District Westland
Located at the southern end of Aylmer Street, Ross, the centre dives into the town’s golden boomtown past. Reflecting on one of the West Coast’s last and most profitable rushes.
Commissioned in 1888, Reefton’s historic hydroelectric power scheme was the first public electricity supply in New Zealand. This pioneering project made Reefton the southern hemisphere’s first town with street lighting.
On March 26, 1896, a fatal explosion at the Brunner coal mine left a permanent scar on New Zealand’s industrial history. Many of the recovered bodies were laid to rest in a mass grave at the nearby Stillwater Cemetery.
The trials and successes of the local miners and their families are intertwined with the history of Runanga Miners Hall, which spans over a hundred years.
