Te Kuha is a small village located to the east of
Westport in the
Buller District of 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 ...
region of New Zealand's
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 ...
. It is located at the western end of the Lower
Buller Gorge, with the
Buller River
The Buller River ( mi, Kawatiri) is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. One of the country's longest rivers, it flows for from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport. Within the Bulle ...
flowing through the village.
It was the site of a punt that connected Westport to the south bank before the "black bridge" was constructed at Westport itself. runs on the southern bank of the river, and the
Stillwater - Westport Line railway runs on the northern bank. This railway was opened to Te Kuha from Westport in 1912, but a connection through the Buller Gorge to connect with the railway in
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 ...
was not completed until 1942. Passenger services no longer pass through Te Kuha and the railway mainly transports
coal to the east coast port of
Lyttelton.
There is not much evidence that the village at Te Kuha even existed now in 2023. The road ends as the railway enters the Buller Gorge, and the surrounding flats are used for farming. There are no building remains, and further access on the railway side of the Buller river is discouraged by the railway activity. Although this point was the punt crossing in the early days for the road on the south bank at Windy Point, the building of the black bridge across the Buller spelt the death knell of Te Kuha. However, the railway was opened as far as Cascade Creek where
coal bins stored the coal flumed down from the Cascade Mine for loading into trains for shipment at Westport. During World War II the Government completed the Buller Gorge Railway in 1942 and finally connected the isolated "Westport section" to the rest of the South Island Railway system.
Te Kuha was classified as a "limited employment locality" in 2004, with the government cancelling benefits for unemployed individuals who moved to the area.
External links
Limited Employment Localities list that includes Te Kuha
Buller District
Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand
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