Methven (M?ori: Piwakawaka) is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located near the western edge of theCanterbury Plains, 35 kilometres north of Ashburton. It was originally the railhead of a short branch railway off the Main South Line. Branching off fromRakaia, the Methven Branch travelled through Lauriston and Lyndhurst to Methven and operated from 1880 until 1976
