History & heritage
Heritage & History - Reefton Gold
About
Learn about the gold, timber, coal, Maori and aviation history of the West Coast at the many heritage sites on the West Coast.
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Reefton Heritage Sites
Reefton Visitor Centre
Features a mine engine and realistic ‘underground’ section.
Historic town walk
Passes buildings dating from the town’s earliest days, including the School of Mines.
Power House Walk
Recalls NZ’s first public electricity supply of 1888.
Railway Precinct
Station, locomotive shed and (in town) a Fairlie locomotive.
Cemeteries
In town and 3km south, graves of prospectors and miners.
Alborns Coal Mine
A track around remains of a small coal mining operation.
Big River Heritage Sites
Gold Mine, battery, sawmill and coal mines
A remarkable historic complex, accessible via walking tracks.
Blacks Point Heritage Sites
Blacks Point Museum
Much mining and domestic memorabilia. (Please make a donation.)
Murray Creek - Lankey Creek tracks
Link the reef mines that gave rise to Reefton.
Golden lead walks
Along a water race with a longer option to a battery.
Blackwater Heritage Sites
A Tiny School
Marks a settlement with gold rush roots. (Donation please.)
Waiuta Heritage Sites
Waiuta town and mine
Relics of the Coast’s last great gold strike.
Battery and powerhouse
Foundations linked via a raceman’s track.
Prohibition Hill
The top of NZ’s deepest mine shaft (879 metres).
Moonlight Heritage Sites
Sluice guns
Hydraulic sluicing ‘monitors’ mark the Moonlight Road turn-off.
Moonlight track
Passes tailing walls, hut sites, water race and battery.
Directions
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Maruia Hot Springs is a historical natural thermal mineral spring located in the Lewis Pass National Reserve.
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If you are looking at going rafting on some great New Zealand rivers, spending time in the outdoors, or taking the family out for a splash you have come to the right place.
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Towns, Places & Info centres
Reefton
Reefton, on the Lewis Pass road and near Victoria Conservation Park (NZ's largest), is well worth a stop and its claim to fame is in 1888 it was the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have electric streetlights!
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Bellbird Motels
Seven ground floor apartment style self-contained one and two bedroom units. Located in the heart of Reefton.
$90 - $130
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Reefton
Accommodation
Lantern Court Motel
Central location on the banks of the Inangahua River, close to restaurants and shops. A great base to explore fascinating Reefton. Visit Victoria Conservation park, go trout fishing, gold panning or take a bush walk.
