Coalgate is a small town in the

Selwyn District Selwyn District is a predominantly rural district in central Canterbury, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after the Selwyn River / Waikirikiri, which is in turn named after Bishop George Selwyn, the first Anglican b ...

of the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

region 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 located roughly an hour west of

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 ...

on State Highway 77. The town's name stems from it being the "gateway" to the

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

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 ...

fields around Whitecliffs, the

Rakaia Gorge The Rakaia Gorge is located on the Rakaia River in inland Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. Like its neighbour, the Waimakariri River, the Rakaia runs through wide shingle beds for much of its length, but is forced through a narrow c ...

, and The Acheron River. Coal mining declined in the 20th century and has now ceased, but since the 1950s, commercial processing of

nontronite Nontronite is the iron(III) rich member of the smectite group of clay minerals. Nontronites typically have a chemical composition consisting of more than ~30% Fe2 O3 and less than ~12% Al2O3 (ignited basis). Nontronite has very few economic dep ...

has taken place in Coalgate.

Demographics

Coalgate is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the Glentunnel statistical area. Before the 2023 census, the settlement had a smaller boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Coalgate had a population of 339 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 24 people (7.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 111 people (48.7%) since the 2006 census. There were 138 households, comprising 165 males and 174 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 75 people (22.1%) aged under 15 years, 51 (15.0%) aged 15 to 29, 165 (48.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 51 (15.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 98.2% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 8.0%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, and 0.9% Pasifika. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 65.5% had no religion, 23.9% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.9% had

Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 0.9% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 0.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 45 (17.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 69 (26.1%) people had no formal qualifications. 51 people (19.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 159 (60.2%) people were employed full-time, 39 (14.8%) were part-time, and 6 (2.3%) were unemployed.

Services

Notable features are the Coalgate Tavern and the Coalgate Cabins, both situated on the main road to Hororata. Coalgate also has a walkway through the old Coalgate Domain. In addition to these there is also a Coalgate bowling green. A garage is also located in Coalgate. The town has access to the

Selwyn River The Selwyn River (, officially gazetted as Selwyn River / Waikirikiri) flows through the Selwyn District of Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand. Description The river has its source in the Southern Alps and flows east for before e ...

and is situated to the east of Glentunnel.

Transport

On 3 November 1875, the

Whitecliffs Branch The Whitecliffs Branch was an long branch line railway that formed part of New Zealand's Rail transport in New Zealand, national rail network in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of the South Island. It was more industrial than the ...

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 ...

was opened, with a station in Coalgate. It was here that a private line diverged from the state-operated

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

network. On 31 March 1962, the railway closed, but some of the line's old formation and the Coalgate station platform can still be found.David Leitch and Brian Scott, ''Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways'', revised edition (Wellington: Grantham House, 1998

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

, 71-2. Coalgate is serviced by State Highway 77/ Inland Scenic Route 72.

References

{{Selwyn Selwyn District Populated places in the Canterbury Region