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Dobson
About this location
DescriptionDobson 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.
The settlement of Taylorville is across the river from Dobson, but no bridge directly connects the two.State Highway 7 passes through Dobson The population of Dobson and its surrounds, including Taylorville, was 672 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001The population of Dobson and its surrounds, including Taylorville, was 672 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001.
The town is named for the surveyor George Dobson, who was murdered at this site in 1866. He was killed in a bungled robbery by a gang who had mistaken him for a gold buyer carrying gold from the nearby Arnold goldfield. A monument now stands where George Dobson was murdered.
Dobson was the site of one of the West Coast's many coal mines. The Dobson mine was opened in 1919, and closed in 1968. It was the site of one of the country's worst mining disasters. Nine men were killed in an explosion at the mine in 1926.
A hydroelectric dam was proposed for the area by TrustPower in 1999 but it failed to secure access to public land that needed to be flooded for the scheme.
In 2003 Nick Smith, who was an Opposition MP at the time, attempted to remove the reserve status from the land needed for the dam reservoir in order to allow the scheme to go ahead.
Map[1] 
The settlement of Taylorville is across the river from Dobson, but no bridge directly connects the two.State Highway 7 passes through Dobson The population of Dobson and its surrounds, including Taylorville, was 672 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001The population of Dobson and its surrounds, including Taylorville, was 672 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 72 from 2001.
The town is named for the surveyor George Dobson, who was murdered at this site in 1866. He was killed in a bungled robbery by a gang who had mistaken him for a gold buyer carrying gold from the nearby Arnold goldfield. A monument now stands where George Dobson was murdered.
Dobson was the site of one of the West Coast's many coal mines. The Dobson mine was opened in 1919, and closed in 1968. It was the site of one of the country's worst mining disasters. Nine men were killed in an explosion at the mine in 1926.
A hydroelectric dam was proposed for the area by TrustPower in 1999 but it failed to secure access to public land that needed to be flooded for the scheme.
In 2003 Nick Smith, who was an Opposition MP at the time, attempted to remove the reserve status from the land needed for the dam reservoir in order to allow the scheme to go ahead.


Category Information
Category TagTownship

West Coast New Zealand History (7th May 2015). Dobson. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 17th Feb 2025 23:40, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1024