Birdling's Flat

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Birdling's Flat

Birdling's Flat, originally named Poranui, is a settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand, close to the shore of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora.

Fishing at Birdling's Flat

Birdling's Flat also commonly refers to the nearby pebble beach that is part of Kaitorete Spit. The beach is well known as a place to find small Agates and a variety of other attractive rounded pebbles.

Birdling's Flat is named for the Birdling family, who were the first European Settlers to farm the area. William Birdling, the first member of the Birdling family to arrive in New Zealand built a house, Waikoko, in the area which was later to bear his name.

On 16 May 1882, a branch line railway was opened to Birdling's Flat from a junction with the Southbridge Branch in Lincoln. This line became known as the Little River Branch, with the extension to Little River opened on 11 March 1886. The railway served Birdling's Flat until its closure on 30 June 1962. The railway's old formation remained well preserved and has now been revitalised into a public walking and cycling track, the Little River Rail Trail.

It has been used as a launch site for sounding rockets. The University of Canterbury has a meteorological research station based there.

References

Bradley, Barry (1999). New Zealand Atlas. Auckland, NZ: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-028914-3. |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
Reed, A. W. (2002). The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7900-0761-4.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birdling's Flat.

Encyclopedia Astronautica - Birdling's Flat
University of Canterbury - Birdling's Flat radars

Coordinates: 43°49′28″S 172°42′21″E / 43.824415°S 172.70575°E / -43.824415; 172.70575

v t e Settlements of Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand

Settlements	Allandale Ataahua Akaroa Barrys Bay Birdling's Flat Cass Bay Charteris Bay Chorlton Church Bay Cooptown Corsair Bay Diamond Harbour Duvauchelle French Farm Governors Bay Gebbies Pass Gebbies Valley Hilltop Kaituna Valley Kukupa Lansdowne Le Bons Bay Little Akaloa Little River Lyttelton Motukarara Ohinetahi Okains Bay Okuti Valley Peraki Pigeon Bay Puaha Puari Purau Port Levy Rapaki Robinsons Bay Tai Tapu Takamatua Teddington The Kaik Wainui

Port Hills suburbs	Balmoral Hill Cashmere Clifton Cracroft Ferrymead Halswell Heathcote Valley Hillsborough Hoon Hay Huntsbury Kennedys Bush Moncks Bay Moncks Spur Mt Pleasant Murray Aynsley Redcliffs Richmond Hill Scarborough St Andrews Hill Sumner Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake Westmorland

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