Halcombe

Halcombe is a small settlement in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is situated 10 km north west of Feilding and 4 km east of the Rangitikei River.

It is located at 40° 10' south, 175° 19' east at an altitude of approximately 120 – 140 m above sea level.

The population was 534 in the 2013 Census, an increase of 102 people, or 23.6 percent, since the 2006 Census. Halcombe has 1.9 percent of Manawatu District's population.[1]

Geography

Halcombe is situated on rolling hill country. The village centre is in a relatively low lying gully. There are quite high hills to the west and low lying hills to the east.

Climate

The Halcombe area experiences a temperate climate which is similar to much of the Manawatu, with moderate wind and reasonable sunshine and rainfall; a good gardening climate. Frosts occur in winter, with one or two severe frosts each year due to the inland location. There are occasional fogs yearly.

About

Halcombe's settlement was organised by the immigration agent Arthur Halcombe who lived in nearby Feilding and took his name. The nearby locality of Stanway was named for his wife, Edith Stanway Halcombe (née Swainson).[2]

There is a primary school (years 1-8) with a roll of approximately 120 pupils,[3] a dairy, a pub, a public hall, two tennis courts, a playground, public toilets and a rugby field. The pub featured briefly on a DB TV beer ad in the 1990s. A travelling circus large enough to own an elephant once set up on Halcombe rugby field.

Halcombe has its own Rugby Football Club with club rooms on Willoughby Street.

The North Island Main Trunk railway line runs through Halcombe. There used to be a station in the centre of the village, however it is no longer the case.

Halcombe was intended to be the main centre of Manawatu. For various reasons this did not come about. As a consequence a lot of farmland around Halcombe has paper roads on it.

The main industry in Halcombe is farming.

Points of interest

The iconic Zentveld Taxidermy building, Halcombe

In the centre of the village there is a war memorial.

There is a dilapidated taxidermist's in the central area, Zentveld Taxidermy.

History

Halcombe was once the main railway junction in the central north island. An active riverbed on the Rangitikei River stopped further development. Development was shifted to Palmerston North.

Halcombe Memorial Hall
Halcombe's war memorial and "the local"

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Quick Facts Halcombe 2013 Census
  2. ↑ Swainson, G. M. "Arthur William Follett Halcombe". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Te Kete Ipurangi schools database: Halcombe Primary School
  4. 1 2 New Zealand Herald, 14 May 2014. Rowing: Sisters show they have pulling power, By Maggie Campbell
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Coordinates: 40°09′S 175°30′E / 40.150°S 175.500°E / -40.150; 175.500

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