Seddonville is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. It is most famous for the historical role it played in New Zealand's coal mining industry.

Geography

Seddonville is situated in the isolated north of the West Coast in the foothills of the Glasgow Range

Glasgow Range

The Glasgow Range is a mountain range on the northern West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is north of the Papahaua Range and its most significant river is the Mokihinui River.- History of settlement :...

. It is on the southern bank of the Mokihinui River

Mokihinui River

The Mokihinui River is a river located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, about 40 kilometres north of Westport.- Geography :The Mokihinui River's headwaters are located in the Glasgow Range and its mouth is on the Tasman Sea...

. To the west of Seddonville are Summerlea

Summerlea, New Zealand

Summerlea is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.Summerlea is on the Tasman Sea coastline with the Glasgow Range to the east. To the north of the town is the neighbouring settlement of Mokihinui and the rivermouth of the Mokihinui River. State Highway 67...

 and Mokihinui

Mokihinui

Mokihinui is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.Mokihinui is on the Tasman Sea coastline north of Westport and is on the southern side of the Mokihinui River's mouth...

 on the coast of the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

, and to the north is Corbyvale on the road 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...

. State Highway 67

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 ends just before reaching Seddonville.

A rare mollusc

Mollusca

The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

, the Powelliphanta lignaria rotella, is found only in the Seddonville area. It is considered nationally endangered.

History

Seddonville was named for former Prime Minister of New Zealand

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

 Richard Seddon

Richard Seddon

Richard John Seddon , sometimes known as King Dick, is to date the longest serving Prime Minister of New Zealand. He is regarded by some, including historian Keith Sinclair, as one of New Zealand's greatest political leaders....

. It was established in the late 19th century as a mining community after the discovery of significant coal reserves in the area. On 23 February 1895, the last section of the Seddonville Branch

Seddonville Branch

The Seddonville Branch, now truncated and operating as the Ngakawau Branch, is a branch line railway in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Construction of the line began in 1874 and it reached its final terminus at the Mokihinui Mine just beyond Seddonville in 1895...

 railway from Westport

Westport, New Zealand

-Economy:Economic activity is based around fishing, coal mining and dairy farming. Historically, gold mining was a major industry, and coal mining was much more extensive than today . However, the region still is home to New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation in Stockton...

 was opened from Mokihinui to Seddonville and included an extension beyond the town to the Mokihinui Coal Company's mine. Passengers were catered for by mixed train

Mixed train

A mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...

s that always carried freight; after 12 June 1933, these trains ceased to carry passengers past Seddonville, and on 14 October 1946, they were cancelled entirely. Coal was the predominant traffic on the line, especially after the late 1930s when increasingly developed roads allowed most other freight to be carried by road transport. In 1974, the Mokihinui Coal Company's mine closed, as did the railway line beyond Seddonville. Coal from other mines provided some freight for the rest of the decade, but mining production was in decline, demand had dropped, and by 1980, the line's maintenance was well in excess of its revenue. Accordingly, the railway closed beyond Ngakawau on 3 May 1981.

Modern age

Seddonville is now a small rural village. It provides access to the Mokihinui back country and 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....

, tramping

Backpacking (wilderness)

Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...

, and whitewater 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...

 attract visitors. The gates to the Seddonville Domain form a small war memorial, commemorating eighteen war victims from Seddonville: thirteen in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, five in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Part of the route of the former Seddonville Branch is preserved as the Chasm Creek Walkway. Located on the route's approach to Seddonville, it follows the formation

Track bed

A track bed or trackbed is the term used to describe the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links....

of the line, passes through an old railway tunnel, and two railway bridges are converted for use by bushwalkers. The platform of the former Seddonville railway station is still extant in the village itself.