There’s a replica 1860’s miners hut on the main street of Reefton. This is where several local men spend their days dressed as miners, chatting to visitors passing by, telling tales of the old days, and drinking billy tea. The story goes that these blokes decided that it was more fun to spend their days here than sitting at home, and have added their own touches to the hut.
Who can resist an old bearded miner? Not me, I was keen to go and visit, have a look around, and see what life was like back in the 1800s. “You’re world famous”, I told them, but they already knew that, and told me they are listed in several overseas guide books.
There are all sorts of bits of equipment scattered about, old stoves, pots and pans, and a collection of lanterns hanging from hooks. The fire was burning brightly inside the hut giving it rather a homely look. An old canvas stretcher filled a corner of the hut, and old sacks were nailed across the windows. With all those chinks between the wall boards, I don’t know how weather-tight the hut would be. It was fun to chat with them, but it would be too much like “roughing it” for me. And no, they didn’t offer us a cup of billy tea.
After lunch of yet more whitebait fritters for Geoff and Pauline, and wild pork pies for us, we went to explore the town. Tucked away in a back street was the last remaining example of a Fairlie R28 engine in the world. Designed by Scottish engineer Robert Fairlie to cope with the tight curves of New Zealand’s 3ft6in railway gauge, the engine was kept busy hauling timber, coal and gold.
The band rotunda sports a new paint job and is beautifully decorated with trailing roses to mark the Inangahua Centennial.
Following the “Lookout” sign we drove up, up, the hill, wondering if we would ever reach the top. Once there we looked down over Reefton, the river, and the racecourse where we staying.
It was the first day of the season for the local rugby club and players, cars, and supporters all arrived at the racecourse. As we were parked very close to the changing rooms with so much traffic and players trying to get past, we decided to move our caravans to a more secluded area. With the senior players staying on for evening entertainment, and no doubt a few drinks, we felt it more prudent to move.
Our stay in Reefton is coming to an end – we are moving on tomorrow and heading off to Murchison. Wonder what we will find there? Hair cut or two maybe!
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