Sanson, New Zealand

Sanson is a small town in the Manawatu region of New Zealand. It is located just south of Bulls and the Rangitikei River, and west of the city of Palmerston North. The 2001 census revealed that Sanson's population was 495, a 4.6% decrease from the previous census in 1996. The average household size in 2001 was 2.5 people.

Two major roads of the New Zealand State Highway network meet in Sanson, State Highways 1 and 3. They run together for six kilometres before diverging again in Bulls. From 1885 until 1945, the Sanson Tramway provided a link with the national rail network, running south to meet the now-closed Foxton Branch in Himatangi.

At the front of the Sanson School is the Sanson Gate, a memorial to soldiers who died in World War I. It was unveiled on 31 August 1924 and lists the names of twelve deceased soldiers.

The town is often mistakenly called Sandon. This comes from the fact that the town of Sanson was developed on a portion of a much larger block of land sold under the name of "Township of Sandon". The application for the Sandon block was made in 1868 and by 1871, the township of Sanson and surrounding rural blocks had been surveyed and development progressed from this time.

Today, Sanson serves as a small regional town that caters for people travelling through the area via the State Highways. A number of cafes, craft shops, and antique shops operate in the town.

External links

* [http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/CommProfiles.nsf/FindInfobyArea/560900-rl 2001 census data for Sanson]
* [http://www.ourregion.co.nz/theregion.php?regionID=22&articleID=64 OurRegion Manawatu's page on Sanson]
* [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/node/1045 The Sanson Gate] , from the [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz NZHistory.net] [http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/648 World War I Memorials Register]