MILTON Milton is a small town on State Highway 1 some 50 kilometers from Dunedin. This is a small town that stretches 2 kilometers long and has the majority of essential services. Milton is a stop-off for coffee and s stroll round a well appointed local museum. 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. Milton's early history was strongly affected by the discovery of gold by 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 gold rush years of the 1860s and was a major staging post for prospectors heading for the goldfields The Milton Hotel is of is of the modern era, but the town has the remnants of the gold rush era. The War Memorial has good profile in the centre of town. The Presbyterian Church bears testimony to the goldrush.The church is a mighty structure that is well over 100 years old. There are a number of ‘old’ buildings that continue to survive in Milton.The Catholic and Anglican churches are represented. The farming settlement of Milburn two kilometres north of Milton has recently been controversially chosen as the site of a new prison. Milburn is also the site of successful cement works business.