Towns.

The chief town is Nelson, situated at. the head of Blind Bay, in 41° 16′ S., and surrounded on all sides, except the north, by mountains reaching an elevation of 3,500ft. With a mean temperature of 54.8° Fahr. it possesses a climate almost unequalled for its beneficial effects on invalids suffering from pulmonary diseases. There are many picturesque spots in the suburbs, and the town itself, with its cleanly-looking buildings and well-kept gardens, is one of the most charming spots in New Zealand. There is an old-established Boys' College, and a High School for Girls, besides Government and other schools. The Anglican Pro-Cathedral, built on the summit of a central hill, memorable as being the site of fortifications erected in the early days of the settlement for defence against an expected attack of the Natives, is a striking feature. The Roman Catholic Church, Convent, and school-buildings cover a large extent of ground. There is also at Stoke, a small village three miles from Nelson, a central Catholic Orphanage, surrounded by grounds of considerable area. There is a good supply of excellent water from a reservoir in the hills at the back of the town, and the streets are well lighted with gas. The several Government departments are housed in one roomy building, containing a large hall used for Supreme Court sittings and other public purposes. Nelson has a small natural harbour, formed by a boulder-bank running for eight miles parallel to the shore, deep enough at high tide to admit vessels of 1,000 tons burden. It in a port of call for the Union Steamship Company's coastal steamers, and has a small local fleet plying between the West Coast, Blind Bay, Picton, and Wellington. The town is reached from the eastward by a good main road from Marlborough. A railway-line has been constructed up country to the southward for thirty miles, passing through the farming villages of Stoke, Richmond (borough), Brightwater, Wakefield, Foxhill, and Belgrove. Leaving for the West Coast by a good main road, the traveller starts from the Belgrove Station on one of Cobb and Co.'s coaches, crosses Spooner's Range, the Clarke and Hope River saddles, and enters the Buller Valley at the junction of the Hope, about sixty-seven miles from town. He then enjoys a succession of views of mountain-gorge scenery, and, after traversing a gorge of seventeen miles in length, arrives at the Lyell, 107 miles from his starting-point. This is an alpine township, in a small quartz-mining neighbourhood. Here is a fine cast-iron girder bridge, spanning a rocky gorge of the Buller, and springing boldly from a bluff on the northern side. At 116 miles the junction of the Inangahua with the Buller is reached, the main road continuing to Reefton, with a branch road twenty-eight miles to Westport, which for twelve miles passes through some of the grandest river-gorge scenery in New Zealand.

Westport, the town next in importance to Nelson, is situated at the mouth of the Buller River. The harbour is sheltered from southerly gales by Cape Foulwind and its outlying rocks, and is accessible in nearly all weathers. A large sum has been spent on a system of harbour-works, designed by the late Sir John Coode. Westport is the place of shipment for the coal-mines lying northward as far as the Mokihinui River. The character of this coal for steam purposes stands almost unrivalled. The long line of coal-staiths on the northern bank of the river, with a fleet of steam-colliers loading alongside, does not fail at once to impress a visitor with a sense of the importance of the trade. Though much has already been done, yet the industry, from the extent of the coal-bearing strata, is capable of much larger expansion when the necessary capital can be found. The West port-Ngakawau Railway to Mokihinui, connects with the mines and conveys the coal to the port. At the foot of the Mount Rochfort plateau, nine miles from Westport, is Waimangaroa, and on the plateau itself is Denniston—both coal-mining villages. The page 56 latter, built at an elevation of 1,960 ft., is said to be the highest township in New Zealand. On a clear day it is well worth a visit, for the sake of enjoying the magnificent, panoramic view of the southern Alps, which reach their highest point in Mount Cook, 12,349 ft. high, about 100 miles south. South of Westport are the alluvial gold-mining centres of Addison's Flat, Croninville, Nine-mile Beach, and Charleston.

From the Inangahua Junction, the main road continues southward through the Inangahua Valley, passing through cultivated lands, which are being gradually won from the heavy bush, and at a distance of 136 miles from Nelson reaches the township of Reefton. Here, as at Westport, are good hotels, and, as in every one of the larger coast towns, a hospital receiving a Government grant in aid. This town was the first in New Zealand to be lighted by electricity. Through the Midland Railway Company's extension of the Grey-Brunner Government line, Reefton is now connected by rail with Greymouth, from whence it is for the most part supplied. About two miles inland from Reefton is Black's Point mining township, with several batteries at work in and about the place, a visit to which is generally paid by tourists wishing to see something of the gold-mining industry. Other small mining townships are: Boatman's, Capleston, Antonio's, Noble's, Orwell Creek, Hatters', Nelson Creek, and Twelve-mile.

Leaving Reefton by rail, and passing into the Grey Valley through a short tunnel, and by a bridge over the Grey River, Totara Flat is reached, nineteen miles distant. Here there is a considerable area under cultivation. Seven miles farther on is the decayed mining township of Ahaura. Small townships are springing up along the railway-line, and several large sawmills are working.

At the Grey River Gorge, eight miles from Greymouth, we enter the Borough of Brunner. This place is the oldest centre of coal-mining in the district Owing to the effect of the coal-smoke from the coke-ovens on the surrounding cliffs and bush, and the appearance of the numerous miners' cottages nestling on the mountain-slopes, it has the look of a veritable "Black Country," such as may be seen in some coal-districts in England.

Several large sawmills are at work between this place and Greymouth, which we reach at a distance of 180 miles from Nelson, the centre of the Grey River from its junction with the Arnold being the southern boundary of the district at this part. The Midland Railway line, to connect with Canterbury by way of Arthur's Pass in the Otira Gorge, has been constructed on the Westland side of the Arnold River to Lake Brunner, the eastern shores of which it skirts for some distance, and from thence to the Teremakau River.

The town of Greymouth is situated on the south bank of the Grey River, in the Westland District, and is the shipping-port for the products of the coal-basis included within the area of the Grey Coalfields Reserve, the larger portion of which lies on the north bank of the river in the Nelson District.

The small town of Cobden is situated opposite the town of Greymouth, and is connected with it by a substantial bridge.