Latest from Greymouth

About 250 people were bused up the hillside to the Strongman Mine site on Saturday for a poignant ceremony to commemorate the tragedy there 50 years ago.

Man charged with disorderly behaviour after firing Nerf guns in Greymouth McDonald's restaurant.

South Island police are concerned for the wellbeing of two missing people and ask anyone with information to contact them.

More than 200 people gathered this morning for a minute's silence 50 years on from the Strongman Mine disaster.

Both the Grey and Buller rivers were still rising at noon today, but civil defence said the rate had slowed.

NZTA is prioritising clearing Lewis Pass, the main transport link between Picton and Christchurch since November's big earthquake.

Labour leader Andrew Little is proposing a new solution to recover bodies in the Pike River coal mine.

The worst of the West Coast's wet weather should be over by dawn tomorrow, says Hokitika weather observer Mark Crompton.

Strongman mine disaster happened 50 years ago next week. Paul McBride catches up with the five surviving members of the Mines Rescue teams.

A minute's silence will be observed in Greymouth on Thursday to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Strongman Mine disaster which claimed 19 lives.

Next week's 50th anniversary of the Strongman Mine disaster may be the last opportunity for many to remember the 1967 tragedy.

Police should not have twice Tasered a drunk West Coast man, authority rules.

Actor and film director Ian Mune slammed the Government today as he joined protesters at the Pike River Mine entrance.

Hundreds of tourists are milling around downtown Greymouth at weekends and evenings.

The West Coast has held on to its dubious record as the wettest place in New Zealand, albeit in the Southern Alps.

Motorists travelling between the West Coast and Canterbury today were urged to go through Lewis Pass after an early morning fire at

Alpine Pure last year renewed its consents with the West Coast Regional Council, and has applied to do the same with the Westland District Council.

New alcohol rules imposed on the Kumara Nuggets race meeting on January 14 have resulted in a sting in the tail for punters.

A laser light was pointed at a trans-Tasman jet flying over Greymouth last evening.

DoC says there is significant arsenic, mercury and cyanide contamination of the soil at the Alexander River mine site.

What will start out as a cloudy morning for most of the country should clear as the Christmas day wears on, but the odd shower is in store too.

Bridget McMenamin worked on the Lisa Blakie murder inquiry. She has launched a Facebook page to investigate the 2000 case again.

A 77-year-old man suffered suspected fractured ribs when he was knocked off his push bike in Kilgour Road, Greymouth, this morning.

After extensive fire damage the Greymouth fishing boat Te Aroha has risen from the ashes and is back trawling off the West Coast.

There was a record downpour in Auckland, a tornado in Taranaki and "quake lights" above Wellington. Oh, and 2016 was likely also New Zealand's hottest year on record.

Pike River protestors have been told to move on and remove the gates they put up to block Solid Energy.

Runanga School has canned school camps and all outings for pupils in 2017 while it reviews education outside the classroom (EOTC) activities.

Hokitika woman Lisa Tumahai yesterday stepped into the top role of the billion-dollar Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.

Environmental Protection Authority report finds a number of incidents on the West Coast including one where someone removed signs when baits were still toxic.