Taieri Mouth. Lakes Waihola, Mahinerangi, and Waipori, which ultimately drain into the Taieri through its tributary the Waipori River, are also located in South Otago. Between and roughly parallel with those two large rivers is the smaller Tokomairaro River, which drains the Milton area. The most populous town is Balclutha, 81 km south of Dunedin by road (except for the occasional inclusion of the larger Mosgiel in definitions of South Otago). It serves as the man service town for the area's large farming community. Balclutha's population, by the 2006 census, was 4,062 (down from 4,137 in 1996). Other towns are Milton (pop. 1,887), Kaitangata (pop. 810), Brighton, Lawrence (pop. 432), Owaka (pop. 327), Stirling (pop. 309), Waihola, Outram, Allanton, Henley, Momona, Kaka Point (pop. 201), Taieri Mouth, and Benhar (pop. 96). For a while in the 1980s Balclutha was New Zealand's most wealthy town, per capita. History The area has a rich history, with Māori iwi and predominantly Scottish settlers, the latter of whom arrived in the 1840s and 1850s. As happened in most of the South Island, the land was bought by these settlers from its original Māori inhabitants. Later, the main Māori tribe from the area, Kai Tahu, received a large cash settlement from the New Zealand Government as reparation for the confiscation of land that took place during that colonisation period. The Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s, initially centred around Lawrence, drew thousands of men to the district in search of wealth. The discovery of coal at Kaitangata was also important for the regions development, and was also responsible for one of Otago's worst disasters, an explosion at the mine in 1879. Other minerals mined in South Otago include silica and phosphate. In more recent times the region has been associated with woollen milling and forestry. Sheep, dairy cattle and deer are farmed locally, and farming and farm-related industries are the mainstay of the region's economy. Tourism, particularly around the Catlins, is also becoming important to the region. South Otago's close association with Dunedin has increased since the reorganisation of local government areas in the 1980s. The northern part of South Otago, including much of the Taieri Plains, is now within the boundaries of Dunedin City (the rest of the area is almost entirely within Clutha District). The location of Dunedin International Airport at Momona is the area's most important transport hub, though most of