West Coast region (New Zealand)

Te Taihau ā uru

Last modified: 2013-06-15 by ian macdonald
Keywords: westland | west coast | grey | rugby | pick | shovel |
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• Presentation of West Coast
• Grey District
• Rugby provinces:
  • Westland
  • Buller

See also:

• New Zealand
• Subdivisions and dependencies of New Zealand
• Sport regions of New Zealand
• Clickable map of New Zealand (traditional provinces)
• Clickable map of New Zealand (sport regions)

Presentation of West Coast

The West Coast region is divided into three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland, which are respectively administered from Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika. The area, one of New Zealand's traditional provinces (originally called Westland Province), is very sparsely populated, with the main centre of population being at Greymouth. The region has an impressive history, and was one of the main industrial centres of the 19th century, with gold mining, coal mining and forestry as major industries. It is a very scenic region, but also isolated, and it is only with the increase in tourism in the last few years that the area's economy has revived.
James Dignan, 6 April 2005

Rugby uniform colours

West Coast rugby uniform colours are red and white.
James Dignan, 21 March 1999

Grey District

image by Jens Pattke, 7 April 2005

On a Television news item tonight, the mayor of Grey District was seen sitting in front of the flag of Grey District.

The flag was three vertical stripes of green, white and red (possibly the white stripe slightly wider than the other two) and looked to be in a ratio of about 2:3 or 3:5. In the centre of the white stripe is a coat of arms, the central item of which was a red shield edged in gold, on which were crossed mining implements (a pick and shovel, I think).
James Dignan, 6 April 2005

The Grey District Council coat of arms can be found on the International Civic Heraldry site.
Jan Mertens, 6 April 2005