The West Coast is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. It comprises the territorial authorities of Buller District, Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. 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.
Postcodes in New Zealand consist of four digits, the first two of which specify the area, the third the type of delivery, and the last the specific lobby, RD number, or suburb. The present postcode system was introduced in New Zealand in June 2006, which, unlike the previous system, applies to all items of mail with effect from June 2008. In October 2008, New Zealand Post launched a 'remember your postcode' campaign, offering a $10,000 prize for remembering a postcode.
Radio broadcasting began in New Zealand in 1922, and is now dominated by almost thirty radio networks and station groups. The Government has dominated broadcasting since 1925, but through privatisation and deregulation has allowed commercial talk and music stations to reach large audiences. New Zealand also has several radio stations serving Māori tribes, Pasifika communities, ethnic minorities, evangelical Christians and special interests.
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk-radio network operated by NZME Radio. It is available in almost every radio market area in New Zealand, and has news reporters based in many of them. In addition to talkback, the network also broadcasts news, interviews, music, and sports. The network's hosts include Kate Hawkesby, Mike Hosking, Kerre Woodham, Simon Barnett, James Daniels, Heather du Plessis-Allan, Marcus Lush, Andrew Dickens, Jack Tame and Francesca Rudkin. Wellington and Christchurch have a local morning show.
RNZ National, formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operated by Radio New Zealand. It specialises in programmes dedicated to news, the arts, music, and New Zealand culture generally, and includes some material in the Māori language. Historically the programme was broadcast on the (AM) "YA" stations 1YA, 2YA, 3YA and 4YA in the main centres.
Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is 3,250 as of June 2024.
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km (27 mi) south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km (21 mi) to the north, Maruia is 63 km (39 mi) to the east, and the Lewis Pass is 66 km (41 mi) to the south-east.
The NZR RM class Midland railcar was the first successful railcar, and first diesel-powered vehicle, to enter revenue service in New Zealand. Two were built, RM 20 and RM 21, and they ran for five years from 1936 to 1941 before being replaced by larger Vulcan railcars. They operated primarily on the Midland Line and the Greymouth-Hokitika portion of the Ross Branch
Scenicland FM was a New Zealand radio station broadcasting on the West Coast of the South Island.
The Stillwater Ngākawau Line (SNL), formerly the Stillwater–Westport Line (SWL) and the Ngakawau Branch, is a secondary main line, part of New Zealand's national rail network. It runs between Stillwater and Ngakawau via Westport on the West Coast of the South Island. It was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand's history, with its first section, at the south end, opened in 1889, and the beginnings of the Ngākawau Branch, at its Westport end, in 1875. The full line was completed in 1942. The only slower railway projects were Palmerston North to Gisborne, 1872 to 1942, and the Main North Line to Picton, 1872 to 1945.
The Ross Branch, officially known as the Hokitika Line since 2011, and previously as the Hokitika Industrial Line, is a branch line railway that forms part of New Zealand's national rail network. It is located in the Westland District of the South Island's West Coast region and opened to Hokitika in 1893. A further extension to Ross operated from 1909 until 1980.
The Wolf was a radio network in New Zealand based from Lake Tekapo in South Canterbury. The station operated between 2001 and 2003 and was independently owned and operated. The Wolf broadcast to rural areas, where in some cases the larger network stations did not broadcast or operate local stations. The Wolf started at a time when many New Zealand stations had been taken over by New Zealand's two largest radio companies The Radio Network and MediaWorks NZ or replaced with a network product based from one of the main centres, particularly Auckland.
Paul Allan Maunder is a New Zealand film director, playwright and cultural activist. He is best known for his 1979 film of the novel Sons for the Return Home by Albert Wendt, his 1983 play Hemi about the life of James K. Baxter, and his work in community-based theatre.
The Westport News is an independently-owned evening newspaper published in Westport, New Zealand. It is published on weekdays, and is one of New Zealand's smallest independent newspapers. The Westport News is distributed from Karamea in the north to Punakaiki in the south and as far inland as Reefton.
Development West Coast (DWC) is a charitable trust that operates in the West Coast region of New Zealand. DWC is the economic development agency and regional tourism organisation for the region.
The Reefton Distilling Co. is a distillery founded in 2017 in Reefton, in the West Coast region of New Zealand. It specialises in gin, including one named "Little Biddy" after famed West Coast gold miner Bridget Goodwin.
Greymouth Central is the central business district of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand, which also contains residential housing.
Alison Hale is a New Zealand artist, based in Reefton, known for her depictions of horses and the natural environment.
Gold is a New Zealand radio station playing classic hits and classic rock of the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s targeting an audience of listeners above 45 years of age.
The Pounamu Pathway is a $34.5 million New Zealand tourism venture, launched in 2020 by the Māori hapū or subtribe Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae, intended to create four linked visitor experience centres on the West Coast of the South Island. The visitor centres will tell stories of the West Coast's early Māori history and the importance of pounamu or greenstone.
