Economy
The town's major industries include fishing, mining, forestry, and ecotourism, the latter two of these industries holding an uneasy relationship with each other. The Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, 45 km to the north are a popular local tourist attraction, while many also pass through on the route to or from the glaciers to the south.
Greymouth is also known for its Pounamu ("Greenstone", a form of Jade) carving industry which goes back to Māori origins. The town also has a local brewery, Monteith's, which produces beer since 1868, now sold countrywide.
The planned opening of the Pike River mine in early 2008 spurred new investments into upgrading port facilities at the town. Without the development, a closure of the port had been mooted, and hopes are now that the coal barges travelling to and from reshipment facilities in Taranaki can also carry containerised cargo to the town. The opening of the new mine, as well as the planned Spring Creek mine, was called the biggest investment happening in the area for a hundred years.
Read more about this topic: Greymouth
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Everyone is always in favour of general economy and particular expenditure.”
—Anthony, Sir Eden (1897–1977)
“Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)