Local Employment

The West Coast is being known more and more for eco-tourism and its rugged coast has been used in the filming of movies such as Jane Campion’s “The Piano’’. Industries on the West Coast include mining for coal and alluvial gold, forestry and wood processing, and also fishing (including a favourite New Zealand pastime - white baiting), tourism and farming. There are cafes and restaurants in all the major towns and plenty of work available in most in the seasons, even in winter. Dairy farming has grown strongly and the local dairy co-operative, Westland Milk Products, remained independent when most others merged to form dairy giant Fonterra in 2001. Other industries are involved in the manufacturing and sale of greenstone jewellery, sphagnum moss-gathering (the moss is used in plant propagation) and stone collection for garden landscaping. The West Coast also has one of the strongest growing regional economies of New Zealand, as of 2007, though from a rather small base. Scenically the West Coast has been listed by Lonely Planet as one of the "Top 10 Coastal Drives of the World".

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