Hundalee is a rural locality in the Hurunui District

Hurunui District

The Hurunui District is a political district on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch, New Zealand. It forms part of the Canterbury region and stretches from the east coast to the main divide. Its land area is ....

 of the Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

 region 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...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. It straddles the Conway River

Conway River, New Zealand

The Conway River is part of the traditional boundary between the Canterbury and Marlborough regions in the South Island of New Zealand.It arises in the Amuri Range near Palmer Saddle and runs for thirty kilometres south-east through the Hundalee Hills at the south end of the Seaward Kaikoura...

, the traditional boundary between Canterbury and Marlborough

Marlborough, New Zealand

Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a region and a district, and its council is located at Blenheim. Marlborough is known for its dry climate, the picturesque Marlborough Sounds, and sauvignon blanc...

 and is in the Hundalee Hills

Hundalee Hills

The Hundalee Hills are located close to the borders of Hurunui District and Kaikoura District in Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand....

.

Although once a railway terminus, Hundalee today does not have a defined township as such; the place name refers to the rural properties in the area. One of these properties became the home of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 hero Charles Upham

Charles Upham

Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham VC and Bar was a New Zealand soldier who earned the Victoria Cross twice during the Second World War: in Crete in May 1941, and at Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt, in July 1942...

 after he returned from combat.

The railway line was opened to Hundalee from Parnassus

Parnassus, New Zealand

Parnassus is a town located in the Canterbury region's Hurunui District on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the north bank of the Waiau River and the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its usually resident population as 900, a decline of 6.8% or...

 in 1939 as work on the Main North Line from Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 crept north to meet a line being built southwards from Wharanui

Wharanui

Wharanui is a small village located in Marlborough on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island between Ward and Kaikoura. State Highway 1 and the Main North Line railway both pass through the village. For over a decade, Wharanui was the southern terminus of a railway that ran from Picton...

. In 1945, the full line was completed when the two ends met in Kaikoura

Kaikoura

Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....

. The railway still runs through Hundalee, but the TranzCoastal express passenger train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

 does not stop. State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...

also passes through Hundalee.