Eyreton

Eyreton, originally known as Eyretown, is a small village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Edward John Eyre, who at one time was the lieutenant governor of the South Island (then known as New Munster). It is a rural village located to the west of Kaiapoi, near the north bank of the Waimakariri River, and the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings revealed that 2,139 people lived in Eyreton and the surrounding area. This was an increase of 624 people, or 41.1%, since the 1996 census. Although a branch line railway called the Eyreton Branch existed, it never actually ran through Eyreton; its route from Kaiapoi to West Eyreton passed north of the village.