Millers Flat

The town is tiny, the weather is fierce, the river flows fast and the community spirit is strong. Such can be said for many small towns in Otago, and Millers Flat is one of the smallest and seems perfectly formed.

The place was named for the first Pakeha farmer, who arrived in 1849, naming his station Ormaglade. Then gold rushes of 1863 brought people here, and though business dwindled away, some folk stayed. Now the main attraction in town is the Holiday Park, which fills up with sun hungry Dunedin folk at Christmas time.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT MILLERS FLAT HOLIDAY PARK

The fishing is good. Trout. And salmon.

And pumpkins. New Zealand's largest pumpkin farm is here. But that doesn't mean there is nothing else.

Perhaps the most famed feature is also the most useful thing in Millers Flat, and that is the century old single lane bridge which crosses the deep and fast flowing Clutha River. A bit of drama surrounded the planning and construction of the 'bowstring arch' bridge before it was opened in 1899, including the odd drowning in the river resulting from the use of the local punt service, and another in the construction of the bridge. In opening it, Premier Richard John Seddon named the bridge for his political friend, William Larnach of Dunedin.

It is protected, not just by Heritage New Zealand, also by the fact it is still very much in daily use, and always with a signature coat of bright blue paint.

Millers Flat Tavern is the real thing. Although clad in red brick, there is no mistaking the roofline and angles of this genuine Otago pub, which is the only thing one can see when bumping westward along the famous bridge. It is there thanks to the bridge and was initially called 'The Bridge Hotel', the licence dating to 1926, and it was fortunately formed in the local style, the shape not dissimilar to that of the older and more famous Cardrona Hotel.

Other than that, Miller's Flat's ambassadors to the world, well at least to the rest of Otago, would be the truckies of the healthy local transport company, aptly named Miller's Flat. Maybe also the fact that Rodeo is still in full swing, with an annual event drawing surprising crowds, though the rural sporting spectacle has fallen out of favour in more politically correct climes.

There is an idyllic set of tennis courts, and better still, the War Memorial Baths, updated with solar heating, which keep the summer hordes out of the unsafe river, and an elegant WWI memorial complete with soldier statue. The two original churches still serve their purposes and the majority of the 300 locals reside in gold miners cottages, though there is a little development taking place. There might just be a tiny library, if you see it, please snap a picture and send it in. The vintage town bakery has become Millers Flat Bakehouse Museum and it is reported that Faigans general store, which has had a refurb, is still in the hands of the Faigans who have owned it for four generations.

To the north, Teviot Station Woolshed remains are a large stone ruin, claiming to be New Zealand's largest, and dating to 1880 with an impressive Otago settler pedigree.

In the other direction, not too far downstream, is the picturesque Horseshoe Bend footbridge (1913) which also was raised as a preventative measure, to replace a precarious chair on a wire contraption, that locals insisted upon continuing to use even after the Millers Flat Bridge went up. Schoolchildren were this transported to and from Raes Junction every day until the footbridge was built. The restored bridge has become part of the Teviot Valley Walkway.

Just a little further south still, is a bizarre place called Lonely Graves Historic Reserve, also worth a look.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT MILLERS FLAT HOLIDAY PARK

Image Credits: Google Maps, Millers Flat, circa 1905, New Zealand, by Muir & Moodie studio. Otago dredge, Millers Flat, circa 1900, New Zealand, by Muir & Moodie studio.Miller's Flat, 22 May 1911, Otago, by Muir & Moodie studio. Te Papa. and Jackie White