Ashburton, New Zealand

Ashburton or Hakatere  is a large town in the Canterbury region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The Main South Line railway line runs through the centre of town, but passenger trains ceased on 10 February 2002. The town is the centre of an agricultural and pastoral farming district, part of the Canterbury Plains. It has one large suburb, Tinwald, south of the town and the Ashburton River. Tinwald was the junction for the now-closed Mount Somers Branch railway line. The Ashburton District extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Southern Alps and from the Rangitata River to the Rakaia River including the towns of Methven, Mount Somers and Rakaia.

In 2012, Ashburton was noted for having more cooperative companies operating in its district than in any other area of New Zealand, and was subsequently named by the NZ Cooperatives Association the "Cooperative Capital of New Zealand". Several of the 40-plus companies are national companies based outside the district, such as Fonterra, Foodstuffs and Silver Fern Farms, but many were local cooperatives, such as the Ashburton Trading Society (farm supplies) and Electricity Ashburton.

The Ashburton, Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers are suitable for fishing, the Rakaia in particular is renowned worldwide for its salmon fishing. Upper reaches of the Rangitata are frequently popular with kayakers and rafters.

Prominent residents have included a former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jenny Shipley.

”Ash Vegas”, Ashburton's common nickname, is an ironic allusion to Las Vegas.