Brunner, New Zealand

Brunner
Brunner in 2012
Brunner
Coordinates: 42°25′57″S 171°19′22″E / 42.43250°S 171.32278°E / -42.43250; 171.32278Coordinates: 42°25′57″S 171°19′22″E / 42.43250°S 171.32278°E / -42.43250; 171.32278
Country New Zealand
Region West Coast
District Grey District
Local iwi Ngāi Tahu

Brunner is a town in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. Together with Taylorville and Dobson to the south-west, it had a population of 672 at the 2006 census.[1] It is 12 kilometres (7 mi) east of Greymouth, on the south bank of the Grey River. It is on the Midland Line railway near its junction with the Stillwater–Westport Line (SWL) in neighbouring Stillwater. Passenger trains ceased running along the SWL to Reefton and Westport in 1967, but the TranzAlpine runs the length of the Midland Line from Christchurch to Greymouth and it continues to stop in Brunner.

Historically connected with coal mining, the town was the site of a major disaster in 1896, when an explosion killed 65 miners in the Brunner Mine.[2] Other important industries in the town have included forestry.

The town, formerly called Brunnerton, was named after the explorer Thomas Brunner, who discovered coal there.

Further reading

  • Reed, A. W. (2002). The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7900-0761-4.

References

  1. ↑ Quickstats about Dobson
  2. ↑ New Zealand Disasters - Brunner Mine, Christchurch City Libraries. Accessed 2008-01-20.
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