New Zealand - Ashburton - Tinwald School - Upper Primers - 1968 Do you have more information about the school or the people in this photo? Please use the comment section below to share. To search for other photos from this school, please type the schools name in to our search engine. Ashburton - A large town in the Canterbury Region - 85 kilometres south west of Christchurch - Ashburton township has a population of 19,600, with an additional 15,200 living in the wider district. - The town is the 27th largest urban area in New Zealand - Named by the surveyor Captain Joseph Thomas of the New Zealand Land Association - "Ashvegas", Ashburton's common nickname, is an ironic allusion to Las Vegas.