Halcombe is a small settlement in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is situated 10 km north west of Feilding and 4 km east of the Rangitikei River.
It is located at 40° 10' south, 175° 19' east at an altitude of approximately 120 – 140 m above sea level.
The population was 432 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 3 from 2001.[1]
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Halcombe is situated on rolling hill country. The village centre is in a relatively low lying gully. There are quite high hills to the west and low lying hills to the east.
The Halcombe area experiences a temperate climate which is similar to much of the Manawatu, with moderate wind and reasonable sunshine and rainfall; a good gardening climate. Frosts occur in winter, with one or two severe frosts each year due to the inland location. There are occasional fogs yearly.
There is a primary school (years 1-8) with a roll of approximately 120 pupils,[2] a dairy, a pub, a public hall, two tennis courts, a playground, public toilets and a rugby field. The pub featured briefly on a DB t.v beer ad in the 1990s. A travelling circus large enough to own an elephant once set up on Halcombe rugby field.
Halcombe has its own Rugby Football Club with club rooms on Willoughby Street.
The main railway through the North Island runs through Halcombe. There used to be a stop in the centre of the village, however this is no longer the case.
Halcombe was intended to be the main centre of Manawatu. For various reasons this did not come about. As a consequence a lot of farmland around Halcombe has paper roads on it.
The main industry in Halcombe is farming.
In the centre of the village there is a war memorial.
There is a dilapidated taxidermists in the central area.
Halcombe was once the main railway junction in the central north island. An active riverbed on the Rangitikei River stopped further development. Development was shifted to Palmerston North.