 Another one of the first farmers was Charles Early who moved to Greendale (Water ford) in 1876.On 4 September 2010, Greendale became further notable as the location of the strongest earthquake ground-shaking ever recorded in New Zealand, registering an acceleration 1.25 times that of gravity.This was later exceeded by the 2.2 g recordings during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake at Heathcote Valley.