Winton, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Winton is a town in Southland, New Zealand. It is located close to the east bank of the Oreti River
, 30 kilometres north of Invercargill
and 50 kilometres south of Lumsden
. It is named after Thomas Winton, a local stockman who lived in the area in the 1850s. Winton has a population of 2,100 as of the 2001 census.
Minnie Dean
, the only woman ever hanged in New Zealand, is buried in Winton cemetery.
State Highway 6
passes through the town between Queenstown
and Invercargill. State Highway 96
, a regional highway, connects east to the town of Mataura
and West to Ohai
Winton was formerly a railway junction but is no longer served by any trains. On 22 February 1871, a railway line from Invercargill was opened to Winton, built to the international standard gauge
of 1,435mm. This was the furthest extent of Southland's standard gauge network, and the next section to Caroline was built to New Zealand's national gauge, narrow gauge railway. This extension opened on 20 October 1875, ending Winton's 4.5 years as a railway terminus, and two months later, the line back to Invercargill was converted to 1,067mm gauge. This line grew to be the Kingston Branch. In 1883, a bush tramway was built eastwards from Winton, and in the 1890s, it was rebuilt to railway standards as a branch line
and opened as the Hedgehope Branch on 17 July 1899. It established Winton as a railway junction, and the town functioned in this capacity until 1 January 1968, when the Hedgehope Branch closed. The Kingston line, once one of the more important lines in the country, declined during the 1970s, and most of it closed on 13 December 1982, including the portion through Winton. Today, little remains of Winton's railway, though its route can be discerned.
Oreti River
The Oreti River is one of the main rivers of Southland, New Zealand, and is 170 kilometres in length.The Oreti has its headwaters close to the Mavora Lakes between Lake Te Anau and Lake Wakatipu, and flows south across the Southland Plains to its outflow into Foveaux Strait at the southeastern end...
, 30 kilometres north of Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
and 50 kilometres south of Lumsden
Lumsden, New Zealand
Lumsden is a town in Southland, New Zealand. Lying in a gap in the surrounding hills, it is the location of a major junction halfway along the north-south road from Queenstown to Invercargill, where it is crossed by the east-west road from Gore to Te Anau. The town had a population of 453 as of the...
. It is named after Thomas Winton, a local stockman who lived in the area in the 1850s. Winton has a population of 2,100 as of the 2001 census.
Minnie Dean
Minnie Dean
Williamina "Minnie" Dean was a New Zealander who was found guilty of infanticide and hanged. She was the only woman to receive the death penalty in New Zealand....
, the only woman ever hanged in New Zealand, is buried in Winton cemetery.
State Highway 6
New Zealand State Highway 6
State Highway 6 is a major New Zealand State Highway. It extends from the northeastern corner of the South Island across the top of the island, then down the length of the island, initially along the West Coast and then across the Southern Alps through inland Otago and finally across the Southland...
passes through the town between Queenstown
Queenstown, New Zealand
Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
and Invercargill. State Highway 96
New Zealand State Highway 96
State Highway 96 is a New Zealand State Highway connecting the Southland communities of Mataura, Winton, and Ohai. Starting at State Highway 1 the highway is 92 kilometers in length and runs in a general east-west direction. In Winton State Highway 96 runs concurrently with State Highway 6 for 1.6...
, a regional highway, connects east to the town of Mataura
Mataura
Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill....
and West to Ohai
Ohai
Ohаi is a town in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its population as 399, a decline of 22.2% or 114 people since the 1996...
Winton was formerly a railway junction but is no longer served by any trains. On 22 February 1871, a railway line from Invercargill was opened to Winton, built to the international standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
of 1,435mm. This was the furthest extent of Southland's standard gauge network, and the next section to Caroline was built to New Zealand's national gauge, narrow gauge railway. This extension opened on 20 October 1875, ending Winton's 4.5 years as a railway terminus, and two months later, the line back to Invercargill was converted to 1,067mm gauge. This line grew to be the Kingston Branch. In 1883, a bush tramway was built eastwards from Winton, and in the 1890s, it was rebuilt to railway standards as a branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
and opened as the Hedgehope Branch on 17 July 1899. It established Winton as a railway junction, and the town functioned in this capacity until 1 January 1968, when the Hedgehope Branch closed. The Kingston line, once one of the more important lines in the country, declined during the 1970s, and most of it closed on 13 December 1982, including the portion through Winton. Today, little remains of Winton's railway, though its route can be discerned.