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Information about Greymouth, New Zealand

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Location in New Zealand.


Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region on the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. Its population of 13,221 accounts for 42% of the West Coast's inhabitants. The town is expected to grow by 1.5% per year for the coming decade.[1]

Location

The town is located at the mouth of the Grey River, on a narrow coastal plains close to the foot of the Southern Alps. In clear weather, Aoraki/Mount Cook can be clearly seen to the south from near the town. The mouth of the river divides the town into three areas: Blaketown, close to the river's mouth on the south bank; Karoro, to the southeast, separated from Blaketown by a series of small lakes; and Cobden, formerly a separate town, on the river's north bank.

It is on State Highway 6, which connects it with Hokitika in the south and Westport in the north. It also stands at the terminus of State Highway 7, which runs through Dobson and Reefton, eventually reaching north Canterbury and Christchurch via Lewis Pass. The town is also the western terminus of the Midland line from Christchurch. Large coal trains often operate from Greymouth on this line to Christchurch. The famous TranzAlpine train also terminates and begins in Greymouth.

History

Māori had lived in Greymouth for considerable time before European settlement, and called the area Mawhera (for 'wide spread river mouth',[2] still an alternative name for the Grey River). The first European to visit the site of what is now Greymouth was Thomas Brunner in 1846. Brunner discovered coal in the Grey valley, and several places in the region (notably the town of Brunner and Lake Brunner) bear his name. Brunner himself named the Grey River after prominent 19th century New Zealand politician Sir George Grey.[2] Together with gold, coal mining was a major impetus in the town's early European history.[2]

From 1853 until the abolition of provinces in 1876, Greymouth was a part of the Nelson Province.

Greymouth has a history of coal and gold mining. When the mining industry started to decline, forestry became a new staple industry. Fishing has long been important to the town, despite the fact that the entrance to the Grey River has two notoriously dangerous sandbars - an inner and outer bar.

Economy

The town's major industries include fishing, mining, forestry, and ecotourism, the latter two of these industries holding an uneasy relationship with each other. The Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, 45 km to the north are a popular local tourist attraction, while many also pass through on the route to or from the glaciers to the south.

Greymouth is also known for its Pounamu ("Greenstone", a form of Jade) carving industry which goes back to Māori origins.[2] The town also has a local brewery, Montheiths, which produces beer since 1868,[2] now sold countrywide.

The planned opening of the Pike River mine in early 2008 will spur new investment into upgrading port facilities at the town.[4] Without the development, a closure of the port had been mooted, and hopes are now that the coal barges travelling to and from reshipment facilities in Taranaki can also carry containerised cargo to the town. The opening of the new mine, as well as the planned Spring Creek mine, has been called the biggest investment happening in the area for a hundred years.[5]

See also

References

1. ^ Key assumptions... (from the 'Long Term Community Outcomes Plan: 2006-2016', amended June 2007)
2. ^ Greymouth (from Tourism New Zealand, the official New Zealand tourism agency)
3. ^ Greymouth / Blackball (from the Tourism West Coast website)
4. ^ How the West was won:Pike River on track - New Zealand Construction News, Volume 2, Issues 3, July 2007
5. ^ Pike River coal mine goes ahead on DOC land - New Zealand Herald, Sunday 14 January 2007

External links

Coordinates:

  •  • [ e] The TranzAlpine passenger train stops: (Midland line)
Christchurch | Rolleston | Darfield | Springfield |Cass | Arthur's Pass | Otira | Jacksons | Moana | Brunner | Greymouth
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland.
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New Zealand

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Politics of New Zealand


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  • Queen Elizabeth II

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South Island<nowiki />

Satellite view of South Island

Geography
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Location New Zealand <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki /> <nowiki />
Area
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Anthem
"God Defend New Zealand"
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Capital Wellington

Largest city Auckland
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Grey District Council in the West Coast region of New Zealand is a municipality that covers Greymouth, Runanga, Blackball, Cobden and settlements along the Grey River. The seat of the council is at Greymouth, where 27% of the district's population live.
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Grey River may refer to:
  • Grey River (Chile)
  • Grey River (New Zealand)

This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name.

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Southern Alps is a mountain range which runs along the western side of the South Island of New Zealand. It forms a natural dividing range along the entire length of the South Island.
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Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand.[0] It lies in the Southern Alps range, which runs the length of the West Coast of the South Island. A popular tourist destination[2], it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers.
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New Zealand State Highway network consists of just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands, administered by Transit New Zealand. The open-road speed limit is generally 100 km/h, with reductions in built-up areas and for safety reasons.
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Hokitika is a township on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, 40 kilometres (25 Miles) south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. The town has a population of just over 4,500 (2001 estimate).
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Westport is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the northern bank and at the mouth of the Buller River, close by the prominent headland of Cape Foulwind.
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Dobson is a small town on the banks of the Grey River in the South Island of New Zealand. It is 10 kilometres east from the river's mouth at Greymouth.

Dobson was the site of one of the West Coast's many coal mines, now closed, and also of one of the country's worst mining
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The small town of Reefton is located in New Zealand's West Coast region, some 80 kilometres northeast of Greymouth, in the valley of the Inangahua River.

Formerly a gold and coal mining town, coal, forestry, tourism and angling make up the main industries of Reefton today.
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The New Zealand region of Canterbury (Māori: Waitaha) is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains.
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Christchurch (Māori: Ōtautahi) is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. The largest city in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand.
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Lewis Pass (el. 864 m.) is a mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand.

The northernmost of the three main passes across the Southern Alps, it is higher than the Haast Pass, but slightly lower than Arthur's Pass.
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Midland line is a famous 212 km section of railway between Christchurch (Rolleston) and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel.
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TranzAlpine is a passenger train service operated by Tranz Scenic on the South Island of New Zealand. This trip is often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the amazing scenery through which it passes, (see famous trains).
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Thomas Brunner (baptised August 22, 1821, in Oxford, England; died April 22, 1874 in Nelson, New Zealand) was an English-born surveyor and explorer remembered for his exploration of the western coastal areas of New Zealand's South Island.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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1843 1844 1845 - 1846 - 1847 1848 1849

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Brunner, Brünner, Bruenner may refer to:

People

Brunner came from Tyrolean and Bavarian place names, or Brno.
  • Adolf Brunner (1901–1992), Swiss composer
  • Alois Brunner (b.

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Location South Island
Coordinates Coordinates:


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George Grey may refer to:
  • Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet (1799–1882), British politician
  • George Edward Grey (1812–1898), Premier of New Zealand
  • George Grey (skier), Canadian cross-country Skier

See also

  • George Gray, variant spelling

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Nelson Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.

Area

The capital of the province was Nelson. The Province itself was much larger than the present-day Nelson region, which is a unitary authority.
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Coal (IPA: /ˈkəʊl/) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation.
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GOLD refers to one of the following:
  • GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade).
  • GOLD (parser) is an open source BNF parser.

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Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam.
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shoal is a somewhat linear landform within or extending into a body of water, typically comprised of sand, silt or small pebbles. Alternatively termed sandbar or sandbank
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Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. By extension, the term fishing is applied to pursuing other aquatic animals such as various types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, frogs, and some edible marine invertebrates.
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Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam.
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