Inangahua County

Inangahua County
	Inangahua County
	County of New Zealand
Capital	Reefton
History
Today part of	Buller District

Last updated February 18, 2019

‹ The template Infobox former subdivision is being considered for merging. ›

Inangahua County was one of the counties of New Zealand on the South Island.

A system of counties of New Zealand was instituted after the country dissolved its provinces in 1876, and these counties were similar to other countries' systems, lasting with little change until 1989, when they were reorganised into district and city councils within a system of larger regions.

The South Island, also officially named Te Waipounamu, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area; the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island. It has a temperate climate.

During the period 1853 to 1876, the area that would become Inangahua County was administered as part of Nelson Province. With the Abolition of Provinces Act 1876, Inangahua County was created, taking over administration of its area in January 1877. The county council's administrative headquarters was located in Reefton.

Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura, Marlborough, and Tasman districts, along with Nelson City, Grey District north of the Grey River, and the Hurunui District north of the Hurunui River. It was reduced in size by the creation of Marlborough Province in November 1859, then abolished in 1876, along with all the provinces of New Zealand.

Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. State Highway 7 passes through the southern part of the town, and State Highway 69 runs north to connect to State Highway 6. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63 km to the east, and the Lewis Pass is 66 km to the south-east.

Inangahua County existed until the 1989 local government reforms, when the Buller District was formed through the amalgamation of the Inangahua County, Buller County and Westport Borough administrative areas.^[1]

The 1989 local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels.

Buller District is one of 53 districts of New Zealand, and is within the West Coast Region. It covers Westport, Karamea, Reefton and Inangahua Junction.

Buller County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the South Island.

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The 1968 Inangahua earthquake struck 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Murchison, New Zealand, near the small town of Inangahua Junction at 5:24 am NZDT on 24 May 1968. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.1, a local magnitude of 6.7, a surface wave magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X. It occurred at a depth of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), being extremely shallow for an earthquake of its size. It resulted in the deaths of three people, with a further 14 people injured, making it the fifth deadliest earthquake in New Zealand's recorded history. Numerous aftershocks followed the quake, including 15 that were magnitude 5 or greater and occurred within a month.

References

↑ "Buller Heritage". Buller District Libraries. Retrieved 25 October 2013.

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[1] "Buller Heritage". Buller District Libraries. Retrieved 25 October 2013.