 Barrhill is a lightly populated locality in the Canterbury region of New Zealand 's South Island . It is situated on the Canterbury Plains , on the right bank of the Rakaia River , about 17 kilometres ( 11 mi ) inland from Rakaia . It was founded by Cathcart Wason in the mid @-@ 1870s and named by him after his old home Barrhill in South Ayrshire , Scotland . Wason set it up as a model village for the workers of his large sheep farm . The population of the village peaked in the mid @-@ 1880s before the general recession initiated a downturn for the village . Wason had expected for the Methven Branch railway to run past Barrhill , but the line was built in 1880 on an alignment many miles away , which caused Barrhill population to decrease . 
