Paroa, West Coast
Paroa is a settlement on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Greymouth. and the Hokitika Branch railway both run through Paroa. This railway was originally a bush tramway that opened to Paroa from Greymouth in 1867 and was extended to Kumara in 1877. It was converted into a railway in 1893, and this time, ran from Paroa to Hokitika rather than Kumara.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "broad fortified village" for Pāroa.
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.
Demographics
Rutherglen-Camerons statistical area, which is larger than Paroa, covers. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.Rutherglen-Camerons had a population of 1,332 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 135 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 261 people since the 2006 census. There were 513 households, comprising 681 males and 654 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 46.5 years, with 255 people aged under 15 years, 192 aged 15 to 29, 657 aged 30 to 64, and 231 aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 95.7% European/Pākehā, 8.8% Māori, 1.1% Pasifika, 2.3% Asian, and 0.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 10.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 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 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 246 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $37,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 231 people earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 582 people were employed full-time, 183 were part-time, and 15 were unemployed.