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. Naming To New Zealanders the term 'The Coast' generally refers to the West Coast of the South Island, and 'Coasters' to those that live there The region is the top tier of Local government in New Zealand. The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Grey District Council in the West Coast region of New Zealand is a Municipality that covers Greymouth, Runanga, Blackball The population of the whole Grey District was 13,224 in the 2006 census, which accounts for 42% of the West Coast's inhabitants. The town of Greymouth itself, including Cobden, Blaketown and Karoro, had a 2006 population of 7,155. ^[1] The town is expected to grow by 1. 5% per year for the coming decade. ^[2]

Location

The town is located at the mouth of the Grey River, on a narrow coastal plain close to the foot of the Southern Alps. Grey River may refer to Grey River (Chile Grey River New Zealand Grey River, a community in the province of Newfoundland The Southern Alps is a Mountain range which runs along the western side of the South Island of New Zealand. 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. State Highway 6 is one of New Zealand 's eight national highways. Hokitika is a township on the West Coast of New Zealand 's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River Westport is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. 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. State Highway 7 is one of New Zealand 's eight national highways. Dobson is a small town on the banks of the Grey River in the South Island of New Zealand. 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 The New Zealand region of Canterbury (Waitaha is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains Christchurch (Ōtautahi The largest City in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand Lewis Pass (el 864 m is a Mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is also the western terminus of the Midland line from Christchurch. The Midland line is a famous 212 km section of railway between Christchurch (Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand Large coal trains often operate from Greymouth on this line to Christchurch. The famous TranzAlpine train also terminates and begins in Greymouth. The TranzAlpine is a Passenger Train service operated by Tranz Scenic on the South Island of New Zealand.

History

Fisherman statue on the floodwall.

Māori had lived in Greymouth for considerable time before European settlement, and called the area Mawhera (for 'wide spread river mouth',^[3] still an alternative name for the Grey River). This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. The first European to visit the site of what is now Greymouth was Thomas Brunner in 1846. Thomas Brunner (baptised August 22, 1821, in Oxford, England; died April 22, 1874 in Nelson New Zealand) was For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Brunner discovered coal in the Grey valley, and several places in the region (notably the town of Brunner and Lake Brunner) bear his name. Lake Brunner is the largest lake in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand, covering an area of 40 km² Brunner himself named the Grey River after prominent 19th century New Zealand politician Sir George Grey. For other men with a similar name see George Grey (disambiguation or George Gray Sir George Grey, KCB ( 14 April ^[4] Together with gold, coal mining was a major impetus in the town's early European history. ^[3]

From 1853 until the abolition of provinces in 1876, Greymouth was a part of the Nelson Province. (For the current top-level subdivision of Nelson in New Zealand see Nelson New Zealand) The Nelson Province was a province of New

Greymouth has a history of coal and gold mining. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body 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. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water,

Greymouth also has an historic World War II gun emplacement at Cobden. The Grey District Council destroyed part of this site, without consultation, in 2007 to make way for a sewer line ^[5]

On the 10th of March 2005, a major tornado, which started as a waterspout, made landfall in Blaketown, a suburb of Greymouth. A tornado is a violent rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a Cumulonimbus cloud or in rare cases the base of a Cumulus A waterspout is an intense columnar Vortex (usually appearing as a Funnel -shaped Cloud) that occurs over a Body of water and is connected to It quickly moved through the city passing just south of the main town centre. The tornado was one of the largest reported in recent history in the West Coast region and caused millions of dollars in damage and injured several people. ^[6]

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. For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Forestry is the Art and Science of managing forests tree Plantations and related Natural resources. Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of Tourism that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals 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. Punakaiki is a small community on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, between Westport and Greymouth.

Greymouth is also known for its Pounamu ("Greenstone", a form of Jade) carving industry which goes back to Māori origins. Pounamu' is the Māori name for several hard durable and highly valued types of stone - the New Zealand English term is "greenstone" Jade is an Ornamental stone. The term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different Silicate minerals. ^[3] The town also has a local brewery, Monteiths, which produces beer since 1868,^[4] 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. The Pike River mine, operated by Pike River Coal Ltd, is a new Coal mine located 46 km east of Greymouth in the West Coast Region of New ^[7] 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. ^[8]

See also

• List of regions in New Zealand
• Territorial Authorities of New Zealand. The region is the top tier of Local government in New Zealand. Territorial authorities are the second tier of Local government in New Zealand, below regional councils.

References

Aoraki/Mount Cook and other mountains from Greymouth's beach.

External links

• The district council's website
• Greymouth Street Map