Reefton

Reefton has a glittering past that you can still appreciate today. Find out about gold mining and walk the heritage trail around the town.

Named for the extensive gold bearing quartz reefs that were discovered here in the late 1860s, Reefton still has a great deal of historic charm. Follow the town’s heritage walk past the Reefton School of Mines, the courthouse, Oddfellows Hall, St Xavier's Convent and the Band Hall. At the Miner’s Hut you can sit in front of the fire, enjoy a cup of tea and watch steel being shaped by a blacksmith. Reefton calls itself ‘the town of light’, because it turned on electric street lighting before any other town in the southern hemisphere (1888). The Victoria Conservation Park, which surrounds Reefton, has a network of walking tracks.

Functional facts: Approx. population 950, information centre, shops and restaurants.