Haast, New Zealand

Haast is a small town in the Westland District territorial authority on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. The township is beside the Haast River, 3 km south of Haast Junction, on State Highway 6. The Haast region is in Te Wahipounamu – The South West New Zealand World Heritage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 1990.

Toponymy
The township, the major river that is close to the town, and the pass across to the eastern side of the Southern Alps are all named after Julius von Haast, a Prussian-born geologist who travelled through the area in 1863. Although the prospector Charles Cameron is said to be the first European to ‘discover’ the pass, Haast was recognised by having the town named after him.

History
The main Māori settlement in the area was the pā Ōkahu at the mouth of the Arawhata River.

The Haast area was extensively used by Māori as a key source of pounamu. Their main route from inland was called Tioripatea.

Ngāi Tahu occupation of the land was ended by attacks by North Island tribes. In 1836, the Ngāti Tama chief Te Pūoho led a 100-person war party, armed with muskets, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass. He ambushed a Ngāi Tahu encampment between Lake Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, then went south past Lake Wakatipu. His raid ended in Southland where he was killed and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Tūhawaiki.

European settlement of the area dates back to the 1860s. The remoteness of the area initially limited access to seagoing vessels, with some rough tracks from the north and east.

Early European explorers searched for the Māori routes to cross from the eastern to the western sides of the South Island and back again, having learnt of the pass when Huruhuru drew a map for the explorer Edward Shortland in 1844. The first European ascent was from the Wānaka side in March 1861, when the exploring surveyor John Holland Baker, seeking new sheep country, looked down from the saddle towards the West Coast. Gold prospector Charles Cameron claimed to have made the first crossing to the coast in 1863; however he was widely believed to have only got to the upper reaches of the Haast River / Awarua.

The honour of first official crossing was claimed by Julius Haast, Canterbury's provincial geologist, who led a five-man expedition in January 1863. He named the Haast River after himself, "directed, so he said, by his provincial superindendent", and returned to Lake Wānaka "nearly shoeless" after six weeks.

Haast's party travelled up the headwaters of the Makarora River. On 23 January they reached the open, boggy summit of the pass, which was surrounded by beech forest. Haast made a watercolour which was used to illustrate a later report. The party then crossed the pass and travelled downstream to the coast, which they reached on 20 February.

The present Haast township was originally a New Zealand Ministry of Works road construction camp, which expanded into a permanent township when the opening of the Haast Pass in 1962 made the region more accessible. The road through the pass to Wānaka was upgraded in 1966.

In 1990 the Haast area was included as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, giving international recognition as a location of significant natural value to Te Wahipounamu – The South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.

Setting
The Haast township is located on the Haast River, approximately 3 km south of Haast Junction, on State Highway 6. The Haast River Awarua is 100 kilometres (62 mi) in length, and enters the Tasman Sea near the Haast township. It drains the western watershed of the Haast Pass.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation operates a visitor centre in Haast Junction, on the southwest bank of the Haast River, immediately south of the Haast Bridge, at the junction of State Highway 6 and the Haast–Jackson Bay Road. The visitor centre offers a wide range of information about the surrounding area.

Lake Moeraki is 30 km to the northeast, and the Haast Pass is 63 km to the southeast by road. The settlement of Okuru is located on the coast 12 km south-west of Haast.

The small settlement of Haast Beach is on the coast of the Tasman Sea, approximately 4 km west southwest of Haast Junction, on the road to Jackson Bay.

Demographics
Haast town is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, covering 0.57 km2. It had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2. The settlement is part of the larger Haast statistical area.

Haast had a population of 84 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 30 people (55.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 21 people (33.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 45 households, comprising 42 males and 39 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 43.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 9 people (10.7%) aged under 15 years, 21 (25.0%) aged 15 to 29, 39 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 12 (14.3%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 89.3% European/Pākehā, 14.3% Māori, and 7.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.6% reported no religion, 32.1% were Christian and 3.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (12.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 9 (12.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 6 people (8.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 45 (60.0%) people were employed full-time, and 9 (12.0%) were part-time.

Haast statistical area
Haast statistical area covers 4099.09 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

The statistical area had a population of 258 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 18 people (7.5%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 42 people (−14.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 144 households, comprising 132 males and 123 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. The median age was 52.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 24 people (9.3%) aged under 15 years, 36 (14.0%) aged 15 to 29, 138 (53.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 57 (22.1%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 86.0% European/Pākehā, 11.6% Māori, 4.7% Pasifika, 4.7% Asian, and 3.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 18.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 46.5% reported no religion, 39.5% were Christian, 1.2% were Buddhist and 1.2% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (11.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 51 (21.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. 24 people (10.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 147 (62.8%) people were employed full-time, 27 (11.5%) were part-time, and 3 (1.3%) were unemployed.

Biodiversity
The Haast Tokoeka is one of the rarest subspecies of kiwi, with more than half the known population living in an actively managed area of the Haast ranges.

Economy
The main economic activities in the Haast region are farming, fishing and tourism.

Infrastructure
The Haast area is not connected to the national electricity grid. New Zealand Energy operates an electricity distribution network supplying the town. Electricity is generated by an 800-kilowatt hydroelectric scheme on the Turnbull River, constructed in 1972. The scheme is backed up by a 375-kilowatt diesel generator. In 2023, the company applied for consent to build a second hydro power station on the Turnbull River.

Haast received mobile coverage in May 2018. 3G mobile coverage is provided for all three mobile networks within a 3 km radius of Haast township. Fibre broadband became available in the township in 2022.

Education
The Haast School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a student roll of as of  The school opened in the 1890s and is the most isolated school in the mainland of New Zealand.

There are no secondary schools in the Haast area. The nearest is Mount Aspiring College, 140 kilometres (85 mi) away over the Haast Pass in Wānaka, too far away to be practical. Most secondary students board at schools in Alexandra, Oamaru or Dunedin.