Cronadun is a small village located in the West Coast region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's South Island. It is situated on the east bank of the Inangahua River, near its junction with Boatmans Creek. SH 69 and the Stillwater–Westport Line

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

pass through the village.

Name

Sometimes recorded as ''Cronaden'' and ''Cronadon'', the locality was named by three brothers – Timothy, John, and Dominic Gallagher – after their home in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

. ''Crough na dun'' (Irish:''Cró na Doinne'') means "hill of the fort", and Anglicised is Cronadun.

History

In 1901 Cronadun had a population of 39, with a hotel, post office, store, and telephone bureau.

Railway

For a few years, Cronadun was the terminus of the Stillwater–Westport Line as construction progressed from

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63&nb ...

alongside the Inangahua River towards the

Buller Gorge The Buller Gorge is a gorge located in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller River flows through the deep canyon between Murchison and Westport. Land Information New Zealand lists two sections for the gorge, Upper Buller ...

. Cronadun became the terminus in 1908, and the next section to

Inangahua Junction Inangahua is a small settlement in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It consists of three settled areas: Inangahua Junction at the confluence of the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, north of Reefton and southeast of Westport; Inagahua L ...

opened in 1914.

References

Buller District Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-geo-stub