Wyndham is a rural town of 550 people in the South Island of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in the Southland region, 45 km (28 mi) east of Invercargill

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

 and 25 km (15 mi) south of Gore

Gore, New Zealand

Gore is a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:The Gore District has a land area of 1,251.62 km² and a resident population of...

. The original Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 name of the locality was Mokoreta (clear or sweet water).

Wyndham was named for General Sir Charles Ashe Windham who fought in the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

. The streets are in turn named for events, places, battles and personalities from that war. The town was initially surveyed in 1869 and gazetted a town district in 1882.

Wyndham is situated on the east banks of the Mataura River

Mataura River

The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 190 kilometres in length.The river's headwaters are located in mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, where it turns southward...

, between the Mimihau Stream to the north and the Wyndham (Mokoreta) River

Mokoreta River

The Mokoreta River is a river in Southland, New Zealand. A tributary of the Mataura River, its source is between Mt Rosebery and Catlins Cone, close to the source of the Catlins River. It flows westward from the Catlins Ranges into the Southland Plains.Its total length is 50 kilometres, and it...

 to the south. Protected now by a floodbank, Wyndham is a service centre for the surrounding districts with a shopping centre, library, museum and hotel. For eighty years, it was served by the Wyndham Branch

Wyndham Branch

The Wyndham Branch, also known as the Glenham Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. The first section was opened in 1882 and it operated until 1962. Although its name would imply that it terminated in Wyndham, an extension to a terminus in Glenham operated for forty years...

 railway which provided a connection with the Main South Line

Main South Line

The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...

, and for forty years, an extension past Wyndham was operated to Glenham.

Wyndham has a primary school, Wyndham School, and a secondary school, Menzies College

Menzies College

Menzies College is a Year 7 to 13 school in the South Island town of Wyndham in Southland, New Zealand....

.

A recreational area has a golf course, race course, rugby ground, softball diamond, bowling green, tennis/netball courts and camping ground. Brown trout fishing is within walking distance as well.