West Coast Te Tai Poutini | |
|---|---|
 West Coast Region in New Zealand | |
| Coordinates:42°36′S171°24′E / 42.6°S 171.4°E /-42.6; 171.4 | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Island | South Island |
| Seat | Greymouth |
| Constituentterritorial authorities | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Regional council |
| • Body | West Coast Regional Council |
| • Chair | Colin Smith |
| • Deputy chair | Mark McIntyre |
| Area | |
| • Land | 23,245.52 km2 (8,975.15 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2025)[2] | |
• Total | 34,700 |
| • Density | 1.49/km2 (3.87/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | NZ$ 2.101 billion (2021) (15th) |
| • Per capita | NZ$ 64,063 (2021) |
| HDI (2023) | 0.918[4] very high ·12th |
| Website | westcoast |
TheWest Coast (Māori:Te Tai Poutini,lit. 'The Coast of Poutini, theTaniwha')[5] is aregion of New Zealand on the west coast of theSouth Island. It is administered by theWest Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially asTe Tai Poutini. It comprises theterritorial authorities ofBuller District,Grey District andWestland District. The principal towns areWestport,Greymouth andHokitika. The region, one of the more remote areas of the country, is also the most sparsely populated. With a population of just 32,900 people, the West Coast is the least populous region in New Zealand. The population in the region grew by 0.4% over the year to July 2023.[6]
The region has a rich and important history. The land itself is ancient, stretching back to theCarboniferous period; this is evident by the amount of carboniferous materials naturally found there, especiallycoal. First settled byKāi Tahu in approximately 1200 AD, the area was famous across New Zealand for its richness inpounamu greenstone. Kāi Tahu traded millions of modernNew Zealand dollars' worth of the stone acrossNew Zealand, making Te Tai Poutini one of the wealthiest regions in the country.[7]
After the arrival of Europeans, the region became famed for its vast and mostly untappedgold reserves, which historically had not been highly valued.[8] The region was subsequently settled by thousands ofIrish Catholics after theIrish Famine,[9] who constitute the majority of the population, alongside the indigenous Kāi Tahu and those who come from admixing between the two populations. The West Coast is the only region of New Zealand wherecoal mining is still widely practiced.
The nameWestland is used by some New Zealanders to refer to the whole of the West Coast, includingGrey District,Buller District andFiordland,[citation needed] and can also refer to the short-livedWestland Province of 1873–76.
Fiordland is on the west coast, but is in theSouthland Region rather than the West Coast Region.
Inhabitants of the West Coast are colloquially known as "Coasters".[10][11]
The region reaches fromKahurangi Point in the north toAwarua Point in the south, a distance of 600 kilometres (370 miles). It has an area of 23,246 km2. To the west is theTasman Sea (which like theSouthern Ocean can be very rough, with four-metre swells common), and to the east are theSouthern Alps. Much of the land is rugged, with a coastal plain where much of the population resides. It is divided into the threelocal government districts of (from north to south)Buller,Grey andWestland.
The land has wild coastlines, mountains and a very high proportion of nativebush, much of it native temperaterain forest. It is the only part of New Zealand where significant tracts of lowland forest remain: elsewhere, for instance on theCanterbury Plains and in theFirth of Thames, they have been almost completely destroyed for settlement and agriculture.
Scenic areas include theHaast Pass,Fox andFranz Josef Glaciers,Hokitika Gorge,Lake Brunner, thePancake Rocks atPunakaiki, theOparara Arches and theHeaphy Track.
The region has very high rainfall due to the prevailing northwesterly wind pattern and the location of the Southern Alps, which give rise to heavyorographicprecipitation. Therain shadow effect is responsible for the relatively arid climate of the Canterbury Plains on the other side of the Southern Alps.
