Visitors on a Rainy Day

By now, we've seen people from all over the world - Australia, USA, Canada, England, France, China, New Caledonia, etc. etc. But these two people were the first from Tahiti! Sorry i didn't get their names - i'm a bit slow sometimes.

They were the only two visitors that we had all day, but they were such delightful people that it made it worthwhile being there. A real joy to meet them, even if i don't know their names.

cheers

Recent Reefton

A recent pic of Broadway, Reefton, by night. (for the picky-people).

Should've used this first time around, but it might have been too hard to spot the difference.

cheers

They Say the Lights are Always Bright on Broadway

These are 2 pics of Broadway. One is in New York, the other is in Reefton. Can you tell which is which?

Actually, Reefton's main street got it's name from Thomas Broad, the first resident magistrate in the town. When he arrived there, he got out of the coach outside Dawson's Hotel, looked up the mud-track and he said, "Well, it's not Broadway." So they changed the name so that it is.

Not quite the same, but at least they've got the same name.

Reefton Electric Light and Power Company Limited

REEFTON

BIG RIVER TRACK

Time 1 night, 2 days
Grade moderate
Features Beech forest & mining remnants within Victoria Forest Park to the historic Big River gold mining township.

BOTTLED LIGHTING POWERHOUSE WALK
Time 40 minutes
Grade easy
Features Site of hydro station for the first public supply of electricity in the southern hemisphere. River views.

REEFTON GOLDIELDS JOURNEY
Time 3 to 5 days
Grade moderate
Features Victoria Conservation Park with beech forest & mining settlements of the past. Including Waiuta, Big River & Murray Creek goldfields.

Today is the 4th of August 2008. (Here it is anyway). 120 years ago today Reefton became the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have a public electricity supply - it's actually debatable whether Reefton or New York came first.

There were big celebrations in Reefton all weekend - of course! It's their big claim to fame.

However, I always tell people that Reefton had electricity in 1886, because they did. Walter Prince came to town, with a small electric generator, hooked it up to the steam plant in the Monteith's Brewery, (which was Reefton's brewery btw - not bloody Greymouth's, as is claimed now), and he held public demonstrations of the electric power.

It caught people's imagination and some locals got together and formed a company and started building a power station - and that was in 1886. The company was registered on 6 December 1886. It was 20 months in the building of the actual power station - a hydro scheme in 1886!

Pretty impressive for a small town at the end of the world.