68-544: Whataroa is a small township in southern Westland on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island . It is located on alluvial flats to the west of the Whataroa River . State Highway 6 passes through Whataroa on its route from Ross to Franz Josef / Waiau . Hari Hari is 31 kilometres (19 mi) to the north-east, and Franz Josef is 32 km to the south-west. The population of Whataroa and its surrounding area
136-483: A 2–3 day circuit. The longest stretch of the track is downhill, and takes 7 to 9 hours to reach Coppermine Creek Hut. Markers indicate the routes around fallen trees and slips; the track crosses the Alpine Fault and the area is very prone to erosion from heavy rain. On reaching the flats, the track turns north and crosses Coppermine Creek to reach the hut. From Coppermine Creek a two-hour walk on flat ground leads to
204-659: A community library stored in a cupboard in the church hall. Whataroa was the first Westland community to merge its community and school libraries in this way. Sports and competitive wood-chopping events were held regularly in the town centre from the earliest days, as well as the annual Whataroa Races. Whataroa hosts the South Westland A&;P Show annually in February. Founded in 1951, events include equestrian competitions, dairy cattle judging, dog trials, trade displays and various family entertainment. An influx of farmers led to
272-520: A cost of £190, the church includes a three-light memorial stained-glass window behind the altar, donated by Henry Burrough and his sister in memory of their brother Joseph who died while serving in France during World War I; originally in the east wall, the window was moved at the suggestion of Bishop Julius to be sheltered from the prevailing winds. The first couple married in the church were district nurse Mabel Baker and farmer Frank Gunn on 17 May 1921. A bell
340-684: A county to a district and incorporating the Borough of Hokitika. Recently, the population has begun to grow more quickly due to "lifestyle" residents moving into the district. The district consists of a long, thin strip of land between the crest of the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea . The low-lying areas near the coast are a mixture of pastoral farmland and temperate rainforest . Westland temperate rainforests contain many conifers and receives high rates of precipitation due to orographic lifting caused by
408-538: A founder of the club who was killed in the Stanley Graham shooting. Westland District Westland District is a territorial authority district on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island . It is administered by the Westland District Council . The district's population is 9,430 (June 2024). Westland was originally a part of Canterbury Province , administered from Christchurch , on
476-406: A high geothermal gradient that was, according to one of the lead researchers, Virginia Toy , "likely to be unique globally". Water with a temperature of 100 °C (212 °F) was found at a depth of 630 metres (2,070 ft), whereas water at that temperature would typically occur at depths of more than three kilometres (1.9 mi). The project's lead scientist, Rupert Sutherland , said that
544-507: A large slip on near Knights Point raised the possibility of road access to the Haast Pass being eventually cut off. In the 2023 election campaign , independent candidate Patrick Phelps and National MP Maureen Pugh both raised the idea of rerouting State Highway 6 inland through the cattle track. The track is 33 km, and these days is normally walked from north to south, taking 3–4 days. The northern trailhead begins at State Highway 6 , on
612-559: A man by the name of McGloin, undertook to clear bush from Lake Paringa to the mouth of the Waita River , the route of the current track. Later contracts formed the road to a width of 4–9 feet, and metalled it with gravel to a depth of 6 inches. All shingle was taken in by wheelbarrow, and unmortered stone culverts were built over waterways. The road was suitable for pack mules and horses, and later enlarged to accommodate drays . The track took over ten years to complete. By 1882 15 km of
680-497: A more accessible deposit was found at an altitude of 500 m, south of Blowfly Hut; a bridge, road, and what is now known as the Old Mica Mine were built in the bush. Mica was mined until late 1945, but in the end the deposits proved too small and of poorer quality than those overseas. South Westland became less isolated when a regular air service run by Bert Mercer and Air Travel New Zealand began to Haast and Okuru in 1934. A wharf
748-480: A population density of 0.80 people per km . The district is the most sparsely populated of New Zealand's 67 territorial authorities. Westland District had a population of 8,901 in the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 261 people (3.0%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 597 people (7.2%) since the 2013 census . There were 4,539 males, 4,338 females and 24 people of other genders in 4,059 dwellings. 2.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age
