Lincoln, New Zealand

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Lincoln (New Zealand)
Lincoln
Lincoln
for the suburb of Auckland, see Lincoln, Auckland
Lincoln from the air, December 2005
Lincoln from the air, December 2005

Lincoln is a town (population 2,727, census 2006) in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the Canterbury Plains to the west of Banks Peninsula, 22 kilometres south of Christchurch.

It is the site of Lincoln University and Lincoln High School

On 26 April 1875, a branch line railway was opened to Lincoln from a junction with the Main South Line in Hornby. This line became the Southbridge Branch. Within a few years, Lincoln became a junction itself, with the Little River Branch diverging from the Southbridge Branch in Lincoln. This branch opened to Birdling's Flat on 16 May 1882 and Little River itself on 11 March 1886. On 30 June 1962, Lincoln became a railway terminus when the Little River Branch and the Lincoln-Southbridge section of the Southbridge Branch were both closed. The railway did not last much longer in Lincoln, closing on 1 December 1967. Today, the Little River Rail Trail is being established along the railway's old route.

As well as the University, there is a number of other research facilities in Lincoln, including Agresearch, Crop and Food Research, Hort Research, FAR (Foundation for Arable Research), and Landcare Research. Over 400 people are employed at these organisations making Lincoln a busy little country village.

Lincoln is also the home of Hillyer’s Cottage Café and Bakery, famous for its meat pies, including the chicken, cranberry and brie, and the Lamb and mint pies.

Lincoln also has a maternity hospital, primary school, kindergarten, golf course, and golf range. It is also the home of the New Zealand Cricket Academy.

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Coordinates: 43°39′S, 172°29′E