Paroa is a settlement on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, just south of Greymouth. State Highway 6 and the Hokitika Branch railway both run through Paroa. This railway was originally a bush tramway that opened to Paroa from Greymouth in 1867 and was extended to Kumara in 1877. It was converted into a railway in 1893, and this time, ran from Paroa to Hokitika rather than Kumara. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "broad fortified village" for Pāroa.