ABSTRACT
Ashburton is a small town in the South Island and lies some 50 miles south of Christchurch, on the Ashburton River and about twelve miles from the coast. Thirty miles inland the foothills of the Southern Alps climb up from the Canterbury Plains and a further 40 miles takes one to mountains nearly 8000 feet above sea level. Winds crossing the Tasman Sea tend to drop their moisture on the western side of the Alps and then descend to the Canterbury Plains as hot Fo¨hn winds.
