West Coast Region in the context of "Buller District"

New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, near the centre of the water hemisphere. It consists of a large number of islands, estimated around 700, mainly remnants of a larger landmass now beneath the sea. The land masses by size are the South Island (Te Waipounamu) and the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui), separated by the Cook Strait. The third-largest is Stewart Island (Rakiura), located 30 kilometres (19 miles) off the tip of the South Island across Foveaux Strait. Other islands are significantly smaller in area. The three largest islands stretch 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) across latitudes 35° to 47° south. New Zealand is the sixth-largest island country in the world, with a land size of 268,680 km (103,740 sq mi).

New Zealand's landscapes range from the fiord-like sounds of the southwest to the sandy beaches of the subtropical Far North. The South Island is dominated by the Southern Alps while a volcanic plateau covers much of the central North Island. Temperatures commonly fall below 0 °C (32 °F) and rise above 30 °C (86 °F) then conditions vary from wet and cold on the South Island's west coast to dry and continental a short distance away across the mountains and to the tundra like climate in the Deep South of Southland.

Southland (Māori: Murihiku, lit. 'the last joint of the tail') is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast Region in the extreme northwest. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans 3,613 km of coastline. As of June 2023, Southland has a population of 103,900, making it the eleventh-most-populous New Zealand region, and the second-most sparsely populated. Approximately half of the region's population lives in Invercargill, Southland's only city.

The earliest inhabitants of Southland were Māori of the Waitaha iwi, followed later by Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu. Early European arrivals were sealers and whalers, and by the 1830s, Kāi Tahu had built a thriving industry supplying whaling vessels, looked after whalers and settlers in need, and had begun to integrate with the settlers. By the second half of the 19th century these industries had declined, and immigrants, predominantly Scottish settlers, had moved further inland. The region maintains a strong cultural identity, including its own distinct dialect of English and strong influences from its Māori and Scottish heritage.

Runanga is a small town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located eight kilometres to the northeast of Greymouth, to the north of the Grey River. Barrytown is 21 kilometres (13 mi) further north. State Highway 6 and the Rapahoe Branch railway run through the town. Runanga was formerly a railway junction, with the steep Rewanui Branch diverging from the Rapahoe line until closure in 1985.

The town's origins can be traced back to European colonisation in the late 19th century, when large numbers of settlers came to work the local coal fields. The town's name is Māori for "meeting place". Coal mining is still the main employer of the town.

Blackball is a small town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, approximately 29 km from Greymouth. Elevation is approximately 100 metres.

Blackball was a centre of New Zealand radicalism and workers' militancy. It is credited as the birthplace of (the predecessors of) the New Zealand Labour Party, which followed the 1908 miners 'cribtime' strike, at ten weeks the longest in New Zealand history. In the 1913 Great Strike, Blackball miners were the last to return to work, in 1914. During the strike they had picketed miners in nearby Brunner and had burnt down the secretary of the 'arbitration' (strikebreaker) union's home. In 1925 the headquarters of the Communist Party of New Zealand moved to Blackball from Wellington. The pit closed in 1964.

Cobden is a suburb to the north of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand. The Grey River separates Cobden from the rest of Greymouth. To the north is the Rapahoe Range, also called the Twelve Apostles Range. State Highway 6 skirts the south-eastern edge of Cobden.

During the period, 1853 to 1876, Cobden was administrated as part of the Nelson Province.

The Punakaiki River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows predominantly northwest from its sources in the Paparoa Range, reaching the Tasman Sea two kilometres south of the town of Punakaiki. Most of the river's length is within Paparoa National Park.

The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, 80 kilometres (50 mi) due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for 75 kilometres (47 mi) into the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Greymouth.

The Taramakau River forms the administrative boundary between the Westland District to the south and the Grey District to the north.

Ngāti Wairangi was a Māori iwi (tribe). Its rohe (tribal area) covers the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

It was the last Waitaha tribe to be integrated into Ngāi Tahu, the principal tribe of the South Island today. The West Coast was commonly known as Te Tai Poutini, named for a Taniwha who protected the people and pounamu of the region. They held control over Arahura, a settlement known for its deposits of pounamu (greenstone), which led to conflict as Ngāi Tahu conquered the South Island in the 1600s and 1700s.