Milton is a town of some 2,000 people, located
on State Highway 1, 50 kilometres to the south of Dunedin in Otago.
It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairiro River, the two
branches of which flow past the north and south ends of the town.
This river gives its name to many local features, notably the
town's main 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.
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.
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 Maori name of Tokoiti (meaning
Few People).
"The Kink"
In Milton there is an unusual planning anomaly -
the main street (Union Street) has a kink in it. Heading north on
the main street the road moves a whole road-width to the west, as
can be seen in the image above.
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, who each
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
idea.
Seeing is truely believing and this cache will take you to the kink
in Milton. The cache is a 200ml painted snaplock hidden at ground
level and not visible from any distance. This is a busy location
and some stealth is needed in retrieving and putting back. If you
plan on visiting during standard working hours you might like to
take a look at the location using googles street view - it is spot
on.
Photos of cachers with the cache are always welcome!