Te Kuha

Te Kuha
Te Kuha
Coordinates: 41°49′33″S 171°39′16″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	West Coast
District	Buller District
Electorates	West Coast-Tasman Te Tai Tonga

Te Kuha is a small village east of Westport in the Buller District of the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. Located at the western end of the Lower Buller Gorge, the Buller River flows through the village.

It was the site of a punt connecting Westport to the south bank before the "black bridge" was constructed at Westport. State Highway 6 runs on the southern bank of the river, and the Stillwater - Westport Line railway runs on the northern bank. The railway line opened to Te Kuha from Westport in 1912, but a connection through the Buller Gorge to Inangahua Junction was not completed until 1942. Passenger services no longer pass through Te Kuha; the railway mainly transports coal to the east coast port of Lyttelton.

As of 2023, there is little remaining evidence of the village at Te Kuha. The road ends as the railway enters the Buller Gorge, and the surrounding flats are used for farming. There are no building remains, and access on the railway side of the Buller River is discouraged due to railway activity. Although this point was the early punt crossing for the road on the south bank at Windy Point, the construction of the 'black bridge' across the Buller marked the decline of Te Kuha. The railway was, however, opened as far as Cascade Creek, where coal bins stored coal flumed from the Cascade Mine for loading into trains for shipment at Westport. During World War II, the government completed the Buller Gorge Railway in 1942, finally connecting the isolated 'Westport section' to the rest of the South Island railway system.

Te Kuha was classified as a "limited employment locality" in 2004, leading the government to cancel benefits for unemployed individuals who moved to the area.

External links

• Limited Employment Localities list that includes Te Kuha