Grey County was one of the

counties of New Zealand 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 (except mergers and other localised boundary adjustmen ...

in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , 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 ...

. During the period 1853 to 1873, the area that would become Grey County was administered as parts of

Nelson Province 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 Ci ...

and

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Assoc ...

. From 1873 to 1876, the portions that had been administered by Canterbury Province were transferred to the newly created

Westland Province The Westland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital was Hokitika. Area and history The area was part of Canterbury Province when the provinces were created in 1853. By 1 ...

. The overall area covered rural land and urban settlements, though the administrative authority for the urban area of

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

was transferred from Canterbury Province to the

Greymouth Borough The Greymouth Borough was the borough council covering the urban part of Greymouth, New Zealand between and , when it became part of Grey District. History The Municipal Corporations Act, 1867 was passed by the New Zealand Parliament, and this al ...

Council in 1868. The reason that the area that would become Grey County went across a provincial boundary was that the boundary had been set as a straight line from the head of the Hurunui River to

Lake Brunner Lake Brunner ( mi, Kōtuku Moana or ) is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located southeast of Greymouth. The main settlement, Moana, New Zealand, Moana, is on its northern shore. It is an important settlement and ways ...

at a time when the area was virtually uninhabited, but the

West Coast Gold Rush The West Coast Gold Rush, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867. Description The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found near the Taramakau River in ...

then straddled that boundary. In 1866, there was a failed proposal for portions of Canterbury Province, including the urban area of Greymouth and the rural area south to the

Taramakau River The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of Gr ...

, be

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

and solely administered by Nelson Province. With the Abolition of Provinces Act 1876, Grey County was created, taking over administration of its area in January 1877. The southern boundary of Grey County was the Taramakau River, and the maintenance of the bridge over the river was shared with

Westland County Westland County, also known as County of Westland, was a local government area on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It existed from 1868 to 1873, and then from 1876 until 1989. In its first incarnation, it constituted the government f ...

. Grey County extended for along the coast, and went inland as far as the great divide in the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

. The head of the local government administration was an elected

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, with the county council's administrative headquarters located in Greymouth Borough. Grey County existed until the

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand 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. Backg ...

, when the

Grey District Grey District is a district in the West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, Blackball, Cobden, and settlements along the Grey River. It has a land area of . The seat of the Grey District Council, the local government au ...

was formed through the amalgamation of the administrative areas of Greymouth Borough and Grey County.

References

{{coord, 42, 28, S, 171, 12, E, region:NZ, display=title Counties of New Zealand Politics of the West Coast, New Zealand

See also

References