Geraldine was discovered in the 1840s, but it wasn’t until 1854 that Samual Healings built the first bark hut in Talbot Street . He married a Maori woman, Aga Hei, and the totara tree which he planted to mark the birth of his daughter still stands on the site today in Talbot Street , opposite the police station. Sheep were quickly established in the area, together with pit saw milling of the native bush. When the bush had been cleared, wheat crops were grown across the plains. Originally called Talbot Forest , Geraldine was renamed Fitzgerald in 1857 after the first superintendent of Canterbury , the Irishman, Edward Fitzgerald. The name was finally changed to Geraldine which was the Fitzgerald’s family name in Ireland . Today Geraldine is in the heart of a prosperous farming area with sheep, cattle, deer, dairy cows, cropping and fruit growing in abundance. Almost 2400 people live in the town and its surrounding areas.
