Paroa, West Coast

Paroa is a settlement on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Greymouth. State Highway 6 and the Hokitika Branch railway both run through Paroa.[1][2] This railway was originally a bush tramway that opened to Paroa from Greymouth in 1867 and was extended to Kumara in 1877.[3] It was converted into a railway in 1893, and this time, ran from Paroa to Hokitika rather than Kumara.[4]

Paroa
Paroa Trestle on the old Hokitika Branch line
Coordinates: 42°30′39″S 171°10′9″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	West Coast
District	Grey District
Ward	Southern
Local iwi	Ngāi Tahu

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "broad fortified village" for Pāroa.[5]

Shantytown, to the south-east of Paroa, is a recreation of a typical 1880s West Coast gold mining town, built in 1971 and operating as a commercial tourist attraction.[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	1,071	—
2013	1,197	+1.60%
2018	1,332	+2.16%
Source: [7]

The statistical area of Rutherglen-Camerons, which at 12 square kilometres is larger than this settlement, had a population of 1,332 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 135 people (11.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 261 people (24.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 513 households. There were 681 males and 654 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 46.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 255 people (19.1%) aged under 15 years, 192 (14.4%) aged 15 to 29, 657 (49.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 231 (17.3%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 95.7% European/Pākehā, 8.8% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 2.3% Asian, and 0.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 10.4%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.7% had no religion, 40.8% were Christian, 0.2% were Buddhist and 0.7% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (12.8%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 246 (22.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $37,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 582 (54.0%) people were employed full-time, 183 (17.0%) were part-time, and 15 (1.4%) were unemployed.[7]

Education

Paroa School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 172.[8] The school originally accepted year 1-6 pupils only, but changed to include year 7 and 8 students in 2001.[9]

Climate

Climate data for Paroa
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average precipitation mm (inches)	222 (8.7)	149 (5.9)	210 (8.3)	237 (9.3)	237 (9.3)	203 (8.0)	211 (8.3)	209 (8.2)	236 (9.3)	248 (9.8)	241 (9.5)	234 (9.2)	2,637 (103.8)
Source: The Weather Network [10]

References

1. Peter Dowling (editor) (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 69. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
2. Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. pp. map 156. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.
3. "Kumara, Westland". Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966).
4. "Hokitika-Grey railway" (9537). West Coast Times. 25 May 1893. p. 2.
5. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
6. "History of Shantytown". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
7. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Rutherglen-Camerons (310700). 2018 Census place summary: Rutherglen-Camerons
8. "Te Kete Ipurangi - Paroa School, Greymouth". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 15 August 2004.
9. "Education Review Report - Paroa School". Education Review Office. June 2004.
10. "Climate Statistics for Paroa (1961-1990)". Retrieved 8 April 2012.

External links

• Shantytown