Feilding

Article summary

Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has won the annual New Zealand's Most Beautiful Town award 16 times. It is an Edwardian-themed town, with the district plan encouraging buildings in the CBD to be built in that style. Feilding is a service town for the surrounding farming district. The Feilding Saleyards has been a vital part of the wider Manawatū community for over 125 years. As transport systems improved and farming practices changed, the need for small, local saleyards all but disappeared, leaving few major selling complexes in New Zealand. Manawatū is a diverse and fertile farming area with high production, high stock-carrying capacity, and a stable climate. These factors make Feilding Saleyards a popular medium for many farmers. A unique aspect of Feilding Saleyards is their location in the centre of town. The Manawatū Plains, on which the town is sited, are very fertile land, and as such it is a prosperous agricultural area. Being located on the floodplain of a major river has its problems, however, and in February 2004 the town suffered extensive flooding. In 2009 the Horizons Regional Council commissioned a new flood protection scheme to prevent extensive flooding in the future.

Key claims

1. date of establishment: 1993 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of establishment: 1921 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of establishment: 1964 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of establishment: 1901 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of establishment: 1886 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of establishment: 1874 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1993". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1921". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of establishment is "1964". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of establishment is "1901". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of establishment is "1886". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of establishment is "1874". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
9. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1356635651