Brunner, originally called Brunnerton, is a town in the northwest of New Zealand's
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. It is east of
Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...
, on the south bank of the
Grey River. It is on the
Midland Line railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
near its junction with the
Stillwater–Westport Line (SWL) in neighbouring
Stillwater. Passenger trains ceased running along the SWL to
Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to ...
and
Westport in 1967, but the
TranzAlpine
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by the Great Journeys New Zealand division of KiwiRail in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line, New Zealand, Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train jour ...
runs the length of the Midland Line from
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
to Greymouth and it continues to stop in Brunner.
Historically connected with
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
, the town was the site of a major disaster in 1896, when an explosion killed 65 miners in the
Brunner Mine
The Brunner Mine was a coal mine on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand.
The Brunner Mine was one of several mines situated on the banks of the Grey River, at an area known as "Coal Gorge" between the townships of Stillwater and ...
. Other important industries in the town have included
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
.
The population was 1,144 in the 1956 census but is very small now.
The town, formerly called Brunnerton, was named after the explorer
Thomas Brunner, who discovered coal there.
Further reading
*
References
External links
Photo of Brunner, c1900Brunner
''Encyclopedia of New Zealand''.
{{Grey District, state=expanded
Grey District
Populated places in the West Coast Region