Waimangaroa is a small town located on the
West Coast of New Zealand.
The township lies on the south-west bank of the
Waimangaroa River
The Waimangaroa River is located on the West Coast of New Zealand.
The river passes through tussock, scrub and forested areas before draining into the Karamea Bight in the Tasman Sea. It passes through the town of Waimangaroa and is crossed ...
, at the western foot of the Denniston Plateau. It is to the north east of
Westport and 13 km south-east of
Granity. The abandoned coaltown of
Denniston is about to the south-east. The Bridle Track, a scenic bush track, leads south-east along the Denniston Incline into the foothills of the Mt William Range, to Denniston. The
Stockton mine, a large open cast
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
, is operated in the vicinity by
Solid Energy
Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.
The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state ow ...
.
The
Ngakawau Branch, a
branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
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 ...
, runs through the town. It opened to Waimangaroa on 5 August 1876; it formerly ran to
Seddonville
Seddonville is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is most famous for the historical role it played in New Zealand's coal mining industry.
Geography
Seddonville is in the isolated north of the Wes ...
but now terminates in
Ngakawau
Hector and Ngakawau are two lightly populated settlements located at the mouth of the Ngakawau River in the West Coast region of New Zealand. Both settlements are situated on State Highway 67 between Westport and Karamea. Despite a low populat ...
. From 1877 until 1967, Waimangaroa was also the junction for the
Conns Creek Branch, which ran east alongside the Waimangaroa River to the foot of the Denniston Incline. Passenger services ceased on the Conns Creek Branch in 1931 and Ngakawau Branch on 14 October 1946. Since this time, the railway through Waimangaroa has almost solely conveyed coal.
The beaches to the west have dangerous currents and are not safe for swimming.
Demographics
Waimangaroa is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider
Buller Coalfields statistical area, which covers .
The population of Waimangaroa was 231 in the 2018 census, a decrease of 18 from 2013, and an increase of 6 from 2006. There were 123 males and 105 females. 204 people (88.3%) identified as European/Pākehā, 27 (11.7%) as Māori, 3 (1.3%) as Pacific peoples, and 3 (1.3%) as Asian. 48 people (20.8%) were under 15 years old, 18 (7.8%) were 15–29, 105 (45.5%) were 30–64, and 57 (24.7%) were over 65.
Education
Waimangaroa School was a coeducational full primary school (years 1-8). The school celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2004. It closed permanently in 2012
and is now in private ownership. Waimangaroa children now attend schools in Westport.
Notable people
*
Becky Manawatu
Becky Manawatu (born 1982) is a New Zealand writer of Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Waitaha, and Pākehā background. In 2020, she won two Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her first novel, ''Auē'' and Best Crime Novel at the 2020 Ngaio Mars ...
(born 1982), writer
References
{{Buller District
Buller District
Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand