История железных дорог и гончарного производства Милтона (Новая Зеландия)

Town in New Zealand

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 35 mile (56 km) 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 161 feet (49 m) passenger platform (later extended to 485 feet (148 m)), a 3rd class station, cart approach to the platform, 100 feet (30 m) by 30 feet (9 m) goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, stationmaster's house, a refreshment room from 1895 to 1957 and a bookstall from 1897. A 70 feet (21 m) 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. but by 1995 they had gone.

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 6 mile (10 km) 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.

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.

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.

Today, Milton is, after Balclutha, the second largest town in South Otago. Its form is largely a ribbon development along the main highway (State Highway 1), with an extension north of the northern branch of the river (the suburb of Helensbrook). The old town of Fairfax is now a village with the Māori name of Tokoiti (meaning "small poles"). SH1, as Union Street, is the town's main road. Five main residential streets run parallel with Union Street (Elderlee, Ajax, Spenser, Johnson, and Chaucer Streets), with these streets being connected by other roads together forming a mostly regular grid pattern. Tokoiti lies one kilometre to the southeast. Milton's main economic livelihood is as a service town for the surrounding farming community, although forestry is also becoming of increasing importance. It is also home to Calder Stewart, one of New Zealand's largest construction firms. The farming settlement of Milburn two kilometres north of Milton, was chosen as the site of a new prison, opened in 2007 with a capacity of 485 prisoners. Officially referred to simply as the Otago Corrections Facility, it quickly picked up the nickname of "The Milton Hilton".

In Milton there is an unusual planning anomaly – the main street (Union Street) is straight for several kilometres as it runs across the Tokomairaro Plain and through the town, yet in the northern part of Milton it has a kink in it at Heading north on the main street the road moves a whole road width to the west. The reason for the anomaly is disputed. A widely accepted view, but not the official view, states that the road was set out by two surveyors, one moving north and the other moving south, each of whom set out the road to the right of their survey line. Another widely held belief is that the change of course was designed to protect a large tree which formerly stood at the site where the kink is. However, why during the development of a milling area a single tree would be protected, and why the road would not return to its original line after passing the tree are both unexplained by this theory. A story on the Kink was run by Stuff on 6 May 2021.

Michael Palin describes Milton in his 1997 book Full Circle as a "small inconspicuous town". He goes on to say "Yet nowhere has looked more like Britain. A gothic spire rises from a red brick parish church. There is a Salvation Army hostel, A Cosy Dell rest home and an advert for 'Frosty Boy' lollipops – 'Often Licked, Never Beaten'. The gardens, and fields beyond could be straight from my Yorkshire birthplace. At around the time of my birth."

Milton Primary School is a co educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of
Tokoiti School is a co educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of
St Mary's School is a co educational state integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of .

Tokomairiro High School is a co educational state secondary school for Year 7 to 13 students, with a roll of .