Westland District

Westland
Territorial authority
Gillespie Beach, Westland
Country	New Zealand
Region	West Coast Regional Council
Seat	Hokitika
Government
• Mayor	Mike Havill
Area
• Total	11,880.19 km2 (4,586.97 sq mi)
Population (June 2016)
• Total	8,760
• Density	0.74/km2 (1.9/sq mi)
Time zone	NZST (UTC+12)
• Summer (DST)	NZDT (UTC+13)
Postcode(s)	Map of postcodes
Area code(s)	03
Website	westland.govt.nz

Westland District is a political subdivision on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council territorial authority. The district's population is 8,760 (June 2016).

The Westland District is governed by an elected Council, headed by an elected Mayor. The Mayor is elected at large. The current Mayor is Bruce Smith. Councillors are elected to represent multi-member wards. Three councillors are elected for the Northern Ward, three for the Southern Ward, and four for the town of Hokitika.

The District is one of three included within the West Coast Region.

The District consists of a long thin strip of land between the crest of the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. The low-lying areas near the coast are a mixture of pastoral farmland and temperate rainforest. Westland temperate rainforests contain many conifers and receives high rates of precipitation due to orographic lifting caused by the Southern Alps. The eastern part of the District is steep and mountainous. Many small rivers flow down from the mountains.

The southern part of the District notably contains the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers.

Westland is one of the most sparsely populated parts of the country, with an area of 11,880.19 square kilometres and a population of 8,403 people (2006 census). Approximately 45% of the population lives in Hokitika (popn.3500). The remaining 55% lives in small villages such as Ross, Franz Josef and Haast, or in rural areas.