Country New Zealand Territorial authorities Postcode 9500 Area code 03 | Region Otago region Time zone NZST (UTC+12) Local time Friday 3:59 AM | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind N at 6 km/h, 100% Humidity | ||
Roxburgh (village), is a small New Zealand town of about 600 people in Central Otago. It is in Teviot Valley on the banks of the Clutha River, 40 km south of Alexandra in the South Island. State Highway 8, which links Central Otago with Dunedin city, passes through the town. Roxburgh is well known for its Roxdale fruit and "Jimmy's Pies."
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Map of Roxburgh, New Zealand
An important centre during the Central Otago goldrush of the 1860s, in more recent times Roxburgh has relied on a mixture of livestock and stone fruit production for its economic survival. It is one of the country's most important apple growing regions and other stone fruit such as cherries and apricots are also harvested locally.
Five kilometres to the north of the town is the Roxburgh Dam, the earliest of the major hydroelectric dams built on the Clutha. There is also an opencast lignite mine located just north of town at Coal Creek.
Etymology
The name of the town comes from Roxburghshire in Scotland and was after the first European settlers arrived in the area. Originally the town was sometimes called Teviot but this name is instead now used for places such as the Teviot Valley and the Teviot River.
Railway History
From 1928 until 1968, Roxburgh was served by the Roxburgh Branch, a branch line railway that ran to the town from the Main South Line. The railway never actually reached the town itself as the terminus was located about 2 km south of Roxburgh at the small settlement known as Hercules Flat. For the entire period the line served Roxburgh, it made a working loss, but it helped to promote economic development in the town and was an important means of supplying materials for the Roxburgh Dam. Today, relics of the town's former status as a railway terminus still exist, including a turntable pit, a water tower for steam locomotives, and the station building has been converted into a hayshed and workshop. Most of the houses which once housed railway workers (also known as "Railway Houses") still stand and are now in private ownership.
As a movie location
Town scenes from the 2004 film In My Father's Den were filmed in Roxburgh.
Entertainment
Roxburgh has New Zealand's oldest operating cinema. Located in Scotland Street, it opened 11 December 1897 and is still operating. The cinema seats 258 persons and is one of only four cinemas left in Central Otago. Live shows are also performed occasionally.