 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2019) |
Winton | |
|---|---|
| Motto: The Heart of Southland | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 46°08′35″S 168°19′25″E / 46.14306°S 168.32361°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Southland region |
| Territorial authorities of New Zealand | Southland District |
| Ward | Oreti Ward |
| Community | Oreti Community |
| Settled | c. 1861 by Thomas Winton |
| Electorates |
|
| Government | |
| • Territorial authority | Southland District Council |
| • Regional council | Southland Regional Council |
| • Mayor of Southland | Rob Scott |
| • Southland MP | Joseph Mooney |
| • Te Tai Tonga MP | Tākuta Ferris |
| Area | |
| • Land | 3.08 km2 (1.19 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 51 m (167 ft) |
| Population (June 2023)[2] | |
| • Total | 2,460 |
| • Demonym | Wintonian |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Postcode(s) | 9720 |
| Area code | 03 |
| Local iwi | Ngāi Tahu |
| Website | http://www.winton.co.nz |
Winton is a rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is located close to the east bank of the Ōreti River, 30 kilometres north of Invercargill and 50 kilometres south of Lumsden. The town is named after Thomas Winton, a local stockman who lived and farmed in the area in the 1850s. The district thrived with the development of sheep and fat-lamb farms in the early 1900s. Later, dairy farming became the staple economy, although the town has also seen sawmills, and flax and linen-flax industries.
Today, Winton is as an agricultural service town for local farmers and traders and as a stop-off for travellers on the Invercargill–Queenstown highway. Its population is not declining, partly because farmers retire there, attracted by a climate that is warmer, drier and calmer than Invercargill or Southland’s coastal districts.[3] Population increases have also been driven by an influx of dairy workers who have migrated with their families from countries such as the Philippines and the Netherlands. Local businesses, worship centres and schools have welcomed the new community members.[4]
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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Areawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Grant, David. "'Southland places - Central Southland'". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 2-Mar-09. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ "Southland town hit with influx of Filipino workers". 3 News. MediaWorks TV. Retrieved 10 April 2012.