NZ Firsts: first town in Southern hemisphere to get electricity

The old town of Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley.
The town itself became established about 1870 and immediately became an entrepreneurial and prosperous place.
With mining came technology and innovation, and in August 1888 Reefton became the first place in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere to have a public supply of electricity, even before the fashionable suburbs of London and New York.
Boasting a history as rich as the town’s gold-bearing quartz reefs that were first discovered in the late 1860’s, Reefton is a great destination for those who are looking for a getaway that’s flush with local heritage and captivating natural scenery.