Milton, New Zealand
Milton is a town in the Clutha District Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand in the Southern Scenic Route. Its area is about 50 km south of Dunedin on the floodplain of the River Tokomairiro whose two rivers flow past the north and south end of town. This river is the namesake of many places of the city, such as the main school in the town, Tokomairiro High School.
The site had the Census 1996 2.016 permanent residents, 2006 was only 1,887.
History
The city was founded in the 1850s. The origin of the name can be explained in two ways: on the one hand, the street names are named after famous English poet. On the other hand, the city was once a factory town (English Milltown ). So the city name on the one hand from a shortening of " Milltown " by association with the name of the English poet John Milton to " Milton " have arisen. On the other hand, the name may be designated on the same way as the streets named after poets directly after John Milton.
Milton's early history was strongly influenced by the Otago gold rush, triggered by Gabriel Read Gabriel 's Gully near the village Lawrence. Since Milton was located inland near one of the most accessible routes, it grew strongly during the gold rush of the 1860s. It was an important staging post for prospectors, who were on their way to the gold fields.
Seat of the municipality was originally Fairfax, a settlement at the foot of the hills in the southeast of the city. When the connection to the gold fields in the interior increased in importance, hence the desire to use the city as a stage stop, they spread across the plain at the river.
A Gothic church, the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand owned Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church was built at that time under the direction of architect Robert Lawson. The church is today the symbol of the city and is visible from the Tokomairiro Plains over several kilometers. She lay at the end of the main road connecting Fairfax with the main route between Dunedin and the gold fields.
Milton played in the early development Otagos an important role, mainly because of its location on the route to the gold fields, but also because of the woolen factory, which was one of the largest factories in the province.
Its importance in communication in the early years of European colonization of New Zealand is emphasized that Milton was one of the first two are connected by telephone lines remote centers. The first line ran from February 1878 between Milton and Dunedin.
It was only in the early 20th century Milton was overtaken in the region in size from the larger town of Balclutha today considerably.
The city played an important role in education in the early development Otago. The Tokomairiro School, now divided into the Milton Primary School and Tokomairiro High School, was founded in 1856, only 8 years after the founding of the province itself, after which it was for many years one of the leading schools in the province.
Milton was married in the early 1870s with the national railway network, as the Main South Line was built through the town. 1907, the city was a railway connection, as an extension of the Roxburgh Branch of the original node in nearby Clarksville was laid parallel to the main line up to Milton to simplify the operation.
This route was decommissioned in 1960 and then returned to the connection point to Clarksville. The Main South Line but still runs through the town, since the setting of the Southerner passenger train in 2002 will be on her, however, only the freight moved.
Modern Milton
Today, Milton is the second largest city after Balclutha in South Otago. It extends mostly along the State Highway 1, is incident on the near the town of State Highway 8. Added to the suburban Helen Brook is north of the river's northern arm. Another suburb, formerly known as Fairfax own city, now bears the Maori name Tokoiti.
Milton serves as a service center for the surrounding agriculture, forestry also gaining increasing importance. In the city are Wilson 's Transport, one of the largest regional carriers and Calder Stewart, one of the largest metal processing enterprises Otago, level.
The settlement of Milburn, 2 km north of Milton, sparked a controversy when it was chosen as the site of a new prison.
"The Kink "
In Milton, there is an urban planning curiosity: has the town's main street, Union Street an offset to an entire street width in the east-west direction. The reason is controversial. A common, but not officially confirmed variant is that the road was measured by two surveyors who came from the north and the south and the Strait of each seen from the right trassierten the survey line. Another common explanation is that the bend around a large tree was that once stood there. However, this does not explain why calculated in a city of mills, a single tree should have been protected, and why not the road again follows its original course after the tree.
Personalities
- Frank Oliver, rugby players of the All Blacks
- Daryl Tuffey, cricketer
- Ken Bloxham, Rugby Player of the All Blacks