Twizel
Location of Twizel.
Urban Area
Population:	1,000
Extent:
Territorial Authority
Name:	Mackenzie District Council
Population:
Mayor:
Website:	Mackenzie District Council
Extent:
Regional council
Name:	Environment Canterbury

There is also a Twizell in Northumberland, England Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Canterbury Regional Council uses the promotional name Environment Canterbury or Ecan, and is Canterburys somewhat accident-prone regional authority. ... Twizell Castle is a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument which stands on a bend of the River Till at Tillmouth Park, Northumberland. ... Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Twizel is a town located in the Mackenzie Basin (part of the Mackenzie District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island). Its residential population is 1,000, but in summer the population more than trebles. Ronda, Spain Main street in Bastrop, Texas, United States, a small town A town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... The Mackenzie Basin, popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is a roughly elliptical and elevated area (700m/3000 ft above sea level) near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. ... For the former regional administrative district of Canadas Northwest Territories, see District of Mackenzie. ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ...

History

Twizel was built in 1968 as a greenfields project to service the Upper Waitaki hydroelectricity Scheme and was intended to be removed once the project had been completed. However, in 1983 its residents successfully fought to save the town. At the height of the project in the 1970s, the population peaked at around 6,000. Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Waitaki district straddles the border of the Canterbury and Otago regions of New Zealand, the traditional border of which is the Waitaki River. ... Hydroelectricity is electricity produced by hydropower. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ...

Prior to 1968, where Twizel now stands was farmland. The town was laid out in a 'Scandinavian' fashion, where the shops, school, and recreational parkland formed a hub in the centre of the town, around which the residential area lay. This design style also features looping roads and pedestrian ways, making it usually far more direct to walk than use a car. A previous version of this layout had originally been tried at Otematata. Originally, it was intended that the houses for the engineers would be built near Lake Pukaki but they were eventually built in Twizel. Accommodation was highly segregated, however. In addition to singlemens' quarters in the middle of town, there were a series of different houses available, with the smallest for workers, staff houses for teachers and professionals, and the largest for engineers and other high status residents. Most houses were prefabricated, and intended to be portable. Some were brought from Otematata, and some were moved to Clyde for the next hydro project. Otematata is a village in the Waitaki District of North Otago in New Zealands South Island. ... Lake Pukaki is the second largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin (the others are Lakes Tekapo and Ohau). ... Clyde is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand. ...

Because the original intention was for the town to be reverted to farmland, there were many 'temporary' features to the town. For example, instead of putting in kerbing, channels, and footpaths at the edge of the road, a single expanse of seal was contoured in a very flat 'W' shape. That is, the seal was highest at the outer edge (footpath) and in the middle (centreline), with a lower area serving as a channel and delineation between the roadway and footpath.

Industries

Twizel is a now a service and tourist town for visitors to the area. Nearby Lake Ruataniwha supports sailing, water skiing and prominent rowing events, such as the Maadi Cup, while the Ohau Skifield and the Round Hill Ski Area attract winter tourists. Lake Ruataniwha is located in the Mackenzie Basin in New Zealands South Island. ... For either of the songs named Sailing, see Sailing (song). ... // Water skiing began in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson strapped two boards to his feet and rigged a clothesline up to his boat on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. ... A coxless pair which is a sweep-oar boat. ... The Maadi Cup is the prize for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Boys Under 19 Rowing Eights. ... Ohau is a small club skifield in the foothills of New Zealands Southern Alps, near the boundary between the Otago and Canterbury regions, and close to the southwestern shore of the lake of the same name. ...

The area boasts one of the world's cleanest, driest and darkest skies, and has long drawn astronomers to Twizel and the surrounding area, with several existing astro-tourism ventures, such as at Lake Tekapo and Omarama catering to their needs, while two additional observatories are under development, in Twizel and at Mount Cook Village. An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... The Mackenzie Basin, popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is a roughly elliptical and elevated area (700m/3000 ft above sea level) near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. ... Lake Tekapo on a summer day, with the Church of the Good Shepherd visible on the peninsula on the right. ... Omarama is a small township (population <400) at the junction of State Highways 8 and 83, near the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, in the South Island of New Zealand. ... Mount Cook Village Mount Cook Village is located on the southern slopes of New Zealands highest mountain, 12 kilometres south of Aoraki/Mount Cooks summit. ...

External links

• Twizel Promotion and Development Association
• Twizel weather station