Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley.

[3][4] In 1888, it was the first town in New Zealand to be lit by electricity, generated by the Reefton Power Station.

[6] The main street, Broadway, was named after West Coast magistrate Charles Broad.

[7] There was a downturn in the industry in the 1880s due to lack of money to develop deeper mines.

It reopened as Snowy River mine in December 2020 and employed 60 staff, who had dug 9 km (5.6 mi) of tunnels by 2024, with plans for further expansion.

[14] Located in the Inangahua Valley at an altitude of 194m, Reefton falls under the Köppen-Geiger climate classification of Cfb (Oceanic), though the town's sheltered inland location lends its climate less maritime influence than coastal areas; as such, Reefton has recorded both the extreme highest temperature of 33.7 °C (92.7 °F) and the extreme lowest temperature of -8.5 °C (16.7 °F) in the West Coast region.

Due to the town's inland location, summer afternoons are often considerably warmer in Reefton than coastal locations such as Greymouth or Westport, and it is not uncommon for winter mornings to be several degrees colder; nightly inversions of temperature are common due to the local geography, which encourages frequent periods of calm air.

The Reefton area is the driest in the West Coast; this is largely due to the rain-shadow effect of the Paparoa Range.

[19] The mine closed in 2016 and Oceana Gold has undertaken an environmental rehabilitation programme at the site.

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.

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.

[31] Its main rival, the Inangahua Times, was established by William Joseph Potts in 1875.

After James Noble the Times was run by Ernest Nicholson until it ceased publication on 6 June 1942, a casualty of war shortages.

[33] Locally received radio stations include repeaters of both The Hits from Greymouth and Coast FM from Westport.