| Climate data forHokitika Airport (1936–2015, Humidity 1961–2015, Sunshine 1964–2015) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) | 19.8 (67.6) | 18.8 (65.8) | 16.6 (61.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 12.3 (54.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 14.9 (58.8) | 16.4 (61.5) | 18.2 (64.8) | 15.7 (60.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.7 (51.3) | 8.5 (47.3) | 6.0 (42.8) | 3.8 (38.8) | 2.9 (37.2) | 4.0 (39.2) | 5.8 (42.4) | 7.3 (45.1) | 8.7 (47.7) | 10.7 (51.3) | 7.7 (45.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 242.3 (9.54) | 178.9 (7.04) | 215.0 (8.46) | 235.8 (9.28) | 242.1 (9.53) | 249.3 (9.81) | 219.3 (8.63) | 231.9 (9.13) | 256.5 (10.10) | 276.3 (10.88) | 239.6 (9.43) | 268.5 (10.57) | 2,849.7 (112.19) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 12.4 | 10.4 | 12.6 | 13.3 | 14.7 | 13.8 | 13.5 | 14.8 | 16.8 | 17.3 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 170.5 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 209.5 | 186.8 | 171.9 | 139.9 | 119.2 | 104.0 | 124.3 | 138.9 | 142.8 | 164.1 | 181.1 | 194.6 | 1,877 |
| Source: CliFlo[12] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for West Coast | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.5 (94.1) | 33.5 (92.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 26.0 (78.8) | 26.7 (80.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.8 (76.6) | 26.2 (79.2) | 30.9 (87.6) | 30.6 (87.1) | 34.5 (94.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.9 (67.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 19.1 (66.4) | 16.6 (61.9) | 14.2 (57.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 15.1 (59.2) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.5 (65.3) | 15.9 (60.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.5 (59.9) | 15.9 (60.6) | 14.6 (58.3) | 12.2 (54.0) | 9.9 (49.8) | 7.7 (45.9) | 7.1 (44.8) | 8.1 (46.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.0 (51.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 14.3 (57.7) | 11.5 (52.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 10.1 (50.2) | 7.9 (46.2) | 5.7 (42.3) | 3.6 (38.5) | 2.7 (36.9) | 3.8 (38.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 6.9 (44.4) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10.2 (50.4) | 7.3 (45.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) | 0.1 (32.2) | −2.5 (27.5) | −5.0 (23.0) | −8.0 (17.6) | −9.2 (15.4) | −9.2 (15.4) | −7.0 (19.4) | −7.1 (19.2) | −6.4 (20.5) | −3.0 (26.6) | −2.0 (28.4) | −9.2 (15.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 267.8 (10.54) | 219.9 (8.66) | 239.7 (9.44) | 248.7 (9.79) | 250.2 (9.85) | 250.0 (9.84) | 213.2 (8.39) | 254.5 (10.02) | 276.0 (10.87) | 272.3 (10.72) | 260.2 (10.24) | 305.5 (12.03) | 3,058 (120.39) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 14.5 | 12.6 | 14.7 | 15.1 | 16.6 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 17.2 | 19.3 | 19.6 | 17.5 | 18.0 | 196.4 |
| Source: Weatherbase[13] | |||||||||||||
The region is home toNgāi Tahu, who value it for thegreenstone (pounamu) found there in abundance.
The region was only occasionally visited by Europeans until the discovery ofgold near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau. By the end of the year there were an estimated 1800 prospectors, many of them around the Hokitika area, which in 1866 was briefly the most populous settlement in New Zealand.
The region was divided betweenNelson Province andCanterbury Province from 1853: in 1873 the Canterbury portion of the region formed its own province, theWestland Province, until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876.
TheWest Coast gold rush between 1864 and 1867 created numerous gold rush towns such as Ōkārito, which at one time was the largest town on the West Coast but quickly almost vanished as miners moved on. After that time, the population dwindled, but the main towns that still exist had become established.
Following greenstone and gold, the next valuable mineral was coal. Discovered near theBuller River in the mid-1840s, mining began in earnest during the 1860s. By the 1880s coal had become the region's main industry, with mines throughout the northern half of the region, especially aroundWestport. Many of these continued in operation until the mid-20th century, and several survive. In the 1950s there was a briefuranium rush after radioactive minerals were found in theBuller Gorge in 1955, but the deposits were not found to be commercially viable.[14]
Timber has also long been a major industry, although in recent years there has been an uneasy balance between forestry for wood and forestry for conservation. Much of the region is public land administered by theDepartment of Conservation and the region has some of the best remaining stands of native forest, along with a wealth of rare wildlife.Ecotourism is now an important industry, and this goes hand in hand with the conservation efforts.
The West Coast Region covers 23,245.52 km2 (8,975.15 sq mi)[1] and has an estimated population of 34,700 as of June 2025, 0.7% of New Zealand's population. It is the least populous of New Zealand's sixteen regions.[2] The West Coast is also the most sparsely populated region, with just 1.49 people per square kilometre (3.87 per square mile).
