolocation^[1]

Image

Poster for Dunsandel Young Women's Club birthday ball

Portrait of Masters of Freemason's Lodges

Posters for wartime dances at Dunsandel Hall

Poster for the Christmas Ball of the Dunsandel Basketball Club

Children in fancy dress at the Dunsandel School Jubilee, 1929

Dunsandel School Jubilee, 1929

Dunsandel School Centennial Badge

Mavis Barnett at Government House

Mavis and Mervyn Barnett

The story of the painting of the Barnett family of Dunsandel

Canterbury Township

Loading grain onto railway wagons at Dunsandel Station

Dunsandel Rugby Team

Bible class, Dunsandel

Use of the First Dunsandel Hall/Library by the Dunsandel Quadrille Assembly and Film Shows

Use of the First Dunsandel Hall/Library by the Rakaia Road District for Dog Registrations

Electioneering for the 1922 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1919 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1914 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1908 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1905 Gereral Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1902 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Electioneering for the 1899 General Election in the First Dunsandel Hall/Library

Person

Mavis Barnett (née Sheat) QSM

Private Arthur George Hill

Rifleman Cordiner Newlove

Private Fred Stephens

Rifleman Sydney Stephens

Lance Corporal William David Gold

Lance Corporal John Burgess

Private George Stapleton

Rifleman David Balloch

Collection

Dunsandel Hotels

Dunsandel Hall

History of Dunsandel

Publication

Order of Service for Dunsandel and Upper Selwyn Schools 75th jubilee

Dunsandel and Upper Selwyn Schools 75th jubilee booklet

Organisation

Dunsandel Historic Society

Dairy farmers and Doyleston Creamery

Publication (PDF)

Local Lore

Place

Selwyn Town

Event

Centennial of the Dunsandel Methodist Church

Connections

CollectionHistory of Dunsandel Last edited by: Michael Noonan

Attribution

Researched ByWayne StackTaken FromSelwyn Times

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Dunsandel