Waimangaroa is a small town located on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
of New Zealand.
The township lies on the south-west bank of the
Waimangaroa River, at the western foot of the Denniston Plateau. It is to the north east of
Westport and 13 km south-east of
Granity
Granity is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, north-east of Westport on State Highway 67. Karamea is further north.
Squeezed between the often-tempestuous Tasman Sea to the west and steep forested cloud-shrouded moun ...
. 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 Stockton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Stockton, New South Wales
* Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
New Zealand
*Stockton, New Zealand
United Kingdom
*Stockton, Cheshire
*Stockton, Norfolk
*Stockton, Chirbu ...
mine, a large open cast
coal mine, is operated in the vicinity by
Solid Energy.
The
Ngakawau Branch
The Seddonville Branch, later truncated as the Ngākawau Branch, is a branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Construction began in 1874 and it reached its terminus at the Mokihinui Mine just beyond Seddonvi ...
, a
branch line railway, runs through the town. It opened to Waimangaroa on 5 August 1876; it formerly ran to
Seddonville but now terminates in
Ngakawau. 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 (born 1982), writer
References
{{Buller District
Buller District
Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand