Daily Photo – Great North Road, Winton

The last time I was in Winton, I arrived late in the afternoon. I found my accommodation, had a couple of beers, was declined as a solo-entry to a team quiz night, had tea and slept reasonably well, In the morning I checked-out, went for a walk and headed for the town of Limehills.

The funny thing about Winton is that while State Highway 6 runs directly through the middle of town, the west side is packed in with shops, houses, and all the busy stuff, while the east side looks like it started with good intentions, put up a few shops, and then quietly gave up. At first glance it feels like an odd way to arrange a town, but really it all comes down to the trains.

Back when the railways were snaking their way across Otago and Southland, Winton found itself sitting neatly at a junction. People, freight, stock, and opportunity rattled in and out of town on a daily basis. The railway was Winton’s beating heart, and right alongside the tracks sprang up the shops, banks, pubs, and services that gave the place its sense of being a proper wee hub. For a while, it worked brilliantly.

The trouble with railways, of course, is that once they stop being useful, they have a habit of disappearing altogether. The trains slowed, then stopped, the tracks were ripped up, and the land became something else entirely. What remains is this slightly lopsided arrangement: the west side bustling and snug, the east side stretched into parks, gardens, memorials, and wide community spaces where the train corridor used to be. It gives the place a kind of balance, half busy little town – half wide-open space which, in its own way, feels rather fitting for Southland.