The town's area was known to its Maori inhabitants as 'Mawhera' (Widespread River Mouth)and this is acknowledged today in the town's long, river-hugging street: Mawhera Quay.

Colonial History:
The British Arrive
After about 1,000 years of having New Zealand to themselves, the Maori would meet new peoples from Europe. These new people came primarily from Great Britain. Like the Maori, these Europeans were a seafaring people. However, many of these people came from conditions that were rough: crowded cities, diseases, malnutrition, poverty, unemployment, and rigid class barriers. Many of them were promised a new life overseas, and understandably, they jumped at the chance to improve their lot. The Maoris' lands must have looked like a paradise to these Europeans.

At first, Maori-European relations centered around trade. Europeans had many objects that Maori found useful. The Maori, in turn, possessed beautiful, spacious lands that Europeans longed for. It was not long, however, before several Europeans made grabs at acquiring Maori land for themselves. This led to defensive measures by Maori and the Europeans became more emboldened to the prospect that war would deliver them a bounty of precious land. The majority of European immigrants, however, were working-class people in search of a better life than the one England offered them.

The man from whom Greymouth takes its namesake is Govenor George Grey. He was a man of his times, and his times were those of Empire and notions of european supremcacy. After his stint in New Zealand, Grey left to become Governor of the Cape in South Africa.

Unfortunately, several European settlers committed terrible crimes against the Maori. Some Maori tribes even fought other Maori, thinking the British could be used as an ally. It is often said that the Maori were "very warlike", but their wars seldom had the devastating results produced by the warlike British.

Greymouth Today
The wars for British Empire were harsh and deadly on the Maori. Strange European diseases also took a severe toll. Even the most kind-hearted and sympathetic Europeans were not optimistic for the Maori's propsects, and predicted that the Maori were doomed for extinction. But the Maori would survive. (In fact, on both islands, a curious group of "Pakeha Maori" even developed.)

Today, the small city of Greymouth is a peaceful place: the residents are friendly and the city has a unique flavor of both English culture as well as some Maori. The video-rental store shelves are crammed with American movies, as is much of the television programming. While the main language and culture practiced is derived from England, Americanization is pervasive in terms of popular entertainment and computer technology. Asian influence is witnessed through the many Japanese cars seen (as is the case globally). And still alive is the Maori influence seen through the many streets named in Maori language, and the undeniable possession of prized commercial lands by a Maori iwi (tribe): Nghai Tahu.

The gold mining days are over. But dairy farming is still a valuable staple of the local economy. Today, Greymouth is expanding on a commercial base that includes all the modern businesses one would find in any other Western city: books, clothing, music, photography, furniture, and yes, McDonald's (the unofficial American Embassy)!

Links
* The Grey District Official Web Site

* History House Museum - Greymouth

* Jade Boulder Gallery

For more history on Maori, New Zealand and Greymouth, visit:

>> History of New Zealand and Its Inhabitants
(audio show)

>> History of New Zealand and Its Inhabitants
(book on British colonial genocide)

>> Shantytown