Ashburton Forks is a farming district within the county of Ashburton. It is sixty-seven miles from Christchurch, with which it has postal communication three times a week. The nearest telegraph office is at Mount Somers, ten miles distant. The distance from the town of Ashburton to Ashburton Forks is twenty miles, and visitors can travel by the mail coach on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Corbitt, Edward, Farmer, Ashburton Forks. Mr. Corbitt is a native of Barwell, Leicestershire, England, where he was educated, and brought up on his father's farm. He served an apprenticeship as a wheel wright there, and after being fifteen years at his trade, he sailed, in 1865, for New Zealand in the ship “British Empire,” and landed at Lyttelton. His first work in the colony was done for Mr. Wagstaff, coachbuilder, Papanui Road, and he afterwards worked at his trade at Papanui. Later on he took up land in the Selwyn distriot, where he also started in business as a wheelwright. In 1873 Mr. Corbitt moved to the Ashburton Forks, where he took up 250 acres, and subsequently purchased 650 more. He also has a farm of 320 acres at Winton, in Southland. Mr. Corbitt was married at Kirby Mallory, in Leicestershire, in 1852, and has a family of four daughters.