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.
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