Stillwater, West Coast
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Stillwater is a town in the
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 ...
of New Zealand 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 banks of the Grey River, at the confluence with the
Arnold River Arnold River may refer to: *Arnold River (Northern Territory), a tributary of the Hodgson River in Australia *Arnold River (New Zealand), a tributary of the Grey River *Arnold River (Saskatchewan), a tributary of the Rapid River (Cree River tributar ...
, in the Grey District of the West Coast, next to Brunner.


History

The junction of the Arnold and Grey rivers, known as Kotukuwhakaoho, was an important site of battles for
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
, as it was the location where Ngāti Wairangi was defeated in the late 18th century, and later
Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, who arrived on the '' Kurahaupō'' waka. In the 1600s the iwi settled northwestern South Island, becoming a major power in the region until the 1800s. In 1642, members of Ngāti T ...
in the 1810s. The miners who died in the Brunner Mine Disaster on 26 March 1896 were buried in the cemetery at Stillwater. Thirty three men were buried in a mass grave. Hundreds of people came by train from towns on the West Coast to attend the funerals. In 1906 the town's industry was centred on saw milling. It had a hotel, store, post and telegraph office and a school which opened in 1888. In 2015 the hotel was still in operation but has since closed.


Sawmilling

In November 2009 the saw mill at Stillwater was completely destroyed in a fire. The 2009 ''West Coast Industry Review'' by Crown Forestry recommended reducing 'off-Coast' log sales and local processing of the West Coast's wood harvest; it identified Stillwater as the best location for a saw mill because of the ease and cost of cartage. The mill's owners Southern Pine Products rebuilt the mill and took the opportunity to upgrade the plant with the latest technology. Production from the mill recommenced in late 2009. The mill installed New Zealand's first continuous wood drying kiln in 2010 in addition to its existing batch kiln. It was built by the New Zealand company Windsor Engineering. The continuous drying kiln takes the timber into the kiln on an automated track where it is dried to the right moisture content using heating and heat recovery and forced cooling and conditioning phases. In 2015 the mill employed 42 full-time staff.


Transport

State Highway 7 passes through Stillwater, and it is a
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 ...
junction where the Stillwater - Westport Line meets the Midland Line. The Stillwater Junction Railway Station opened on 14 November 1887. The railway bridge (Bridge 103) was designed by Charles Napier Bell, one of New Zealand's notable colonial civil engineers, and built by the New Zealand Midland Railway Company. It spans Stillwater Creek, west of the station. In 2008–2009 the bridge was rebuilt retaining its original design and heritage features. 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 ...
passenger
express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes few or no stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, providing faster service than local trains that stop at many or all of the stations along their ...
which 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 passes through Stillwater, but does not stop. Previous passenger services did stop, e.g. a service to Westport run by RM class Vulcan
railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...
s up to 1967. The station
refreshment room A railway refreshment room is a catering facility attached to a railway station that was formerly common in United Kingdom, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. They were opened in the ...
closed at the same time.


Notable people

*
Ruth Croft Ruth Charlotte Croft (born 15 January 1989) is a New Zealand ultramarathon and trail runner. Croft was the silver medalist at the 2019 Trail World Championships. Her victories at major international races include the Tarawera Ultramarathon, W ...
, ultrarunner, grew up in Stillwater.


See also

Timeline of Māori battles A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing ti ...


References


External links

* {{Grey_river Grey District Populated places in the West Coast Region