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#1733084928730816-511: A significant employer in the town until the late 20th century. A 1904 visit by the prime minister, Richard Seddon , led to the construction of the Whataroa Bridge in 1907–08, at a cost of £11,000. Opening in 1909, it essentially ended the need for Ōkārito as a port. Early settler Henry Burrough subdivided his land in 1913, and many farmers arrived. Dairying was briefly popular, with a cheese and butter factory being built, but this declined when
884-519: A telephone line was connected over the track in 1910, and radio arrived in the 1930s. To sell their cattle, farmer needed to drive them 130 miles north to the nearest sale yards at Whataroa . Des Nolan (b. 1920) recalled the process to getting cattle to market from Okuru over the Haast–Paringa track around World War II. By this time there were three huts on the track: Coppermine Creek, the Iron Hut, and
952-602: A time, needing at least half a dozen men to accompany the mob over the narrow, difficult track at the Paringa Saddle; each man would need to drive around 35 cattle over the worst sections of road. Over 100 years perhaps 50,000 cattle were taken over the cattle track in this way. In 1942, a mica mine was developed in the Mataketake Range. Mica was a mineral used in radio condensers and spark-plug washers in Allied aircraft, and
1020-468: A visitor attraction, but access to the entire nature reserve is by permit only. The colony is often incorrectly called the "Okarito" white heron colony, despite Ōkārito being some distance further south. White Heron Sanctuary Tours in Whataroa is the only company with a permit to take tourists to the white heron colony. The company was founded in 1987 by the fifth-generation Arnold family of Whataroa. During
1088-516: Is an Anglican church in the parish of Ross and South Westland, 0.85 kilometres (0.53 mi) north of Our Lady of the Woods on Whataroa Flat Road. In 1916 funds were raised for a new Anglican church, incorporating materials from the disused Goldsborough church. The church was sufficiently finished at the next annual visit to the West Coast of Bishop Julius for him to dedicate it on 10 July 1919. Completed at
1156-478: Is still a common pronunciation by locals. The post office was changed to the official name "Whataroa" in 1951. The Māori word whata means an elevated stage, and roa denotes "long or tall". The history of Whataroa is tied to the gold rush settlement of Ōkārito on the coast, which boomed in 1865–66. Ōkārito was the third-largest port in Westland at the time, supplying other coastal gold-mining settlements, and
1224-654: The Alpine Fault , an active geological fault that runs almost the whole length of the South Island and forms the boundary between the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates . The fault passes about four kilometres (2.5 mi) to the southeast of Whataroa, crossing State Highway 6 a few hundred metres west of the Whataroa River bridge. In 2017, scientists reported that they had drilled into the Alpine Fault near Whataroa and found
1292-715: The New Zealand Department of Conservation . The cattle track follows the route of an old Māori trail. To avoid the steep cliffs and rugged coastline around Knights Point (an area that was labelled by early diggers "run-or-be-damned") travellers up and down the West Coast would head inland along the Waita and Moeraki Rivers , crossing the low (700 m) Paringa Saddle. The Westland County Council in 1871 decided to clear tracks from Bruce Bay to Haast , and offered contracts of £1380 for 37 miles and £800 for 19 miles. The explorer Charlie Douglas , along with Julies Matthies and
1360-678: The Southland District . This boundary cannot be crossed by road. Hokitika , the district seat, is the only town in the Westland District with a population over 1,000. It is home to 3,250 people, 34.5% of the district's population. Other settlements and localities include: Hokitika Ward: Northern Ward: Southern Ward: Notes: bold - settlement; normal text - locality; italics - minor locality Westland District covers 11,827.85 km (4,566.76 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 9,430 as of June 2024, with
1428-576: The Waitangiroto River . In the 1870s Harry Friend, a butcher from Ōkārito, began running cattle on the Whataroa flats to supply the gold miners. The area between the Whataroa River and the Waitangitāhuna (called the Waitangi or Waitangitaona at the time) was tōtara forest, swampland, and pakihi clearings, all suitable for grazing. More cattle farmers followed, and an inland track was cleared past
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#17330849287301496-542: The "Mahitahi–Haast" road had been finished (at a cost of £2779), and in 1883 only "three and a half miles" were still to be done, according to the report by Gerhard Mueller . A road over the Paringa Saddle would be an important connection for the South Westland settlements of Haast , Okuru , and Jackson Bay , which even into the first half of the 20th century were still isolated from the rest of New Zealand. A ship would arrive every two or three months with supplies, but
