The town was originally established at Fairfax, a settlement nestling at the foot of the hills which lie to the southeast of the town. Lawson's impressive church dominates the old road to Fairfax (Tokoiti). 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.

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. It is equally possible, however, that the name Milton inspired the choice of poets' names for the streets. 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. This river gives its name to many local features, notably the town's only secondary school, Tokomairiro High School.įounded as a milling town in the 1850s, there has long been dispute as to the naming of the settlement. It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairaro River, one branch of which loops past the north and south ends of the town.

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.

Milton township mi adu buildings