Reefton

By the Inangahua River, Reefton (population 987) is at the heart of the Victoria Conservation Park. It boomed as a gold mining town in the 1860’s and boasted the first public electricity supply in the Southern Hemisphere (August 1888). Along with gold mining came coal mining, dairy farming and the timber industry, and it is these industries that continue to support the local economy today. Reeftons past lives on in many historic buildings from the 1870’s the powerhouse site where the public electricity supply was first generated, the bearded miners on Broadway, blacks point museum, The Reefton School of mines, the ghost town of Waiuta and the big river mine and township site. The Visitor centre houses an impressive Quartz polis mine, a working winding engine and photographic and audio displays of surrounding Victoria Conservation Parks, beech forests and native birdlife. With its old gold workings and magnificent beech forests the part attracts visitors from far and wide. It offers numerous options for outdoor enthusiasts, including gold panning, historic Reefton walks, mountain biking, overnight and day walks, 4wd, canoeing, hunting and fishing.