Fairlie - Leaving for Mount Cook

As described in the Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1903

FAIRLIE in the county of Mackenzie, is the terminus of the branch railway from Timaru. It taps the rich pastoral districts of the Mackenzie Country, and is on the direct route to Mount Cook, and its famous glaciers. Fairlie is thirty-nine miles from Timaru, with which it has daily mail communication and it is also a telegraph station. The surrounding scenery is of a very interesting character. Coaches start from Fairlie for the great snowy ranges. The township has three churches, a public school, four general stores, two hotels, and three blacksmiths' shops. Fairlie is also the name of the most populous riding of the Mackenzie county. At the census of March, 1901, it had a population of 968, of whom 597 souls were returned as being in Fairlie township and its neighbourhood. The riding includes Ashwick Flat, Burke's Pass, and Silverstream.