Reefton Railway Station
The arrival of the New Zealand Midland Railway Company in 1892 marked a significant moment for the Inangahua district, ending Reefton’s geographic isolation and supporting an industrial boom.
The original terminus at Taipoiti on the south bank of the Inangahua River enabled bulk transport of the machinery and explosives required for quartz mining, revitalising the local gold industry. Following the government’s seizure of the NZMRC in 1895, the rail infrastructure underwent significant expansion. Between 1906 and 1907, the station building, engine shed, and lamp box were relocated across the river to their current positions on Hattie Street. The line was extended north to Inangahua Junction by 1914, solidifying the district’s role as a major rail corridor connecting the Grey Valley to the Buller Gorge.
The station also holds a darker place in Reefton’s history. On 27 August 1953, 19-year-old office assistant Dorothy Mary Haldane was fatally shot by her colleague Harry Whiteland at the Reefton Railway Station. The event shattered the local community. Whiteland’s subsequent trial in Greymouth coincided with New Zealand’s reinstatement of capital punishment, and he was executed by hanging in Auckland in December 1953.
Address
District Buller
Town Reefton
Postcode `7830