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Westport
About this location
DescriptionWestport 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. It is connected via State Highway 6 with Greymouth 100 kilometres to the south, and with Nelson in the northeast, via the Buller Gorge.
The town is thought to have been named after Westport, County Mayo in Ireland, although the choice of name was no doubt also guided by the town's location. The population of the Westport urban area was 3,900 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 117 from 2001. Including the surrounding area of Orowaiti, the 2006 population was 4,512. The Buller District Council gives a 2007 population of about 5,000.
There is evidence that Māori settlers lived in the Buller Kawatiri) area from very early on.
The settlers appeared to live mostly coastal lives, though they explored the mountains for pounamu (jade or greenstone), which they then traded with other iwi. The first white settlers came to Westport in 1861 as gold miners, and the first European vessel known to have entered the river was the sealing schooner Three Brothers in 1884.
The 1880s saw many exploratory parties of geologists and surveyors combing the area for the presence of valuable resources and taking the measure of the land. Amongst them were Charles Heaphy, William Fox and Thomas Brunner. While gold brought initial interest to the area, and for example, led to large areas of the coastal areas (covered by sediment from the river) being dredged for the valuable mineral, the area soon became much more famous for coal mining, still a dominant concern in the region today.
During the period, 1853 to 1876, Westport was administrated as part of the Nelson Province.
The first railway of the area in 1864 ran from Westport 18 km to the coal fields, most of them located to the north of the town The first section of railway from Westport to Fairdown via Sergeants Hill opened on 31 December 1875; this line ultimately reached Seddonville in 1895 and was known as the Seddonville Branch. From this beginning, an isolated network of branch lines was developed and it was not linked to the national network until the completion of the Stillwater - Westport Linethrough the Buller Gorge in 1942.
Map[1]
The town is thought to have been named after Westport, County Mayo in Ireland, although the choice of name was no doubt also guided by the town's location. The population of the Westport urban area was 3,900 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 117 from 2001. Including the surrounding area of Orowaiti, the 2006 population was 4,512. The Buller District Council gives a 2007 population of about 5,000.
There is evidence that Māori settlers lived in the Buller Kawatiri) area from very early on.
The settlers appeared to live mostly coastal lives, though they explored the mountains for pounamu (jade or greenstone), which they then traded with other iwi. The first white settlers came to Westport in 1861 as gold miners, and the first European vessel known to have entered the river was the sealing schooner Three Brothers in 1884.
The 1880s saw many exploratory parties of geologists and surveyors combing the area for the presence of valuable resources and taking the measure of the land. Amongst them were Charles Heaphy, William Fox and Thomas Brunner. While gold brought initial interest to the area, and for example, led to large areas of the coastal areas (covered by sediment from the river) being dredged for the valuable mineral, the area soon became much more famous for coal mining, still a dominant concern in the region today.
During the period, 1853 to 1876, Westport was administrated as part of the Nelson Province.
The first railway of the area in 1864 ran from Westport 18 km to the coal fields, most of them located to the north of the town The first section of railway from Westport to Fairdown via Sergeants Hill opened on 31 December 1875; this line ultimately reached Seddonville in 1895 and was known as the Seddonville Branch. From this beginning, an isolated network of branch lines was developed and it was not linked to the national network until the completion of the Stillwater - Westport Linethrough the Buller Gorge in 1942.
Map[1] Photograph
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West Coast New Zealand History (7th May 2015). Westport. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 12th Oct 2024 14:03, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/85