Millers Flat

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Millers Flat
Rural settlement
Millers Flat Bridge, Otago, New Zealand 5217.jpg
The heritage-listed Millers Flat Bridge, a four span steel truss bridge which crosses the Clutha River
Millers Flat
Coordinates: 45°40′S169°25′E / 45.667°S 169.417°E / -45.667; 169.417 Coordinates: 45°40′S169°25′E / 45.667°S 169.417°E / -45.667; 169.417
Country New Zealand
Region Otago region
Territorial authorities Central Otago District
WardTeviot Valley Ward
Government
 • Local authority Central Otago District Council
 • Regional council Otago Regional Council
Area
[1]
 • Urban area0.99 km2 (0.38 sq mi)
Population
 (2018 census) [2]
 • Urban area87
 • Density88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+12 (NZST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode
9572
Area code03
Local iwi Ngāi Tahu
Millers Flat war memorial Millers Flat War Memorial, Otago, New Zealand.jpg
Millers Flat war memorial

Millers Flat is a small town in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the Clutha River, 17 kilometres south of Roxburgh. Fruit growing is the main industry in the area. Most of the town lies on the north bank of the Clutha; the main road, State Highway 8, passes close by on the river's other bank. The Roxburgh Branch railway used to pass through the town; it was opened to Millers Flat in 1925 and was the terminus for approximately two and a half years, until the section to Roxburgh was opened. The line was closed in 1968, though the town's station platform and some of the railway formation still exist.

Contents

Millers Flat was originally called Ovens Hill; its current name is in honour of an early European settler, Walter Miller, who farmed in the area from about 1849.

Millers Flat Bridge was designed by Robert Hay (1847–1928) and construction started in 1897. It was opened in 1899. [3]

Demographics

Millers Flat is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers 0.99 km2 (0.38 sq mi). [1] It is part of the much larger Teviot Valley statistical area. [4]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
200699—    
201390−1.35%
201887−0.68%
Source: [2]

Millers Flat had a population of 87 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 3 people (-3.3%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 12 people (-12.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 42 households. There were 39 males and 48 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.81 males per female. The median age was 61.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6 people (6.9%) aged under 15 years, 9 (10.3%) aged 15 to 29, 36 (41.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 36 (41.4%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 96.6% European/Pākehā, and 6.9% Māori (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 48.3% had no religion, and 41.4% were Christian.

Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (11.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 30 (37.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $26,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 36 (44.4%) people were employed full-time, 9 (11.1%) were part-time, and 3 (3.7%) were unemployed. [2]

Grave of Somebody's Darling

Approximately 8 km downstream of Millers Flat on the Clutha River are the remains of the Horseshoe Bend Gold Diggings, now largely remembered for the story of "Somebody's Darling" and the Lonely Graves.

Early in 1865 the body of a young man was discovered at Rag Beach, upstream and on the opposite side of the river from the present site of the Lonely Graves. An inquest held on 22 February 1865 in the Horseshoe Hotel determined the body to be that of Charles Alms who had fallen in the river at Mutton Town Creek, some considerable distance upstream. Alms, a butcher from the Nevis had been swimming cattle across the river when he had been thrown from his horse and washed away. The body was buried in an unmarked grave and the gravesite remained untended. Later in that same year a miner named William Rigney arrived at Horseshoe Bend, and with John Ord erected a fence of rough manuka poles around the previously untended grave. Rigney obtained a piece of black pine and made a simple headstone for the grave. With a four-inch nail he inscribed the words "Somebody's Darling lies buried here." In 1903 a marble headstone was erected. William Rigney died in 1912 and was buried beside "Somebody's Darling." [5] [6] [7] [8]

Education

Millers Flat School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, [9] [10] with a roll of 25 as of July 2022. [11]

Related Research Articles

Otago is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's second largest local government region. Its population was 246,700 in June 2021.

Balclutha, New Zealand Town in Otago, New Zealand

Balclutha is a town in South Otago, lying towards the end of the Clutha River, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is about halfway between Dunedin and Gore on the Main South Line railway, State Highway 1 and the Southern Scenic Route. Balclutha has a population of 4,280, and is the largest town in South Otago.

