HistoryBeaumont is a small community located at the top of the Rongahere Valley 53kms north-west of Milton. Originally Beaumont was to be called Dunkeld, however was eventually named after the Bowmont Water, a tributary of the River Tweed in Scotland. The wrought iron single lane Beaumont bridge constructed in 1887 was the first of its kind in New Zealand. Today, it remains the only bridge of this kind in the country. Farming, forestery, and orchards were historically, and remain to this day, the mainstay of the area. During the construction of the Central Otago railway in the 1920s, the population dramatically increased with numbers at the Beaumont School reaching 80 pupils. The railway closed in 1968, and the closure of school followed a few years later. Today, the town is a desintation along the Clutha Gold Cycle trail.
