Councillors and members of Historic Places Mid Canterbury joined forces yesterday to launch two town walks, designed to show off Ashburton’s heritage and cultural spots.

Each walk takes about 30 minutes and has its own brochure, with interesting facts about the buildings or items that feature.

The brochures were organised by Historic Places Mid Canterbury and printed with the help of Council; they are available at Council’s library and civic building and the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum.

Project spokesperson Julie Luxton said the group wanted to celebrate the town’s heritage and culture, and members had gathered information about suitable spots before picking a total of 28 and splitting them into two walks.

“It’s really exciting to get it off the ground.”

Councillor Carolyn Cameron, who chairs the Mid Canterbury Heritage Working Group, said a combined walk in the sunshine yesterday was a great way to launch the brochures.

“These are buildings, places and memorials that are special to us, as our history has helped shape us into the people and district that we are today. I hope residents and visitors alike will learn something new about our town.”

The first stop yesterday was Pioneer Hall, one of seven important buildings from the past that have been recognised in recent years with blue plaques to publicly denote their historical significance to the town. The hall was cleverly absorbed into Council’s new library and administration building, to preserve it.

Another building to feature is the Federated Farmers Building on the corner of West and Tancred Streets, which was built in 1912 for the Bank of Australasia. Other spots are the bright red pillar box for mail on Burnett Street, the heritage listed Holy Name Catholic Church and the overhead rail bridge, built in 1917.

A special tree on the south-east corner of Baring Square West is also in one of the walks. It is a Lone Pine, representing Mid Canterbury’s direct link with the 1915 battlefields of Gallipoli.