Alexandra, New Zealand Town in Otago, New Zealand

Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the banks of the Clutha River, on State Highway 8, 188 kilometres (117 mi) by road from Dunedin and 33 kilometres (21 mi) south of Cromwell. The nearest towns to Alexandra via state highway 8 are Clyde seven kilometers to the northwest and Roxburgh forty kilometers to the south. State highway 85 also connects Alexandra to Omakau, Lauder, Oturehua, Ranfurly and on to Palmerston on the East Otago coast.

Clutha River River in the South Island of New Zealand

The Clutha River is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,960 square kilometres (8,480 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The river is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor.

Arrowtown Town in Otago, New Zealand

Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is located 19.5 kilometres to the east of Queenstown. As well as the route via State Highway 6 between Arrowtown and Queenstown, there is also road access directly to Queenstown via the Shotover Gorge and a third route via the picturesque Lake Hayes.

Cromwell, New Zealand Town in Otago, New Zealand

Cromwell is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand.

Wānaka Town in Otago, New Zealand

Wānaka is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.

Milton, New Zealand Town in New Zealand

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. It lies on the floodplain of the Tokomairaro River, one branch of which loops past the north and south ends of the town. This river gives its name to many local features, notably the town's only secondary school, Tokomairiro High School.

West Otago is the local name given to part of the region of Otago, New Zealand, lying close to the border with Southland. It is administratively connected to South Otago, but is geographically separated from it by a range of hills known as the Blue Mountains. The largest settlements in West Otago are Tapanui and Heriot, and other localities within the area include Moa Flat, Edievale, Crookston, Merino Downs, and Waikoikoi. The area described as West Otago is sometimes extended to include Lawrence, Clinton, and Beaumont. The ghost town of Kelso also lies within West Otago. Other notable features of the area include Conical Hill and Landslip Hill, the latter being a major fossil-bearing formation.

Cromwell Gorge Canyon in New Zealand

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Clyde, New Zealand Town in Otago, New Zealand

Clyde, formerly Dunstan, is a small town in Central Otago, New Zealand with a population of 1,250 in June 2021. It is located on the Clutha River, between Cromwell and Alexandra.

Lake Roxburgh Body of water

Lake Roxburgh is an artificial lake, created by the Roxburgh Dam, the earliest of the large hydroelectric projects in the southern South Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Clutha River, some 160 km (99 mi) from Dunedin. It covers an area of some 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi), and extends for nearly 30 km (19 mi) towards the town of Alexandra. The town of Roxburgh lies 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of the Dam.

Roxburgh, New Zealand Town in Otago, New Zealand

Roxburgh is a small New Zealand town of about 600 people in Central Otago. It is in Teviot Valley on the banks of the Clutha River, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Alexandra in the South Island. State Highway 8, which links Central Otago with Dunedin city, passes through the town. Roxburgh is well known for its Summer fruit and "Jimmy's Pies."

Ettrick, New Zealand Town in the South Island of New Zealand

Ettrick is a small town in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand.

Owaka Place in Otago, New Zealand

Owaka is a small town in the Clutha District of South Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest community in the rugged, forested Catlins area, close to the border with Southland, some 35 km (22 mi) south of Balclutha on the Southern Scenic Route.

Frankton, Otago Suburb of Queenstown in Queenstown-Lakes District Council, New Zealand

Frankton is a suburb of the town of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand, it was formerly a separate settlement.

The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction projects in New Zealand railway history, beginning in the 1870s and not finished until 1928. The full line was closed in 1968.

Stirling is a settlement in New Zealand. It is located in South Otago, approximately 5 km from Balclutha.

Clydevale is a township on the banks of the Clutha River / Mata-Au, in the Clutha Valley, 29 kilometres north-west of Balclutha.

The Lonely Graves Historic Reserve is an old gold mining cemetery in Central Otago, New Zealand. It is in an area which was known as Horseshoe Bend, on the eastern bank of the Clutha/Mata-Au River, about 10 km downstream from the township of Millers Flat. The Reserve is administered by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

References

  1. 1 2 "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7027917 (7027917). 2018 Census place summary: 7027917
  3. ↑ "Millers Flat Bridge". Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. ↑ 2018 Census place summary: Teviot Valley
  5. ↑ "Heritage New Zealand". www.heritage.org.nz.
  6. ↑ [ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ Phillips, Jock; Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Lonely graves near Millers Flat". teara.govt.nz.
  8. ↑ "New Zealand Libraries' Catalogue Display". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Millers Flat School Official School Website". millersflat.school.nz.
  10. ↑ "Millers Flat School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  11. ↑ "Millers Flat School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.

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