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Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to the north, Maruia is to the east, and the Lewis Pass is to the south-east. In 1888, it was the first town in New Zealand to be lit by electricity, generated by the Reefton Power Station. Reefton was a thriving gold mining town in the late 19th century, and gold mining lasted from the 1870s to the 1950s. Its economy is based on tourism, forestry, coal mining, and farming. Reefton is home to the Inangahua County Library. Name The rich veins of gold found in a quartz reef near the town led to its name, originally spelled "Reef Town". Two nicknames in use soon after it was founded were "Rest Town" and "Quartzopolis". The main street, Broadway, was named after West Coast magistrate Charles Broad (magistrate), Charles Broad. The nearby Wealt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefton Hospital
Reefton Hospital is a hospital in Reefton on the West Coast of New Zealand. It was founded in 1872 and its closure was announced in 2024. History Reefton Hospital was established in 1872 and still stands on its original site in Broadway, Reefton. In 1872 Reefton had at least eight doctors including Dr Joseph Lee. Lee was a surgeon who had set up his practice to treat the victims of mining accidents, and other patients. The community had begun efforts to improve the provision of health care in 1871 by forming a Sickness and Medical Aid Society. This was followed by a public meeting in 1872 at which it was decided to raise the necessary funds to build a hospital. Dr Lee was qualified to become the hospital's superintendent but the Hospital Committee appointed Dr Thomas Sanderson Bulmer of Wellington to the position. Later in 1872 Bulmer was charged with assaulting a fellow doctor, Joseph Currie, and was fined twenty shillings. In the following months Bulmer appeared in court sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefton Power Station
Reefton Power Station supplied electricity to the very prosperous gold mining town of Reefton in New Zealand and was the first power station to supply municipal electricity in the Southern Hemisphere.''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' – McKinnon, Malcolm (Editor); David Bateman, 1997, Plate 88 It started operation on 4 August 1888. Reefton man George Rich Wylde (1858-1942), son of James Wylde, brought samples of Edison and Swan electric lamps back from a visit to Victoria, Australia returning on 8 January 1883 and a public meeting was called to consider an electricity generating and distribution enterprise for Reefton. Ross & Glendinning had been lighting one of their Dunedin factories with electricity since 1882. The Reefton Electric Light and Power Company was formed in 1886. The decision to build a power station was taken in the same year, following a demonstration of electric lighting in four Reefton hotels. The demonstration was organised by amateur electrician Wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefton School Of Mines
The School of Mines in Reefton, New Zealand (1887–1970) was one of a number of mining schools set up to teach the science of mining during the 19th century gold rush. Like the Thames School of Mines it is a Heritage New Zealand Category 1 listed historic building. History The Reefton Mining Institute was formed in March 1885. In the same year Professor James Gow Black from the University of Otago commenced lecturing there and an application was made to the government for a School of Mines building; land was granted in Shiel St. The building was opened in 1887. The purpose of the school was to teach the science related to mining, both theory and practice. Subjects such as mathematics, surveying, chemistry and assaying were taught. Directors of the School * Thomas Fenton, 1886–1890 * John Joseph Woodmass Lee, 1899–1902 * Thomas Otto Bishop, 1902–1903 * John Henderson, 1903–1911 * John Francis McPadden, 1911–1915 * John Herbert Williamson, 1915–1917 * Sydney ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast () is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. It comprises the Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authorities of Buller District, Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport, New Zealand, Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. The region, one of the more remote areas of the country, is also the most sparsely populated. With a population of just 32,900 people, the West Coast is the least populous region in New Zealand. The population in the region grew by 0.4% over the year to July 2023. The region has a rich and important history. The land itself is ancient, stretching back to the Carboniferous period; this is evident by the amount of carboniferous materials naturally found there, especially coal. First settled by Ngāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu in approximately 1200 AD, the area was famous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inangahua Junction
Inangahua is a small settlement in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It consists of three settled areas: Inangahua Junction at the confluence of the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, north of Reefton and southeast of Westport; Inangahua Landing, 10 km further up the Inangahua River; and Inangahua township, 2 km east of the Junction. Murchison is further east. After the 1968 Inangahua Earthquake, most of the inhabitants left the area or shifted to the township, which is now the population centre and known simply as Inangahua. Inangahua's main industries include forestry, coal, farming and sawmilling. There is a small primary school, shops, fire station and earthquake museum. Name The name of the town refers to ''inanga'', the Māori word for whitebait ('' Galaxias'' spp.) and ''hua'', the act of drying and preserving them in sealed containers; the river was known for its abundance of fish. Inangahua Junction was formerly known as Christies Junction. Inan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Coast Regional Council
