Rangiora

Rangiora has an oceanic climate, (Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification), with warm summers and mild winters.[4] Rangiora has an average annual mean of 11.5 °C (52.7 °F), an average annual high of 17.0 °C (62.6 °F) and an average annual low of 5.9 °C (42.6 °F). January, the warmest month, has a mean of 16.6 °C (61.9 °F) and an average high of 22.2 °C (72.0 °F), while the coolest month, July, has a mean of 5.8 °C (42.4 °F) and an average low of 0.6 °C (33.1 °F).

Rangiora receives 641.2 millimetres (25.24 in) of precipitation annually over 83.0 precipitation days, which is quite dry compared to some other cities in New Zealand. The wettest month and the month with the most precipitation days is January, which receives 62.6 millimetres (2.46 in) of precipitation on average over 7.7 precipitation days (June has the same number of precipitation days but is slightly drier). The driest month and the month which receives the least precipitation days is February, which receives 42.2 millimetres (1.66 in) over 6.0 precipitation days. Rangiora receives 2118 hours of sunshine annually, with winter being less sunny compared to summer. November is the sunniest month, receiving 223.7 hours of sunshine on average, while June is the least sunniest month, receiving 124.6 hours of sunshine on average.

The highest official temperature ever recorded in New Zealand was 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) at Rangiora on 7 February 1973.[5]

The Rangiora Town Hall was designed by Henry St. Aubyn Murray on the behalf of the Rangiora Borough Council, and built by F.Williamson of Christchurch at a cost of £10,850 NZP. Construction began in 1925, and the Hall was opened on 27 May 1926 by the Mayoress of the Rangiora Borough, Mrs Robina McIntosh. Seating 600, the main hall was designed to host both moving pictures, and also live performances from around the district. The original Rangiora Public Library was located on the first-floor along the northern (High Street) frontage.[21] Originally the Rangiora Borough Council resolved to spend only £6,500 to build and furnish the hall, was obliged to loan some £8,000 pounds from the Christchurch Tramway Board to finance the construction of the hall, outraging residents at the prospects of having to pay increased rates. The interior furnishings were paid for using the insurance monies from the Institute Hall, which had been burned down in 1926.[22]

The building originally housed the Everybodys Theatre, from 1931 the Regent Theatre. The former ticket windows were located on either side of the main doors; these are still extant, though the windows have since been replaced with single panes of glass, and the internal walls of one of the ticket offices has been removed. The Hall also housed the library from 1926 to 1967, when it moved to the former Council Chambers. The Rangiora Borough Council occupied the former library space from 1967 to 1981, when the present Council offices were opened on the (former) Institute Hall property.

The building has been altered very few times since it was originally built. In the early 1970s, the building was altered by pushing the rear wall of the auditorium in, which resulted in the loss of 200 seats and reducing the current capacity to the present level of 380. With the introduction of television and video, the former library on the first-floor was converted in 1983 into a smaller second theatre, designed solely as a movie theatre, and which opened with the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. The main theatre was still capable of showing movies as required, and the original projection room was still in place to facilitate hire of the main hall to show movies for special occasions until September 2013. The building has been shut down twice for work to be carried out; in 1999 access was improved to the fly floors and the present lighting gantry installed, and in 2009 the building received an electrical re-wire and the interior was refurbished.[23]

At some point in the 1920s-1930s, two properties adjacent to the Town Hall along High Street were demolished, and the site turned into the Town Hall Reserve; this property separates the Town Hall and the Police Station, built in 1999 to replace another station that had become inadequate. There is also a small carpark to the south of the building, behind the stage area. This carpark also has a loading dock that leads directly into the stage left wing, allowing backdrops and other properties to be brought into the building.

In September 2010, the Town Hall was damaged by the 4 September earthquake. The last group to use the Town Hall was the Rangiora New Life School, whose Secondary students had performed Exodus - The Musical (written by Christopher Tambling and Michael Forster) over the week of 25–27 August. The building was out of service until mid-2011, when it was reopened for use again. While it had been undergoing repairs at the time of the 22 February earthquake, the building thankfully did not sustain any further damage, which would have prolonged the time required for repairs.

The first show to use the restored facility was the North Canterbury Musical Society with their performance of Guys and Dolls in June 2011. While the Hall appeared to be in good condition, it was later found by engineers to be below the 33% structural integrity requirements of the New Building Standards code introduced after the Canterbury earthquakes. In December 2011, Council engineers closed the Hall, necessitating the closure of the Regent Theatre, located in the former library.

The Regent Theatre, operated by Patrick Walsh, was relocated to the Waikari Town Hall, a temporary move which was later made permanent by the cancellation of Walsh's concession to operate the movie theatre in mid-2013. After Walsh stripped out his cinema, contractors Naylor Love began work on 16 September 2013 to demolish internal walls as part of a new Performing Arts centre, due to cost $10.9m NZD. Walsh's cinema closed on 31 October 2013 and may not return to the Town Hall.

The refurbished Town Hall was officially opened on 7 March 2015[24] by Waimakariri District mayor David Ayers, with the Rangiora Brass Band providing a short concert afterwards. The refurbished facility consists of the main auditorium seating 361 patrons, a multi-purpose hall seating 150, and two small cinemas. The multi-use hall is also equipped with cinema equipment, permitting three movies to be presented simultaneously. The cinema facility is branded "Town Hall Cinemas".[25] In addition, the facility also houses four "studios", which are used by the North Canterbury Academy of Music for music teaching purposes for 36 weeks each year. There is also a function room and a green room.

