Dunsandel

Selwyn (Māori: Herewini) is a village in the Selwyn District of Canterbury, New Zealand. It was laid out in the 1860s for a population of 2,000 people, but it currently has very few houses.

The Hawkins River is a river in New Zealand. A major tributary of Canterbury's Selwyn River, it flows generally southeast from its source to the southwest of Springfield, reaching the Selwyn 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Burnham. The river also flows through the rural settlement of Hawkins, five kilometers from Darfield.

The Canterbury Plains (Māori: Kā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha) are an area in New Zealand centred in the Mid Canterbury, to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki River. The smaller Amuri Plain forms a northern extension of the plains.

The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake) struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at 4:35 am local time on 4 September, and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Some damaging aftershocks followed the main event, the strongest of which was a magnitude 6.3 shock known as the Christchurch earthquake that occurred nearly six months later on 22 February 2011. Because this aftershock was centred very close to Christchurch, it was much more destructive and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.The earthquake on 4 September caused widespread damage and several power outages, particularly in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city at that time. Two residents were seriously injured, one by a collapsing chimney and a second by flying glass. One person died of a heart attack and another from a fall. Mass fatalities were avoided partly due to there being few houses of unreinforced construction, although this was also aided by the quake occurring during the early hours of the morning when most people were off the street.The earthquake's epicentre was 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Christchurch, close to the town of Darfield. The hypocentre was at a depth of 10 km. A foreshock of roughly magnitude 5.8 hit five seconds before the main quake, and strong aftershocks were reported, up to magnitude 5.4. The quake was felt as lasting up to 40 seconds, and was felt widely across the South Island, and in the North Island as far north as New Plymouth. As the epicentre was on land away from the coast, no tsunami occurred.The National Crisis Management Centre in the basement of the Beehive in Wellington was activated, and Civil Defence declared a state of emergency for Christchurch, the Selwyn District, and the Waimakariri District, while Selwyn District, Waimakariri and Timaru activated their emergency operation centres. Initially, a curfew was established for parts of Christchurch Central City from 7 pm to 7 am in response to the earthquake. The New Zealand Army was deployed to the worst affected areas in Canterbury.Insurance claims totalled between NZ$2.75 and $3.5 billion, although it is unclear how much cost can be attributed to each of the earthquake events in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. The total estimated damage bill was up to $40 billion, making it the fifth-biggest insurance event in the world since 1953.

Burnham, also known as Burnham Camp, is the largest army base in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 28 kilometres south of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains in the Selwyn District, close to the town of Dunsandel. Burnham was named after Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire.The senior headquarters at the camp has seen many changes. Previously Headquarters 3 Task Force, 3 Task Force Region, HQ Ready Reaction Force, and 3 Land Force Group have been based here. Most recently 3 Land Force Group was disbanded in 2011, and Headquarters Deployable Joint Task Force Headquarters - Land (DJTFHQ-L) was formed.

The Hororata River is a river of Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. A tributary of the Selwyn River, the Hororata has its sources in rough hill country north of Windwhistle, and flows east through the township of Hororata before reaching the Selwyn 12 kilometres (7 mi) northwest of Dunsandel.

Greendale is a lightly populated rural area, part of the Selwyn District, Canterbury, a region of New Zealand's South Island.One of the first farmers was Thomas William Adams, a pioneer of forestry and education in the area. Another one of the first farmers was Charles Early who moved to Greendale (Water ford) in 1876. On 4 September 2010, Greendale became further notable as the location of the strongest earthquake ground-shaking ever recorded in New Zealand, registering an acceleration 1.25 times that of gravity. This was later exceeded by the 2.2 g recordings during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake at Heathcote Valley.

Aylesbury is a settlement in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It can be found between the towns of Rolleston and Kirwee.The epicentre of the 7.1 magnitude Canterbury earthquake on 4 September 2010, was very close to Aylesbury and the largest land surface fractures were in this locality.

Selwyn District is a predominantly rural district in central Canterbury, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after the Selwyn River / Waikirikiri, which is in turn named after Bishop George Selwyn, the first Anglican bishop of New Zealand who, in 1843 and 1844, travelled the length of the country by horse, foot, boat and canoe, leaving in his wake a sprinkling of locations that now bear his name.

Kirwee is a town located west of Christchurch in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It was named after Karwi in India by retired British Army colonel De Renzie Brett. Kirwee is also home to the South Island Agricultural Field Days, held biennially.

Ellesmere is a locality in the Selwyn District of New Zealand. Located south of Rolleston, the locality has given its names to a number of features. Ellesmere ward is a large rural area within Selwyn District; two of Selwyn's ten district councillors are elected in that ward. Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Canterbury's largest lake, is located south of Ellesmere. The Anglican Church has a parish called Ellesmere, and Walter Harper was its vicar from 1876 to 1882. The parliamentary Ellesmere electorate existed from 1861 to 1928.

Irwell was a small rural township in Canterbury, New Zealand on the intersection of Leeston and Selwyn Lake Roads. All that remains are the former school hall, a church, and a small number of houses.