1564-634: The 1930s one proposal was to take water from Lake Mapourika for a hydroelectric station, but this was too costly. In the early 1950s the Westland County Council investigated the possibility of a generator at the outfall of Lake Wahapo into the Okarito River to supply Whataroa. A 1957 town meeting instigated the process, and the Okarito Forks Power Station (later renamed Wahapo) was constructed in 1960, putting out 280 kW. Soon after
1632-489: The Blue River or Blowfly Hut. First the cattle were herded to a 50 acre holding paddock at Coppermine Creek, where they rested for several days. Then they were driven 20 miles over the Paringa Saddle in one day, past the Iron Hut to the Blue River. The following day took the cattle 11 miles to Paringa , where they stayed in a paddock to recover before a day-long journey to Jacobs River . The Nolans would drive up to 200 cattle at
1700-584: The Forks and Lake Wahapo to the interior. Up to about 1900 the flat land was common grazing for sheep, horse, and cattle, and the settlers cooperated to muster stock in rugged scrub country. The first telephone line to the Whataroa post office was connected in 1897, and by 1900 a new road north across Mt Hercules was built, which created a outlet for farm produce in addition to the port at Ōkārito. Flax mills were set up, and several sawmills operated to clear rimu and silver pine ; Paynter Sawmills continued to operate as
1768-422: The Iron Hut as "convenient" if "nothing flash". Travel writer A. Maud Moreland stayed in the Blue River hut around 1909, and was plagued by mosquitoes: It was nothing but a corrugated-iron box, eight or nine feet square, with a rude bunk, covered with fern, at either side; between them was a dirty cupboard smeared with candle grease, which served as a table; a stool by the wide hearth and two old billies completed
1836-703: The Southern Alps. The eastern part of the district is steep and mountainous. Many small rivers flow down from the mountains. The middle part of the district notably contains the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers . In the north, the Taramakau River , the largest river in the district, forms the boundary with the Grey District . The crest of the Southern Alps marks the eastern boundary. A small southern boundary lies between Westland proper and Fiordland , which lies within
1904-430: The Whataroa and Waitangitāhuna Rivers; the latter river changed course dramatically in 1967, its upper reach flowing into Lake Wahapo which reduced the flow of the lower river and the danger from flooding; stop banks were built in the 1980s to make this change permanent. Sawmilling also played an important role in the town economy, with Paynter's Mill felling native forest and so, as a writer in 1979 noted, "under threat from
1972-510: The Whataroa, and 2,000 acres of wetland available to drain. The report concluded: The soils of this area are generally shallow, friable, sandy, and gravelly loams resting on gravels and sands, the original cover of which was mainly totara, but contain many low-lying wet and underdrained areas merging into shallow wet swamps with remains of kahikatea bush, The whole area is cleared and occupied but pastures generally are not very good, large areas being badly infested with rushes. Whataroa sits close to
2040-568: The Woods is a Catholic church located at 7 Whataroa Flat Road, Whataroa, within the South Westland parish of Our Lady of the Woods. Mass is held at Our Lady of the Woods twice monthly, on the first and third Sundays. In the 1880s there were three established Catholic congregations in the parish of South Westland, which was run out of Ross, with a priest undertaking the long journey by horseback to Okarito, Gillespies Beach , and Whataroa at least annually. Father Bogue of St Patrick's church in Ross organised
2108-534: The area was Matainui , still preserved in the Matainui Creek which passes through the town. A post office was built in what is now the centre of the settlement in the 1930s and named the Matainui P.O. but when it was moved to a new building the locals petitioned for it to be renamed "Wataroa" (spelled thus), after the nearby river and flats. Wataroa was the standard spelling of the settlement's name for many years, and
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2176-512: The attention of the environmentalists". In 2019, the Whataroa Community Hall, nearly a century old, was refurbished using a $ 200,000 grant from Development West Coast . A 1959 survey described the Whataroa region as 14,000 acres of alluvial flats between the Whataroa and Waitangi-tona (Whatangitāhuna) Rivers, 8 miles long and 2–4 miles wide. In addition there were 7,500 acres of rough grazing flats, 3,000 acres of alluvial fans east of
2244-483: The breeding season of mid-September to February visitors are taken in a minibus to the edge of the reserve and walk through native bush to a viewing hide , where they can observe the colony. Other birds can also be seen in the reserve alongside the kōtuku, including royal spoonbill and the little shag . The Arnold family assists the Department of Conservation with predator control around the nature reserve. Our Lady of
