Reefton: Quartzopolis and New Zealand's First Public Electricity

Most gold rush towns peaked fast and faded faster. Reefton was different. While the alluvial fields of Otago and the West Coast were worked out within a few years, Reefton's quartz reefs kept producing for decades — and gave birth to technology that would change the world.

From Alluvial to Hard Rock

Alluvial gold was first found in the Īnangahua Valley in 1866, drawing the usual crowd of hopeful prospectors. But the real boom came in 1870, when miners discovered rich gold-bearing quartz veins in the hills around what would become Reefton.

This was a different kind of mining. You couldn't pan quartz gold. You couldn't sluice it. The gold was locked inside veins of hard white rock, often deep underground. Extracting it required tunnels, shafts, explosives, and crushing machinery.

It also required capital — far more than a solo prospector could muster. Mining companies formed, shares were traded, and Reefton became a town of investors, engineers, and industrial workers rather than itinerant diggers.

Quartzopolis

By the mid-1870s, Reefton had earned its nickname: "Quartzopolis". Over fifty quartz mines were registered in the district. The town's population swelled into the thousands, with hotels, banks, and all the infrastructure of a proper Victorian-era mining centre.

Mines with names like Ajax, Golden Fleece, Perseverance, and Bonanza worked the reefs around the clock. Stamper batteries — rows of heavy iron stamps powered by water wheels — pounded continuously, crushing ore and releasing gold.

The statistics are impressive. Between 1872 and 1951, the Reefton goldfield produced 2 million ounces of gold from 59 separate mines. That's more than most alluvial goldfields produced in their entire history.

Let There Be Light

But Reefton's greatest claim to fame isn't gold — it's electricity. In 1888, the town became the first in the Southern Hemisphere to have reticulated public electricity. The power came from a small hydroelectric station on the Īnangahua River, initially built to run mining machinery.

Electric street lights illuminated Broadway — Reefton's main street — years before most New Zealand towns had even seen a light bulb. It was a remarkable achievement for a remote West Coast mining town, and it spoke to the wealth and ambition that quartz mining had generated.

Decline and Revival

Like all goldfields, Reefton eventually declined. The richest reefs were worked out. Deeper mines became expensive to operate. By the early 20th century, most of the big operations had closed.

But the gold is still there. Modern exploration companies — including Siren Gold (ASX: SNG) — have identified significant resources in the historic Reefton goldfield. Whether commercial mining returns remains to be seen, but the geological potential is real.

For recreational prospectors, the Upper Buller and Grey River catchments near Reefton offer some opportunities. The gold that washed out of those quartz veins over millions of years is still present in the waterways — if you know where to look.