Place:Milton, Otago, New Zealand

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Milton, formerly known as Tokomairiro or Tokomairaro, is a town of over 2,000 people, located on State Highway 1, 50 kilometres to the south of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairaro River, one branch of which loops past the north and south ends of the town. This river gives its name to many local features, notably the town's only secondary school, Tokomairiro High School.

Founded as a milling town in the 1850s, there has long been dispute as to the naming of the settlement. The town's streets are named for prominent British poets, and it is possible that the town's original intended name of Milltown became shortened by association with the poet of the same name. It is equally possible, however, that the name Milton inspired the choice of poets' names for the streets.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Milton's early history was strongly affected by the discovery of gold by Gabriel Read at Gabriel's Gully close to the nearby township of Lawrence. As Milton stood close to one of the most easily accessible routes to the interior, it grew greatly during the goldrush years of the 1860s and was a major staging post for prospectors heading for the goldfields.

The town was originally established at Fairfax, a settlement nestling at the foot of the hills which lie to the southeast of the town. As communication with the goldfields in the interior became more important, and the desirability of the town becoming a staging post increased, it spread down onto the plains around the river. A Gothic church, Tokomairiro Presbyterian Church, was built at this time by the architect R A Lawson. At the time of its construction, this church was the tallest building at such a southern latitude in the world. The church is still the town's most obvious landmark, and is visible across the Tokomairiro Plains from several kilometres away. It was located as a terminating vista at the end of the main road connecting Fairfax with the main route south from Dunedin to the goldfields, and as such is an imposing structure dominating this road. Milton was an important town in early Otago – much more so than it is today – mainly due to its location on the route to the goldfields, and also for the Bruce Woollen Mills, which were among the province's largest factories. Other prominent industries included the Kiwi Bacon Factory, which had a branch in Milton until the early 1980s. The town's importance in communication in the early years of New Zealand settlement is emphasised by it being one of the two centres first linked by long-distance telephony, with a pioneering line set up between Milton and Dunedin in February 1878. It was not until the early twentieth century that it was superseded in size by the now considerably larger local town of Balclutha. The town was also important in education in early Otago – the Tokomairiro School – now split into Milton Primary School and Tokomairiro High School – was founded in 1856, only eight years after the founding of the province itself, and was one of the province's leading schools for many years thereafter. Electric lighting was installed in 1919.

Railway

Milton was connected to the national railway network in the early 1870s when the Main South Line was built through the town and goods were first carried in October 1874. The official opening from Green Island to Balclutha was on 1 September 1875. Milton station was east of Clarksville, south of Milburn, from Christchurch and from Dunedin.

In 1907, the town became a railway junction when an extension of the Roxburgh Branch was constructed alongside the Main South Line from its original junction at nearby Clarksville into Milton to facilitate better operations. In 1960, Milton lost this status when the extension was removed and the Roxburgh Branch's junction reverted to being in Clarksville. The Main South Line still runs through the town, though the station closed to passengers on 1 December 1970, when the South Island Limited was replaced by the Southerner, which didn't stop at Milton.

Milton had an engine shed for two engines, a passenger platform (later extended to ), a 3rd class station, cart approach to the platform, by goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, stationmaster's house, a refreshment room from 1895 to 1957 and a bookstall from 1897.

A turntable was added in 1927. There were fires at the engine shed in 1938 and in 1959, when both A Class locomotives in the shed were undamaged. There was also a fire at the station in 1942 in a large shed in 1944.^[1]

The stockyards closed in 1971. In December 1988 there was still a station building, verandah, platforms and goods sheds,^[1] as can be seen in a 1986 aerial photo, but by 1995 they had gone.

Fortification and Waronui coal mines and railway line

Coal was dug in the lower Tokomairaro valley from 1855. A railway was considered as early as 1875. Mining near Fortification Hill started in 1882. Poor roads and difficult navigation of the river limited production. The Fortification Railway and Coal Company started building a railway in 1900 and opened it on 3 April 1901, but went into liquidation in 1903. In 1906 the Bruce Coal Company Ltd opened a new mine across the river, calling it Waronui. A temporary bridge was built over the river, until the railway was extended about to the new mine when Glendining and Co took over in 1908. The line ran south west, crossing the Tokomairaro River a few times, from Milton, for about to mines at Fortification and Waronui. The line was little used after two miners were killed in 1930 and it was sold for scrap in 1932.

Milton pottery

An early claim to fame for Milton was its pottery, often regarded as some of the country's finest. Clay is a plentiful natural resource in South Otago, and potteries were a major employer in the late 19th century throughout South Otago and Southland. Between 1873 and 1915 numerous pottery works operated from the Milton area, starting with William White's short-lived Tokomairiro Steam Pottery Works, reputedly the first industrial kilns in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Milton Pottery works was rescued in 1880 by former Mayor of Dunedin (1876) Charles Reeves. The industry reached its height in the 1880s, at which time five kilns were operating and over 40 staff were employed, producing building materials such as bricks and tiles, sanitary ceramics such as washbasins, and domestic and decorative dinner sets, vases, and jars.

The industry in Milton did not survive the loss of manpower during World War I, though pottery as an industry continued in South Otago at Benhar near Balclutha, which was a major producer of toilet bowls and other domestic ceramics until the 1990s.

Bruce Herald

The Bruce Herald was established by Joseph Mackay in 1864 and was one of the longest running country newspapers, closing on 7 October 1971. It was one of a chain, including the Mataura Ensign at Gore and Clutha Times at Balclutha. Other local papers were the Bruce Independent (1866–1867) and the Milton Mirror in 1905, but was taken over by the Herald after a fire at its office in 1910.

Research Tips