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 31,563 | — |
| 1996 | 32,511 | +0.59% |
| 2001 | 30,303 | −1.40% |
| 2006 | 31,326 | +0.67% |
| 2013 | 32,148 | +0.37% |
| 2018 | 31,575 | −0.36% |
| 2023 | 33,390 | +1.12% |
| Source:[15][16] | ||
West Coast Region had a population of 33,390 in the2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,815 people (5.7%) since the2018 census, and an increase of 1,242 people (3.9%) since the2013 census. There were 17,031 males, 16,245 females and 117 people ofother genders in 14,793 dwellings.[17] 2.7% of people identified asLGBTIQ+. The median age was 48.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 5,448 people (16.3%) aged under 15 years, 4,518 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 15,861 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 7,563 (22.7%) aged 65 or older.[15]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 89.7%European (Pākehā); 13.5%Māori; 1.6%Pasifika; 4.0%Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 4.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.0%, Māori language by 2.3%, Samoan by 0.2% and other languages by 5.6%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk).New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 29.8%Christian, 0.6%Hindu, 0.2%Islam, 0.3%Māori religious beliefs, 0.4%Buddhist, 0.7%New Age, 0.1%Jewish, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they hadno religion were 57.8%, and 9.0% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,658 (9.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 15,825 (56.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 8,490 (30.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $32,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,956 people (7.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 12,819 (45.9%) people were employed full-time, 4,101 (14.7%) were part-time, and 687 (2.5%) were unemployed.[15]
There are five towns with a population over 1,000:Greymouth,Westport,Hokitika,Runanga andReefton. These five towns are recognised as urban areas by Statistics New Zealand.
During the gold rush days, Hokitika had a population of more than 25,000 with more than 100pubs. A recreation of anearly New Zealand settlement is atShantytown.
| Urban area | Population (June 2025)[2] | % of region |
|---|---|---|
| Greymouth | 8,610 | 24.8% |
| Westport | 4,600 | 13.3% |
| Hokitika | 3,420 | 9.9% |
| Runanga | 1,200 | 3.5% |
| Reefton | 1,050 | 3.0% |
| Dobson | 610 | 1.8% |
| Kaniere | 570 | 1.7% |
| Gloriavale | 480 | 1.4% |
| Karamea | 460 | 1.3% |
| Franz Josef | 440 | 1.3% |
Other towns and settlements include:
The West Coast Region is governed by the West Coast Regional Council. Currently, it is chaired by Colin Smith, with Mark McIntyre his deputy.[18]
The subnationalgross domestic product (GDP) of the West Coast was estimated at NZ$2,373 million in the year to March 2022, 0.7% of New Zealand's national GDP. The regional GDP per capita was estimated at $72,127 in the same period.[19]
The region had one of the strongest growing regional economies of New Zealand in 2022,[20] though from a rather small base.
Industries includemining forcoal andalluvialgold,forestry and wood processing,fishing (includingwhitebaiting),tourism and farming.
Dairy farming has grown strongly – the local dairy co-operativeWestland Milk Products remained independent when most others merged to formFonterra in 2001. In the 2019–2020 season, there were 150,000 milking cows on the West Coast, 3.0% of the country's total herd. The cows produced 50,700 tonnes of milk solids, worth $365 million at the national average farmgate price ($7.20 per kg).[21]
Other industries are the manufacturing and sales ofgreenstone jewellery,sphagnum moss gathering and stone-collection for garden landscaping.Monteith's brewery is in Greymouth.
The region has been included in the "Top 10 Coastal Drives of the World" byLonely Planet.[22]
The region has the only New Zealand nesting place of thekōtuku (white heron), at theWaitangiroto Nature Reserve, visited by tours from the small farming township ofWhataroa. This rare bird appears on the $2 coin.[23]
The region is recorded as having over 175 taxa of marine algal flora from historic and recent collections in the region.[24] Significant features of the region's algal flora are hard to discern on the basis of existing knowledge, but include the virtual absence of some common New Zealand species, and extensions to the known distribution of others.[24]
Over 80% of West Coast land is administered by the Department of Conservation, much of this being in National Parks. These include from north to south, parts of Kahurangi NP, Paparoa NP, parts of Arthurs Pass NP, Westland NP, parts of Aspiring NP plus the South Westland World Heritage Area. Each of these parks have flora and fauna common to all areas, as well as species, like kiwi, particular to those areas.
Four roads run into the West Coast Region. The main road running the length of the region isState Highway 6. It connects to theTasman District in the north through theBuller Gorge, and toOtago in the south viaHaast Pass. Two roads connect toCanterbury to the east,State Highway 7 throughLewis Pass to North Canterbury andState Highway 73 viaArthur's Pass toChristchurch.
TheMidland railway line is the only railway line into the region. It links to Christchurch via Arthur's Pass. TheTranzAlpine train service runs return between Christchurch and Greymouth daily and freight lines extend toNgākawau andHokitika.
Daily passenger flights operate into the region. Air New Zealand flies between Christchurch and Hokitika and Sounds Air betweenWellington and Westport.
| North Island |  | |
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| South Island | ||
* Governed by aunitary authority rather than a regional council | ||
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