The Rangiora Town Hall was registered by the Historic Places Trust as a Category II historic place on 6 September 1984.[23] The Rangiora Town Hall is also listed on the council's Landmarks scheme. It received its Landmark status on 27 May 2010.[21]

High Street circa 1910s.

Unofficially the High Street of Rangiora stretching from the Rangiora Town Hall at King Street up to Ashley Street is a 'heritage precinct' due to the presence of many historic buildings. Among them are the former Junction Hotel (1880), the Post Office (1936), the Farmers building (1919) and the Johnston Building (1896). Some of these buildings are listed under the council's Landmarks heritage scheme, along with the Town Hall.

Due to the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes, several buildings have been fenced off due to safety concerns. This has caused people to go elsewhere for shopping, thus 'killing' High Street. In 2012, it was confirmed that one non-heritage registered building, the Lamberts Building, would be demolished, while the fate of others remains unknown. The building was demolished in August 2012. Several notable items recovered during the work were donated by the contractor to the Rangiora Museum.

The fate of the former Junction Hotel (1880) and the neighbouring Pulley's Building (1923) was presently unknown as of September 2012. The lessor of a restaurant operating from the Junction Hotel has indicated an interest in purchasing the two properties and demolishing them to build a more modern structure. The Farmers building (1919), having initially survived the earthquakes, was demolished over July and August 2014.[26][27] One other non-heritage building, formerly home to Paper Plus and Toyworld, has been demolished because it was earthquake-prone.

Since then, demolition work has begun on the Pulley's Building which was demolished on Thursday 28 February 2013. The fate of the Junction Hotel is yet undecided, necessitating the fence containing the structure to be left in place for the time being. The Farmers building is currently undergoing a thorough audit due to discrepancies in the owner's report and in the report commissioned by the insurers. It is believed that more buildings may be demolished due to the costs of strengthening the buildings to meet structural requirements, and also to restore them as necessary.

The Main North Line reached Rangiora as part of the Canterbury Provincial Railways' 5' 3" gauge (1600mm) network that would eventually stretch north to Amberley. Southbrook was reached in July 1872,[29] the extension to Rangiora being delayed by lack of chairs,[30] until 5 November 1872.[31] Rangiora was the terminus until the line was extended over the Ashley River bridge to Balcairn on 3 November 1875[32]

A memorandum between the Resident Minister and the Superintendent of Canterbury specified that Rangiora and Kaiapoi should have station buildings of 50 ft (15 m) by 16 ft (4.9 m), with 7 ft (2.1 m) verandas and including a booking office, ladies room, waiting room and luggage room, with 100 ft (30 m) platforms , urinals, closets, artesian wells and 90 ft (27 m) by 30 ft (9.1 m) goods sheds.[33]

In 1875, a collision occurred between two trains at the Rangiora Station; although there were no fatalities, both engines were damaged as was some of the rolling stock involved.

In 1878, the railway was converted to the narrow gauge 3' 6" (1067mm) chosen by Sir Julius Vogel for the New Zealand Railways.

From 1878 until 1959, Rangiora was also the junction for the Oxford Branch, which ran from Rangiora to Oxford West station. A photo taken in about 1900 shows a station building located between the main line and the branch, at right angles to the current station.[34] The branch was constructed to tap the timber and agricultural resources of the Oxford area, connected with the Eyreton Branch at Bennetts Junction and at Oxford West for the short Malvern Branch (as it was then known), which connected the Oxford Branch to Sheffield on the Midland Line. This line, known for its high road-rail bridge across the Waimakariri Gorge, was closed in 1931 after years of spasmodic use. The Eyreton Branch connection at Bennetts was also closed in 1931.

The Oxford Branch itself closed in 1959, although the formation, several goods sheds (at Fernside and Springbank) and the former East Oxford Station (demolished in 1999) were left as reminders of the old railway. The original line ran down past the Plough Hotel on High Street; while there are no signs of this, the railway later ran down Blackett Street and so the street is noticeably wider than most streets as it had to accommodate both the railway and the street.

In 2002, the Waimakariri District Council re-erected station nameboards along the line as memorials to the railway, including one at Bells, on the intersection of High Street and the Rangiora-Oxford Road. It was also noted in 2006 that the former Bennetts railway station had been acquired from its use as the Cust cricket pavilion for restoration at Oxford.[35]

Suburban trains ran between Christchurch and Rangiora between 1878 and 30 April 1976, when declining patronage caused New Zealand Railways to discontinue the service.[36] The station has since been converted at various times into a garden centre, and more latterly, The Station Cafè. The building today comprises the former stationmaster's office, waiting rooms, and lobby; originally built in an L-shape, the station has lost the extension which formerly held the women's and men's toilets, and other offices. The railway yard has also been reduced in size with the closure of the Oxford Branch. The yard presently comprises the mainline and two loops, one of which is disused following a derailment which damaged the points at the northern end of the second loop.

In 1945, the Main North Line railway from Christchurch to Picton was completed, passing through Rangiora. Since 1945, passenger services have connected Rangiora with Christchurch and Picton; initially, this service was provided by Vulcan railcars up until 1978, when they were replaced by locomotive-hauled trains. The TranzCoastal, later rebranded as the Coastal Pacific, passes through Rangiora heading north in the morning and south again in the afternoon. This has recently been cut back to three trains each way per week in the off-peak season, following a similar format applied to the Overlander between Auckland and Wellington in 2006.