Parnassus

Parnassus is a town located in the Canterbury region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the north bank of the Waiau River and the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its usually resident population as 900, a decline of 6.8% or 66 people since the 1996 census. It takes its name from a local sheep run owned by a classical scholar, Edward Lee. He saw a likeness between a local hill and the Greek Mount Parnassus, mythical home of the god Apollo and the Muses. State Highway 1 passes through the town on its route from Cheviot to Kaikoura, and the Main North Line railway from Christchurch to Picton also runs through the town. At one stage, the Waiau Branch was intended to...