Zealandia

Businesses past and present: Zealandia's former hotel and the elevator complex now used for cleaning and processing pulse crops. Photograph taken July 20, 2004.

David McLennan

Town, pop 111, located 19 km NE of Rosetown on Hwy 7. Settlers began arriving in the district in 1904–05—many traversing what was known as the Old Bone Trail, which ran southwestward from Saskatoon. The Zealandia post office was established in 1906, and with the construction of the railway from Saskatoon to Zealandia en route to Rosetown in 1908, significant development at the townsite began. By 1910, four grain elevators lined the tracks in the community, and a good number of businesses had been established. In 1911, Zealandia acquired town status with a population of 264, the largest the community would ever have. The town’s numbers significantly declined through the 1920s, and plummeted to 136 by 1936. The town recovered somewhat after World War II, but by the early 1970s it once again was in decline. Today, little is left of the once-thriving business community, although there remains a plant which processes lentils, peas, and chickpeas for export.

David McLennan