Moana is a small town in the
West Coast Region
The West Coast ( mi, Te Tai Poutini, lit=The Coast of Poutini, the Taniwha) is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. ...
of 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 ...
of New Zealand. It is situated on the northern shore of
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 ...
, and is beside the outflow of the lake into the
Arnold River Arnold River may refer to:
* Arnold River (Northern Territory), a tributary of the Hodgson River in Australia
* Arnold River (New Zealand), a tributary of the Grey River
*Arnold River (Saskatchewan) Arnold River may refer to:
*Arnold River (Northern ...
. There is a pedestrian
suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
crossing the Arnold from the town to access the lake shore across the river, with some short easy bush walks on each side.
The town has a permanent population of less than 100, but is a popular location for summer tourism. There are around 300 holiday homes and a camping ground.
The town's main tourist attractions are the panoramic views and water sport opportunities arising from its position on the shores of Lake Brunner. The
Midland 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 ...
passes through Moana; the
TranzAlpine
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes ...
tourist passenger train passes through once in each direction daily, and freight trains of coal operate more frequently.
In May 2013, Moana became one of the first places in New Zealand to get 4G wireless broadband.
Demographics
The population of Moana was 57 in the 2018 census, a decrease of 9 from 2013. There were 33 males and 27 females. 89.5% of people identified as European/Pākehā, 10.5% as Māori and 5.3% as Pacific peoples. No one was under 15 years old, 10.5% were 15–29, 57.9% were 30–64, and 31.6% were 65 or older.
The statistical area of Lake Brunner, which at 1,301 square kilometres is much larger than Moana, had a population of 1,065 at the
2018 New Zealand census
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 147 people (16.0%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 312 people (41.4%) since the
2006 census
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 186 households. There were 531 males and 534 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 20.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 444 people (41.7%) aged under 15 years, 213 (20.0%) aged 15 to 29, 330 (31.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 75 (7.0%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 95.8% European/Pākehā, 4.5% Māori, 0.8% Pacific peoples, 1.7% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 7.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 26.8% had no religion, 68.2% were Christian and 0.3% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 78 (12.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 90 (14.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 357 (57.5%) people were employed full-time, 87 (14.0%) were part-time, and 6 (1.0%) were unemployed.
Education
Lake Brunner School
Moana is a small town in the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the northern shore of Lake Brunner, and is beside the outflow of the lake into the Arnold River. There is a pedestrian suspension bridge cros ...
is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of students as of Rotomanu School closed and merged into this school in 2005.
Railway station
![Moana Station 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Moana_Station_01.jpg)
In 1886, the
New Zealand Midland Railway Company
The New Zealand Midland Railway Company partially constructed the Midland line between Christchurch and Greymouth and the Nelson railway in the South Island. It was one of the few private railway companies in New Zealand, and it did not match th ...
entered a contract with the Government for the construction of of railway between Christchurch and Nelson via
Brunnerton
Brunner, originally called Brunnerton, is a town in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It is east of Greymouth, on the south bank of the Grey River. It is on the Midland Line railway near its junction with the Stillwater–Westport ...
(later Brunner) over a ten year period. The line was to be built and operated by private enterprise. In November 1892, the company opened the railway from Brunnerton, but at that stage Moana was only a
flag station
In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...
. By March 1894, the railway had reached
Jacksons. However, in 1895 the company collapsed. In May 1895 the Government seized the company's assets on the grounds that the contract had expired with the works incomplete. The Government eventually completed the works under the Railways Construction and Land Act 1881.
The opening of the railway to Moana enabled settlement by Pākeha and establishment of timber mills in the local area. By June 1895 a siding was being operated at Moana station by the Lake Brunner Sawmill Company. The date of construction of the original Moana railway station building is not known, but by 1895 the station had a long platform and siding.
![Moana railway shed 27](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Moana_railway_shed_27.jpg)
On 16 April 1926, the station building was destroyed in a fire. A replacement building was constructed in the same year. The replacement was to the standard type A design, from the family of standard railway station designs prepared by Railways architect
George Troup
George McIntosh Troup (September 8, 1780 – April 26, 1856) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. He served in the Georgia General Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate before becoming the 32nd Governor ...
.
The Moana Railway Station is listed as a Category 1 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand. It is the only type A station building still remaining that is complete with its associated sidings and goods sheds.
Heritage New Zealand has also given a Category 1 listing to the Moana Railway Station Historic Area comprising the station building, a footbridge, the goods shed and the former station master’s house (now used as a cafe).
See also
*
Bell Hill mill tramway
Bell Hill mill tramway was a bush tramway at Bell Hill in the Moana Region of the Grey District on the West Coast of New Zealand. The tramway with a track gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) ...
References
External links
Grey District Council pageLocal websiteMoana Railway Stationat Rail Heritage Trust
{{Authority control
Grey District
Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand
Populated lakeshore places in New Zealand