Welcome to
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is a settlement in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. Milford Sound included a meat processing industry and was home to a huge pulp and paper mill until 2000It's on the eastern edge of the Southland Plain, 13 kilometres south of Gore and 53 kilometres north Invercargill, on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line railway. State Highway 96 departs from SH 1 on the town's southern outskirts and heads west, passing through neighbouring communities such as Te Tipua and Waitane before ending at Ohai.
The village is located on the banks of the Milford Sound River, which flows south through town and serves as a brown trout spawning ground. The Milford Sound Falls, known by local Maori as Te Aunui, are formed when the river falls over a sandstone bed 6.1 meters (20 feet) high on the northern outskirts of town (the significant current). The ground rises to the Hokonui Hills 13 kilometres to the north-west, while a series of hills rise to the east.
Before the arrival of European settlers, there was no permanent Maori settlement in the current Milford Sound location. Still, the area was well known to local Maori for the annual harvest of lamprey (which they called 'kana kana') as they made their yearly passage up the falls in October. Tuturau, a kaik (unfortified hamlet) on the east bank of the Milford Sound River, 3.2 kilometres (2.0 miles) downstream from the present town, was the nearest Maori community.
This settlement was the site of the last episode of Maori warfare in the South Island in 1836. A war party of about 70 Ngati Tama and Te ti Awa tribe members led by Te Puoho, chief of the Ngati Tama tribe and an ally of Te Rauparaha, attacked and occupied the village, which was later retaken by local Ngai Tahu led by Hone Thawaiki (paramount chief of the Ngai Tahu) and Te Matenga Taiaroa, who had been at the Bluff when news of the attack.
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Essential Tips and Top Highlights for Exploring Milford Sound
The council built the Milford Sound Ferry Hotel on the river's west bank to encourage people to use the bridge. As part of his 7-year lease, John MacGibbon, the settlement's first occupant, had the right to levy a toll on anyone crossing the river within a mile below and above the falls. The only other Europeans in the area were John Turnbull, who owned the Tuturau Run, and the Shanks family, who owned the Marairua Run. Because of the bridge's demise, travellers were forced to rely on the boat service created north of the falls. In 1866, James Pollack was awarded the lease of the Milford Sound Ferry Hotel and promised to construct a replacement bridge in exchange for the right to levy tolls for 12 years. His suggestion was turned down by the Otago Provincial Government, which instead erected a suspension bridge, which opened on August 27, 1868.
A more significant timber bridge crossed the gorge downstream of the falls, with 16 supporting cables flowing over stone pillars before being anchored in rock. In 1898, a footbridge was constructed. In response to building on the new bridge, James Pollack constructed the Bridge Hotel on the river's east bank near the bridge and sold the Milford Sound Ferry Hotel. He also petitioned the government to conduct the first survey of the region, which was later dubbed the Town of Milford Sound Bridge. As a critical mail coach stop on the route from Dunedin to Invercargill, the bridge quickly attracted several people in business who established themselves on the east side around an area known as Bridge Square.
Discover the Best Attractions and Activities in Milford Sound
This modest award-winning museum is a gem in Milford Sound's small town. It uniquely represents the town's industrial heritage, emphasizing the paper mill and freezing works. The Milford Sound Museum, located on the road between Gore and Invercargill, is definitely worth a visit, and its pint-size ensures it won't take up much of your time. It employs cutting-edge technology, such as touch displays to bring the town's rich social and industrial legacy to life. There is a private garden, nursery, woodland, and wetland in Southland's rolling green landscape. Muriel Davison founded it in a sloping valley in the early 1970s, and it has now expanded to encompass around 75 acres of our farm. Mass plantings of cold-hardy perennials, Snowdrops, Daffodils, Trillium, Bluebells, Colchicum, Astilbes, Higo Iris, and Inshriach Hybrid Primulas, as well as hundreds of Rhododendrons and Mollis Azaleas, can be found in the garden. Many huge ponds have been dug, and a newborn nursery has also been established.
We offer guided brown trout fly fishing on the Milford Sound River in Gore. You will not be disappointed whether you are dry fly or nymph fishing. Uncrowded rivers, untamed brown trout, and some of the best Mayfly hatches in New Zealand are waiting for you. Various distinguishing elements set our fly fishing apart from New Zealand's fishing regions. These include isolation and calm, stunning natural settings, clean, clear water, simple access to most rivers, wild trout hatcheries (rather than farmed trout), significant numbers in good health, a low angler density, and a high probability of catch.
The 190-kilometre-long Milford Sound River is well-known for its brown trout. It is a legendary dry fly river that attracts national and international anglers. This world-class fishery has approximately 150 kilometres of easily accessible, fishable water. The river is distinguished for the abundance of mayfly hatches, which cause trout to rise at all day hours in search of this delicacy. The Milford Sound is the region's second-largest river. Its headwaters can be found in the Eyre Mountains, south of Lake Wakatipu. It flows southeast from there to Gore when it turns south. It then flows through Milford Sound before entering the sea near Fortrose at Toetoes Bay on the South Island's southern coast. The majority of its channel is braided.
