Reefton’s History
Reefton sits in a basin of the Inangahua River valley with the rugged Victoria ranges on one side and the Paparoa ranges on the other. It is one of the key entrances to the northern West Coast or Buller region and only three hours from Christchurch, Nelson, Blenheim and the glaciers.
Reefton's history
Reefton was part of the 1860s gold rush on the coast with miners travelling the length and breadth of the Coast, seeking those elusive gold nuggets. Following the discovery of gold bearing quartz reefs at Blacks Point, Reefton became an estsablished town servicing the serious hard rock gold mining in the surrounding Reefton goldfields.
Built substantially between 1870 and 1880, the town quickly became an entrepreneurial and prosperous place because with the mining came technology and innovation. This led to Reefton becoming in August 1888, the first place in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere to have a public supply of electricity - hence Reefton is known today as 'the town of light'.
Reefton today
With a population of 1200, base industries of gold and coal mining, dairy farming, the timber industry, and tourism, and a diverse range of sporting, art and interest groups, Reefton is a great place to live or to visit.
Many of our original wooden buildings from the 1870s remain, servicing the town 130 years on including a number of shops on Reefton's main street, Broadway, which have been carefully adapted for today's use. Our guided heritage walk around the town takes you past many of these buildings including the Reefton School of Mines, Reefton Courthouse and Oddfellows Hall.
We're well known with holiday-makers for our hot and dry summers and also well known for our frosty and often foggy winter days(!) Rainfall is a moderate 2200 mm per annum.