The West Coast () is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. It comprises the territorial authorities of Buller District, Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika. The region, one of the more remote areas of the country, is also the most sparsely populated. With a population of just 32,900 people, the West Coast is the least populous region in New Zealand. The population in the region grew by 0.4% over the year to July 2023. The region has a rich and important history. The land itself is ancient, stretching back to the Carboniferous period; this is evident by the amount of carboniferous materials naturally found there, especially coal. First settled by Kāi Tahu in approximately 1200 AD, the area was famous across New Zealand for its richness in pounamu greenstone. Kāi Tahu traded millions of modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waiuta
Waiuta is the location of a historic mining town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is now abandoned and considered a ghost town. Located 58 km north of Greymouth and 21 km south of Reefton in Ikamatua, New Zealand, it was the site of a gold mine until 1951, when the collapse of the mine made it uneconomic. A number of buildings remain and there are still residents in what remains of the town. Nowadays Waiuta has become a tourist attraction, with few of the original buildings still intact that include the former police station, three cottages and the old barber shop. History The town of Waiuta was developed to provide accommodation for workers in the goldmine. The Birthday Quartz Reef was named after the date it was found: 9 November 1905 was King Edward VII’s birthday. The first mineshaft operated in 1908 called the Blackwater Shaft and was 563 m in depth. The mine was extended in 1926 with the acquisition of the adjacent Blackwater North cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inangahua River
The Inangahua River is located in the north-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is a major tributary of the Buller River, where it joins at the town of Inangahua Junction. The Inangahua River begins near the Rahu Saddle and flows northwest for , followed by State Highway 7 (New Zealand), State Highway 7, to the town of Reefton, New Zealand, Reefton. The Reefton Power Station, now decommissioned, operated with water taken from the river from 1888 to 1949. At Reefton it turns north and continues for , passing Cronadun, before reaching the Buller some from the larger river's outflow into the Tasman Sea near Westport, New Zealand, Westport. The Inangahua's tributaries include the Waitahu River, Te Wharau River, and Awarau River. The name ''Inangahua'' is from the Māori language; ''inanga'' means whitebait, small edible fish of ''Galaxias'' spp., and ''hua'' may mean the drying and preserving of them in sealed containers or may mean plenty of. The river was known for big catche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blacks Point
Blacks Point is a locality near Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Blacks Point is located south-west of Reefton on State Highway 7 (New Zealand), State Highway 7 adjacent to the Inangahua River. The settlement is one of many that were founded in the early 1870s, at a time when over 80 mines were being sunk into the gold-bearing Quartz reef mining, quartz reefs in the Reefton area. Most of the settlers who formed the township of Blacks Point in 1873 were miners from Cornwall. One attraction is the Blacks Point Museum, a former Wesleyan Methodist Church from 1876 converted to a museum that displays the history of a typical mining town. References {{Coord, 42, 7, 44, S, 171, 53, 2, E, display=title Buller District Populated places in the West Coast Region West Coast Gold Rush ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyell, New Zealand
Lyell is the site of a historic gold mining town in the Buller Gorge in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies on , northeast of Inangahua. Lyell was named by the geologist Julius von Haast after the British geologist Charles Lyell, a friend of Sir George Grey, whose writings had influenced Charles Darwin. The gold rush in Lyell began in 1862 when Māori prospectors found gold in Lyell Creek, a tributary of the Buller River. In 1869 two Italian miners, Antonio Zala and Giorgio Zanetti, discovered gold in quartz veins in the Lyell Creek area. The mine in this quartz reef was worked from 1872 until 1912. Gold in quartz reefs was successfully mined in only two places on the West Coast: Lyell and Reefton. The settlement grew quickly with a population of about 100 in 1863, despite the area being inaccessible, difficult to work and prone to flooding. In the 1870s Lyell had a main street, Cliff St, with banks, newspaper offices and hotels. The population grew to more than 2000 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greymouth, New Zealand
Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants. The Greymouth urban area had an estimated population of A large proportion of the District, 65%, is part of the Conservation Estate owned and managed by the Department of Conservation making Greymouth a natural centre for walkers and Tramping in New Zealand, trampers. Location The town is located at the mouth of the Grey River (New Zealand), Grey River, on a narrow coastal plain close to the foot of the Southern Alps. In clear weather, Aoraki / Mount Cook can be clearly seen to the south from near the town. The mouth of the river divides the town into three areas: Blaketown, close to the river's mouth on the south bank; Karoro, New Zealand, Karoro, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reefton Lock-out
The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement. It resulted in one striker being killed, one of only two deaths in industrial actions in New Zealand. Origins At the time of the strike, the labour movement in New Zealand was expanding rapidly. The New Zealand Federation of Labour (known as the "Red Fed"), which was linked to the Socialist Party, was gaining considerable support from the working class, and the Waihi Trade Union of Workers, to which many miners belonged, was part of the Federation. Disputes between the union and the large Waihi Goldmining Company were frequent. Miners had many grievances regarding their working conditions and often downed tools and walked off the site in response to accidents in the mine (falls, broken limbs, crushing, brusings and even the occasional fatality). A more insidiou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