2312-460: The building of a church on the main road of Whataroa in 1907, on land donated by John Butler and Duncan Scalley. The declining population of Okarito and Gillespies Beach made the churches there redundant, and in 1920 Father John Riordan had to rescue the altar and furnishings from the Gillespies Beach church from cattle that had forced the door and taken shelter. A new parish centred on Whataroa
2380-416: The census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 837 (11.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 4,191 (55.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,181 (29.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $ 36,800, compared with $ 41,500 nationally. 546 people (7.3%) earned over $ 100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
2448-467: The conditions were not ideal for farming. Local government changes saw the hinterland of Greymouth on both sides of the Grey River transformed into Greymouth Borough and Grey County and subsequently into Grey District, which includes portions of both historical provinces. Westland as a unit of government emerged largely intact from the local government reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, merely changing from
2516-406: The district was connected to the national electricity grid. The Wahapo Power Station was rebuilt in 1991 to increase its output to 3000 kW. After 1945 clearing and draining of the Whataroa flats accelerated, with better farm machinery, top-dressing of fertiliser, and flood control. A telephone exchange, Bank of New Zealand , RSA Hall, and War Memorial rooms were built. A 1959 report noted Whataroa
2584-411: The east coast. The booming population as a result of the gold rush , together with the difficulty of travel and communication across the Southern Alps, led first to the creation of a special Westland County , then the formal separation of Westland from Canterbury to form the short-lived Westland Province (1873–1876). Westland Province also included what is now the southern portion of Grey District, with
2652-519: The establishment of the South Westland Rugby Union in 1933. The Woodham Shield is an annual rugby competition in which Whataroa and neighboring towns, Franz- Fox- Haast, Hari Hari and Ross , compete against each other for possession of the shield. Also founded in 1933 was the short-lived Wataroa Aero Club, which was finally wound up in 1953 and its land handed over for a public domain; memorial gates were installed to honour Constable Ted Best,
2720-516: The find "could be commercially very significant for New Zealand". The Waitangiroto Nature Reserve is a 1,530-hectare (3,800-acre) protected area near Whataroa. The reserve consists of lowland kahikatea swamp forest either side of the Waitangiroto River. It is notable as the site of the only breeding colony of kōtuku or white heron ( Ardea alba modesta ) in New Zealand. The breeding colony is
2788-412: The furniture. An axe-head lay near, but the handle had been burnt for fire-wood, and the floor was littered with dirty paper, old tins, sticks, and ferns. A more truly uninviting place would be hard to find. In the 1940s or 1950s, around the time the bridge was built to the mica mine, new huts were built: Coppermine Creek at the cattle paddocks, and Blowfly Hut (8 bunks), either a rebuild or replacement of
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2856-590: The glaciers, and events such as the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival . Haast-Paringa Cattle Track The historic Haast to Paringa Cattle Track is a trail through South Westland , New Zealand, constructed in 1875 to allow farmers in the Landsborough and Cascade Valley area to drive their cattle on an annual two-week journey to the sale yards in Whataroa . It was constructed as an inland loop to bypass
2924-417: The inland camps at Waiho and the Forks . By the end of the 1860s most claims had been worked out, and the district's population had dropped from 4500 to 650. Surveyors had explored the Whataroa area around 1860, and Gerhard Mueller spent three months exploring the inland area in 1866, venturing to Lake Rotokino with his Māori guides and becoming the first European to see the white heron nesting colony on
2992-535: The land access was via the Haast Pass, a route only suitable for horses, rugged, over 80 km long, and requiring boat transport down Lake Wānaka at the end. By 1875 mobs of cattle were already being driven from the Arawhata and Cascade river valleys north over the Paringa Saddle—now a shorter and easier alternative to the journey over Haast Pass. Mail was taken over the cattle track fortnightly by packhorse ,
3060-596: The low saddle between Windbag Creek and the Moeraki Valley. To avoid wetlands it deviates from the original route of the cattle track, which it joins after 15–20 minutes. The track travels through mixed southern beech/podocarp forest, following the Moeraki River , and crosses a swingbridge to reach Blowfly Hut, an hour and a half from the main road. The track from Blowfly Hut to Māori Saddle takes 4.5 hours, travelling southwest uphill through beech/kāmahi forest, following
