Economy

Economic activity is based around fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 and dairy farming

Dairy farming

Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...

. Historically, gold mining

Gold mining

Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...

 was a major industry, and coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 was much more extensive than today (especially in terms of employment numbers). However, the region still is home to New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation in Stockton

Stockton, New Zealand

Stockton is a former settlement in the northwestern South Island of New Zealand in the West Coast region. It is located in the Papahaua Ranges about 30 kilometres linear distance north east from Westport....

. Some native forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 logging

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 occurred in the area until cessation around 1999. The Holcim

Holcim

Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...

 company has a large cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 plant in the southwest near the city.

Tourism has some famous destinations in this area, such as the Oparara Basin Arches

Oparara Basin Arches

The Oparara Basin Arches are a number of natural limestone tunnels formed by the Oparara River in New Zealand. The two most famous ones are the 'Oparara Arch', large enough for a multi-storey house, and the 'Moria Gate Arch', smaller in height, but also an impressive, beautiful place .The arches...

, and Cape Foulwind

Cape Foulwind

Cape Foulwind is a prominent headland on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, overlooking the Tasman Sea. It is located ten kilometres west of the town of Westport...

 with its large fur seal

Fur seal

Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...

 colony. Rafting

Rafting

Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...

 and Jet Boating in the Buller Gorge

Buller Gorge

The Buller Gorge is a gorge located in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller River flows through the deep canyon between Murchison and Westport. Land Information New Zealand lists two sections for the gorge, Upper Buller Gorge and Lower Buller Gorge. State Highway 6 runs...

 are also popular. Many South Island visitors do however pass by this quieter area, opting instead to go to Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is a national park located at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand. The park was founded in 1942, largely through the efforts of ornithologist and author Perrine Moncrieff to have land reserved for the purpose. With a coverage of only 225.3 square kilometres,...

, to Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs

Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 65 kilometres southwest of Kaikoura , in the Hurunui District. The town lies on a minor road 9 kilometres north of State Highway 7, the northern route between Christchurch and the West Coast...

 or, if they do visit the West Coast, to Greymouth

Greymouth

Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...

 and the Fox-

Fox Glacier

The Fox Glacier is a long glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island...

 and Franz Josef

Franz Josef Glacier

The Franz Josef is a long glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island...

 glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...

s further south. Westport is also a base for trips to Karamea

Karamea

Karamea is a town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.It is the northernmost settlement of any real size on the West Coast, and is located 96 kilometres north-east by road from Westport. There is no other connecting road to the town - the road north ends at the Kohaihai River some...

, with the only road access to the area running north from near Westport.

The 'Coaltown Museum' in Westport illustrates the history of the Buller District

Buller District

200px|rightBuller District, administered by the Buller District Council is an administrative region in the West Coast Region of New Zealand. It covers Westport, Karamea, Reefton and Inangahua Junction. Its land area is 7,953.12 km²...

.

Facilities

The town used to have one cinema / theatre, the St James Theatre, able to seat 424 patrons for film screenings, theatre productions or other activities. After being found structurally unsound, the theatre had to be demolished. A new theatre has since opened. The NBS theatre has two movie theatres, one which seats 55 people and a boutique theatre that seats approximately 20 people. This theatre also has a large facility with seating for approximately 370 people and a stage for performing.

The Holcim company manages the day-to-day operations of Westport's port, using it to ship their cement product to market, for example to the Port of Onehunga in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

.

Westport Airport is a small airport, served twice daily on weekdays and daily on the weekend by Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...

 from Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 and from 6 July 2009 on Monday and Friday to Christchurch.

The township also has an excellent links-style 18 hole par 72 golf course (41°44.36′S 171°34.15′E). The course measures around 5600 meters with medium to narrow fairways, small 'target' greens and provides a good challenge to intermediate golfers.It provides a reasonable chance of shooting under 80. http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/golf-course-regions/buller_westland.html

The Solid Energy Centre, a sports complex, was built despite disagreement from some of the town's residents. After a submissions process, the council found that more people agreed with the initiative than did not and partially because of this, the project proceeded. It was opened on the 18th of April 2009.

Education

Buller High School

Buller High School

Buller High School is a secondary school in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The school has a roll of over 300 students, all Year 9 and above. As well as students from Westport, the school has a large number of students from nearby towns that do not have high schools of their own, such as...

 is a secondary (years 9-15) school with a roll of 345. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1997 but also claims to have been operating for over 100 years, due to its connection to earlier secondary schooling in the district.

Westport North School and Westport South School are full primary (years 1-8) schools with rolls of 303 and 176, respectively. The schools were founded in 1942 and 1941

St Canice's School is a full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of 169. It is a state integrated Catholic school and has operated since at least 1882.

All these schools are coeducational. All have a decile rating

Socio-Economic Decile

Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 4, except Buller High School, which has a decile of 3.

External links

• Westport (official town website, Tourism New Zealand)
• Buller High School website
• Westport North School website