Feilding, New Zealand

Feilding is a town in the Manawatu region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North.

As of the 2001 census, the usually resident population of Feilding was 12,708, a decrease of 430 since 1996. The town is the seat of the Manawatu District Council.

The town was named after Colonel William Feilding , a director of the Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation Ltd. who negotiated the purchase of a 100,000 acre (400 km²) block of land from the Wellington provincial government in 1871. The first settlers arrived from Great Britain on 22 January 1874.

The town is a service town for the surrounding farming district. The Manawatu Plains, on which the town is sited, are very fertile land, and as such it is a prosperous agricultural area. Being located on the floodplain of a major river has its problems, however, and in February 2004 the town suffered extensive flooding, with approximately 150 homes rendered uninhabitable.

One of New Zealand's main motor racing circuits, Manfeild, is located at the south edge of the town.

External links

• Feilding promotional website