Paroa, West Coast

Paroa
Paroa Trestle on the old Hokitika Branch line
Paroa Trestle on the old Hokitika Branch line
Map
Coordinates: 42°30′39″S 171°10′9″E / 42.51083°S 171.16917°E / -42.51083; 171.16917
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWest Coast
DistrictGrey District
WardSouthern
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityGrey District Council
 • Regional councilWest Coast Regional Council
 • Mayor of GreyTania Gibson
 • West Coast-Tasman MPMaureen Pugh
 • Te Tai Tonga MPTākuta Ferris
Area
 • Total
12.12 km2 (4.68 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • Total
1,510
 • Density120/km2 (320/sq mi)
Local iwiNgāi Tahu

Paroa is a settlement on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Greymouth. State Highway 6 and the Hokitika Branch railway both run through Paroa.[3][4] This railway was originally a bush tramway that opened to Paroa from Greymouth in 1867 and was extended to Kumara in 1877.[5] It was converted into a railway in 1893, and this time, ran from Paroa to Hokitika rather than Kumara.[6]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "broad fortified village" for Pāroa.[7]

Shantytown, to the south-east of Paroa, is a recreation of a typical 1880s West Coast gold mining town, built in 1971 and operating as a commercial tourist attraction.[8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  3. ^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 69. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
  4. ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. pp. map 156. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.
  5. ^ "Kumara, Westland". Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966).
  6. ^ "Hokitika-Grey railway". No. 9537. West Coast Times. 25 May 1893. p. 2.
  7. ^ "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  8. ^ "History of Shantytown". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.