Road trip part one And now part 2: Murchison
On the road to Reefton.
Reefton
Reefton used to be known as Quartzopolis, and is a bit famous as “In 1888 Reefton became the first town in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere to receive electricity …” [Wikipedia] It is also where my whānau comes from. I haven’t visited for years, probably since my Grandma died. It’s a place we visited lots, I used to dream of coming here to live.
Dad’s nickname was Farmer – aka the Broadway Farmer – so it was cool to stay on the street he got that name from.
The Reefton cross.
The Reefton Skate Park. 
The swinging bridge across the Inangahua River. 
Reefton Cemetery
I visited the graves of my uncles, grandparents, and great-grandparents – Robertsons and Cohens.
The cemetery is quite beautiful, and it was raining.
Dolls
There are a bunch of second hand shops in Reefton. Many of them had a lot of dolls. Apparently there is an elderly collector who has dispersed her collection. One was showcased in a gigantic fridge.
Bubbles on Broadway
At the top of Broadway, an American artist in the old BNZ building has two bubble machines firing out his window, and the street is full of bubbles.
More second hand sights and shops
Coutts and Jones Antiques at the Reefton Coffin Co
My favourite shop. So many treasures. They had an original Tom Scott cartoon drawing about the welfare state, you could see where he had whited things out. Also glass eyes, Fun ho toys etc. I bought a 1988 first day cover celebrating 100 years of electricity, and a long pair of leather gloves with little buttons.
There is an historic photo in the window of this shop, and my grandma is in it – the shop used to be called Thorpy’s.
Here is her great-granddaughter in the same spot.
Episodic Table 