1995 they had gone. Fortification and Waronui coal mines and railway line Coal was dug in the lower Tokomairaro valley from 1855. A railway was considered as early as 1875. Mining near Fortification Hill started in 1882. Poor roads and difficult navigation of the river limited production. The Fortification Railway and Coal Company started building a railway in 1900 and opened it on 3 April 1901, but went into liquidation in 1903. In 1906 the Bruce Coal Company Ltd opened a new mine across the river, calling it Waronui. A temporary bridge was built over the river, until the railway was extended about to the new mine when Glendining and Co took over in 1908. The line ran south west, crossing the Tokomairaro River a few times, from Milton, for about to mines at Fortification and Waronui. The line was little used after two miners were killed in 1930 and it was sold for scrap in 1932. Milton pottery An early claim to fame for Milton was its pottery, often regarded as some of the country's finest. Clay is a plentiful natural resource in South Otago, and potteries were a major employer in the late 19th century throughout South Otago and Southland. Between 1873 and 1915 numerous pottery works operated from the Milton area, starting with William White's short-lived Tokomairiro Steam Pottery Works, reputedly the first industrial kilns in the Southern Hemisphere. The Milton Pottery works was rescued in 1880 by former Mayor of Dunedin (1876) Charles Reeves. The industry reached its height in the 1880s, at which time five kilns were operating and over 40 staff were employed, producing building materials such as bricks and tiles, sanitary ceramics such as washbasins, and domestic and decorative dinner sets, vases, and jars. The industry in Milton did not survive the loss of manpower during World War I, though pottery as an industry continued in South Otago at Benhar near Balclutha, which was a major producer of toilet bowls and other domestic ceramics until the 1990s. Bruce Herald The Bruce Herald was established by Joseph Mackay in 1864 and was one of the longest running country newspapers, closing on 7 October 1971. It was one of a chain, including the Mataura Ensign at Gore and Clutha Times at Balclutha. Other local papers were the Bruce Independent (1866–1867) and the Milton Mirror in 1905, but was taken over by the Herald after a