Blackball, New Zealand
Blackball is a small town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, approximately 29 km from Greymouth. Elevation is approximately 100 metres. The town was named after the Black Ball Shipping Line, which leased land in the area to mine for coal.
Blackball | |
|---|---|
Blackball Miners Strike Memorial | |
| Coordinates: 42°22′0″S 171°24′46″E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | West Coast |
| District | Grey District |
| Ward | Eastern |
| Electorates |
|
| Government | |
| • Territorial authority | Grey District Council |
| • Regional council | West Coast Regional Council |
| • Mayor of Grey | Tania Gibson |
| • West Coast-Tasman MP | Maureen Pugh |
| • Te Tai Tonga MP | Tākuta Ferris |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.94 km2 (0.75 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2023) | |
| • Total | 300 |
| • Density | 150/km2 (400/sq mi) |
| Local iwi | Ngāi Tahu |
Blackball was a centre of New Zealand radicalism and workers' militancy. It is credited as the birthplace of (the predecessors of) the New Zealand Labour Party, which followed the 1908 miners 'cribtime' strike, at ten weeks the longest in New Zealand history. In the 1913 Great Strike, Blackball miners were the last to return to work, in 1914. During the strike they had picketed miners in nearby Brunner and had burnt down the secretary of the 'arbitration' (strikebreaker) union's home. In 1925 the headquarters of the Communist Party of New Zealand moved to Blackball from Wellington. The pit closed in 1964.