3128-601: The old Blue River Hut. Blowfly Hut probably took its name from the flies generated by cattle manure; a surviving sign identifies it as "Jack Farrell's Hut". The Iron Hut fell into disrepair in the 1950s, and the Waita Hut, renamed the Drovers Rest, was pulled down in 2006 and replaced by a whitebaiter's crib. Although there were once 200–300 roadmen's huts in New Zealand, only three survive: Blowfly Hut, Jacks Hut in Arthur's Pass , and
3196-510: The opening of the road connecting Haast with Otago over the Haast Pass on 12 November 1960, it was possible to use trucks to take stock south to Cromwell , and the last mob of cattle was driven north to Whataroa in 1961. In the 1930s a new post office was built in what is now the centre of town, at the junction of Main South and Flat roads. Much later it moved to a modern post office building opposite
3264-518: The precipitous cliffs at Knights Point . For 90 years it was the only land access to the settlements of Haast and Jackson Bay , but the last mob of cattle was driven in 1961, and the construction of a highway connecting Paringa to Haast Pass in 1965 made it redundant. After falling into disuse, the cattle track was converted into a 33-kilometre (21 mi), three-day tramping track, opening in 1981. The track and its three huts (Blue River/Blowfly, Māori Saddle, and Coppermine Creek) are maintained by
3332-601: The provincial boundary at the Grey and Arnold rivers. Greymouth proper was in Westland Province, Cobden , on the north bank of the Grey River, was in Nelson Province . After the abolition of the provinces in 1876, a new Westland County was created with roughly the same borders as the province. About this time, the population relative to the rest of the country began to decline, as the easily accessible gold soon ran out and
3400-704: The school closed in 1912. School rooms had been operating in the rear of the Forks Hotel since about 1909, and various other household schools operated: one from 1900 at the Adamson residence (Rotikino School) and from 1916 at the Chinn's residence, until the building of the Whataroa School in 1916. The district schools celebrated their centenary in 1979 and their 125th jubilee in 2004. A small school at Te Taho closed in 1947, with pupils then bussing to Whataroa. Wataroa School, as it
3468-485: The school. A drapery and butcher shop were built in the 1920s, and a pub named The Better 'Ole opened. The first resident doctor arrived in 1928, and at Te Taho, north of Whataroa, the district nurse Mabel Gunn registered her husband's house as a maternity hospital. It served most of South Westland, and after a visit by the Minister of Health Mabel Howard a five-bed hospital was built in Whataroa in 1953, for which Mabel Gunn
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#17330849287303536-600: The settlement turned to raising beef cattle. The first cattle sale had happened in 1912 and in 1915 the South Western Saleyards Company was formed. Cattle farming and twice-yearly stock sales were to play a large role in Whataroa, both as an industry and a social event, with cattle being driven from as far south as the Cascade River in a two-week journey via the Haast-Paringa Cattle Track . After
3604-727: The southern terminus of the track, beside the State Highway 6 bridge over the Waita River , 11 km north of Haast. The cattle track was very subject to slips, and needed constant maintenance by roadmen, who were housed in huts in the forest. After the track was essentially completed in 1883, three huts were built out of corrugated iron: at the Waita River entrance, Blue Hut at the Moeraki (Blue) River, and Iron Hut in between about an hour from Coppermine Creek. These corrugated iron boxes were servicable but not lavish accommodation. W.D. Nolan describes
3672-506: The town of Hokitika. The district is one of three included within the West Coast Region . In the early years of settlement in Westland, gold was a major commodity, bringing prospectors flocking into the area. After the gold ran out, those who remained turned to pastoral farming. (Unlike the more northern parts of the West Coast, Westland has not developed coal mining.) Recently, tourism has become more important, with drawcards such as
3740-709: The western edge of the Mataketake Range. After two hours, there is the Mica Mine Track turnoff, a side track to the Wataketake tops reopened as a poled route in 2021. There are numerous stream crossings and some detours around slips which have covered the original track. Shortly after the Māori Saddle a side track leads to the Mateketake Tops, enabling a return loop via the Mataketake Hut and the Mica Mine Track, creating
3808-484: Was "primarily a cattle and sheep grazing area, there being only a limited amount of dairying," but from the 1960s there was a swing back towards dairying as the main land use, as tankers were able to easily transport milk up the highway to the milk powder factory in Hokitika . Cattle sales continued however, with South Western Saleyards conducting five autumn sales each year of 900–1000 cattle each. New bridges were built across
