Hedgehope is the name of the district tapped by the Winton-Hedgehope branch line of railway, of which it has the terminal station. There are two or three sawmills at page 995 no great distance from the railway station, and also some flaxmills, although the district as a whole is given up to agriculture. The township, which is near the railway siding, consists of a store, a blacksmith's shop, a school house, and a hall erected by public subscription. A great interest is taken by the residents in the local athletic society. The Presbyterian minister at Woodlands holds services in the upper and lower Hedgehope schools, and the postal and telephonic business of the district is conducted at the local store. The Makarewa-Hedgehope River Board deals with all questions of drainage in the district. Hedgehope railway station is thirty-two miles from Invercargill, and stands at an elevation of 147 feet above sea level. The district is in the Hokonui riding of the county of Southland, and in the electorate of Mataura; and, at the census of 1901, had a population of 126. Dunsdale and Hedgehope streams join not far from the township, and, after flowing unitedly a few miles further south, join the Titipua or Lindhurst, and, with other creeks, form the Makarewa river. A road extends southwards from Hedgehope through the Pebbly Hills and Mabel Bush districts, to Woodlands and Kennington, via Rakahouka.