Reefton

For the locality in Australia, see Reefton, Victoria.
Reefton

Reefton, seen in 2009
Reefton
Coordinates: 42°6′55″S 171°51′47″E / 42.11528°S 171.86306°E / -42.11528; 171.86306
Country New Zealand
Region West Coast
District Buller District
Population (2013)
 • Total 1,026
The centre of Reefton

Reefton is a small town on New Zealand's West Coast region, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the valley of the Inangahua River. State Highway 7 passes through the southern part of the town, and State Highway 69 runs north to connect to State Highway 6. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63 km to the east, and the Lewis Pass is 66 km to the south-east.[1][2]

In 1888 Reefton became the first town in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere to receive electricity,[3] the work of Walter Prince,[4] and its streets were lit by commercial electricity generated by the Reefton Power Station.

The population was 951 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 36 from 2001.[5]

Industry

Rich veins of gold found in a quartz reef near the town led to its name, and also its former name of Quartzopolis.[6] Gold was first discovered near the town in 1866, although the major discovery was made in 1870. Soon after, the town briefly boasted a population of several thousand. This has dwindled to less than a thousand, but with the opening of an Australian owned goldmine the population is expected to grow by several hundred. Other industries in the town are coal mining, forestry, tourism and angling.

Locally received radio stations include repeaters of both Classic Hits Scenicland FM from Greymouth and Coast FM from Westport. The Greymouth Star newspaper is also received daily in the town.

Railways

Reefton is located on the Stillwater–Westport Line railway, which diverges from the Midland Line in Stillwater. On 29 February 1892, the line was opened to Reefton, but it terminated on the southern bank of the Inangahua River opposite the town. Early in the 20th century, a bridge was built across the river and the present-day station established in Reefton. The line was opened beyond Reefton to Cronadun in 1908, but it was not until 5 December 1943 that the line officially became a through route to Westport, though trains had been operating the length of the line since July 1942. On 3 August 1936, a railcar passenger service began operating in the morning between Hokitika and Reefton utilising small Leyland diesel railcars, but low patronage meant this service ceased to operate all the way to Reefton in August 1938. In the early 1940s, much larger Vulcan railcars were introduced to New Zealand and they provided two services to Reefton: one local service from Greymouth that terminated in Reefton, and a service that ran between Westport and Stillwater to connect with the West Coast Express. In 1967, all passenger services through Reefton ceased. Today, the primary traffic on the railway is coal, with multiple coal trains operating daily.

Timeline

Historical Population of Reefton
Census Pop. ±%
1996 1,044 [8] Steady
2001 987 [9] 5.5%Decrease
2006 951 [10] 3.6%Decrease
2013 1,026 [11] 7.9%Increase

Education

The first state school in Reefton was founded in 1878, and there were once 24 schools in the area.[12]

Reefton Area School is a composite (years 1–15) school with a decile rating of 3 and a roll of 238.[13] Reefton School and Inangahua College merged to form Reefton Area School in 2004.[14] Sacred Heart School is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a decile rating of 4 and a roll of 32.[15] It is a state integrated Catholic school.[16] Both schools are coeducational.

References

Media related to Reefton, New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 42°07′S 171°52′E / 42.117°S 171.867°E / -42.117; 171.867

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.