3876-441: Was 288 in the 2013 census , a decrease of 117 from 2006. Whataroa is located in an agricultural area where dairying is the primary activity. The town contains establishments such as a school, two churches, and a dairy and tearooms. Whataroa is the base for tours of the nearby Waitangiroto Nature Reserve , the location of the only breeding colony of kōtuku or white heron ( Ardea alba modesta ) in New Zealand. The Māori name of
3944-557: Was 47.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,377 people (15.5%) aged under 15 years, 1,206 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 4,437 (49.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,887 (21.2%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 87.2% European ( Pākehā ); 16.5% Māori ; 2.0% Pasifika ; 4.7% Asian ; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 4.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English
4012-579: Was built for women teachers. Today Whataroa School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1–8), with a decile rating of 7 and a roll of 28 as at August 2024. In the 1970s the school expanded with a dental clinic, pool, and a library in a prefabricated building next to the main school. In 1975 a library was added to the main block, with around 1000 books. It became the Whataroa School Community Library in June 1991; previously there had been
4080-446: Was deemed important for the war effort. Charlie Douglas had identified mica deposits in the area in his 1896 geological map, and a sample of sheet mica he collected was displayed at the 1906 Christchurch exhibition. The worldwide mica shortage spurred geologists Harold Wellman and Dick Willett to locate Douglas's mica deposit in 1941. A horse track was cleared up to the pegmatites near Mt Clarke, at an altitude of over 1000 m. In 1944
4148-420: Was established in 1934, the priest being Father James Quinn. The 0.8-hectare (2-acre) site for the present church and presbytery was donated by Mrs Butler, whose husband had gifted the site for the previous church. The Bishop of Christchurch , Matthew Brodie , laid the foundation stone on 22 April 1934, and the church was blessed and dedicated later that year, on 30 September, by Bishop Brodie. St Luke's Church
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#17330849287304216-447: Was finally built at Jackson Bay in 1938, and a road connecting the Bay to Haast. The Coppermine Creek hut was inhabited from 1948 to 1960 by the last roadman, Charlie Driscoll, and his wife. At that point apart from twice-yearly cattle drives the track was mostly used by hunters and trampers; Haast residents preferred to fly to Hokitika. The road connecting Haast with Otago over the Haast Pass
4284-400: Was hung in 1923, and removed to a free-standing tower in 1945, when the vestry was lined and buttresses added to either side of the building. The first school in the area opened on 1 July 1879 with 12 pupils on the main road north of the Waitangi (Waitangitāhuna) River. The two-room Waitangi School was used for community activities, including dances.The population of the area was quite low, and
4352-450: Was matron for a decade. In 1937 the Arnold family set up a garage in the former dairy factory with a single truck, and built a new garage in 1945, setting up a freight and transport company that became one of the largest on the West Coast, before merging with Ross Transport in 1972 to become Trans West. At one point the garage supplied electricity for the township, which had no public supply. In
4420-434: Was named, was originally sited on the corner of Purcell's Road, and in the 1920s with a roll of 44 and one teacher was moved to the present site. A two-roomed structure was built and a second teacher appointed. By the 1950s the teaching staff had risen to four and the school was renamed to "Whataroa School". In 1962 the old two-roomed building was rebuilt with two classrooms, a staff room, and an office, and in 1965 accommodation
4488-400: Was opened on 12 November 1960, and it was then possible to use trucks to take cattle south to Cromwell ; the last mob to be driven over the cattle track was in 1961. Charlie Driscoll had by this time relocated to Big Bay. In 1965 the road north to the glaciers and Hokitika was finished, and there was now a continuous highway loop, bypassing the cattle track, which fell into disrepair. In 2012
4556-541: Was spoken by 97.8%, Māori language by 3.2%, Samoan by 0.5% and other languages by 7.1%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.1, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 30.7% Christian , 0.6% Hindu , 0.2% Islam , 0.4% Māori religious beliefs , 0.3% Buddhist , 0.8% New Age , and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.1%, and 8.9% of people did not answer
4624-521: Was that 3,882 (51.6%) people were employed full-time, 1,074 (14.3%) were part-time, and 138 (1.8%) were unemployed. The Westland District is governed by an elected council , headed by a mayor , who is elected at large. The current mayor is Helen Lash. Councillors are elected to represent multi-member wards. Three councillors are elected for the Northern Ward, three for the Southern Ward, and four for
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