West Eyreton

West Eyreton
Rural Area
Community hall at West Eyreton
Coordinates: 43°21′S 172°23′E / 43.350°S 172.383°E / -43.350; 172.383
Country	New Zealand
Region	Canterbury
Territorial authority	Waimakariri District
Ward	Oxford-Ohoka Ward
Community	Oxford-Ohoka Community
Electorates	Waimakariri Te Tai Tonga (Māori)
Government
• Territorial Authority	Waimakariri District Council
• Regional council	Environment Canterbury
• Mayor of Waimakariri	Dan Gordon
• Waimakariri MP	Matthew Doocey
• Te Tai Tonga MP	Tākuta Ferris
Area [1]
• Total	114.89 km2 (44.36 sq mi)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	1,620
• Density	14/km2 (37/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode	7475
Area code	03

West Eyreton is a small rural village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is west of Kaiapoi and north-west of Eyreton and is named after Edward John Eyre, a 19th-century lieutenant governor of the South Island, then known as New Munster. In the 2001 New Zealand census the population was 1,146 (573 males and 573 females), an increase of 306 or 36.4% since the 1996 census.

In the 1870s, poor transport led to the construction of the Eyreton Branch railway line, which opened on 17 December 1875. Despite its name it ran to the north of Eyreton and originally terminated in West Eyreton, extended to Bennetts Junction on the Oxford Branch on 1 February 1878. Beyond Horrelville closed on 9 February 1931, and on 26 May 1954 low traffic led to the closure of the branch. Little remains besides some of the formation and a loading bank at the site of station.