Editing Milford Track (section)

== History ==
{{more citations needed|date=August 2012}}
The native [[Māori people]] used the area for gathering and transporting valuable [[pounamu|greenstone]].  They have legends about the area and the native species found in it.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Coming in from the Milford end, [[Donald Sutherland (explorer)|Donald Sutherland]] and John Mackay were the first European explorers to see what are now known as Mackay Falls and [[Sutherland Falls]], in 1880.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Parham|first1=W. T|title=Story: Sutherland, Donald|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2s53/sutherland-donald|publisher=Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|accessdate=24 May 2015}}</ref> From the Lake Te Anau end, [[Quintin McKinnon]] and a companion set out to find an overland route into Milford Sound and, in 1888, discovered was what is now named [[McKinnon Pass]]. This led him to link up with Sutherland on the other side of the pass.

McKinnon (also spelled Mckinnon and Mackinnon) was the first guide to take walkers from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. McKinnon began by guiding tours himself and expanded with a marketing campaign from there.  Many parts of the Milford Track are named for McKinnon, including McKinnon Pass, the highest point of the track. He also cooked pompolona, a type of scone from which one of the guided trip huts takes its name."<ref>[http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/historic/by-region/fiordland/northern-fiordland/historic-mackinnon-pass-memorial/ History of the Milford Track at NZ Department of Conservation.]</ref>
[[File:Te_Anau_Lake_to_Milford_Sound_tourist_map.jpg|thumb|Te Anau Lake to Milford Sound tourist map 1903]]
37 tourists used the new steamer and huts along the improved track in 1899–1900, though some track work remained to be completed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1900 |title=REPORT BY D. AND J. ROSS ON THE TOURIST TRAFFIC BETWEEN LAKE TE ANAU AND MILFORD SOUND. |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1900/I/826 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> In 1901, the government via the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, and later the Tourist Hotel Corporation assumed administrative control of the track and guided tours until it was sold to a private enterprise in 1990. The track was very famous with women from early on. Some parties consisted of three-quarters women even in the first half of the 20th century.<ref name="FINEST">''The Finest Walk In The World'' – information and history book provided in the Milford Track huts, [[New Zealand Department of Conservation]]</ref>
 
For a great length of its history, only commercial guided tours had the right to be on the track, but in 1965 a "freedom walk" by 46 members of the Otago Tramping Club led to the opening up to the current dual system in 1966<ref>[https://blog.doc.govt.nz/2015/05/28/milford-freedom-walk/ "Celebrating the first Milford ‘Freedom Walk’"]</ref> with additional huts and facilities for independent walkers created allowing individual, non-guided tours on the route. Today, a quota system allows approximately half the capacity of the track to be used by guided tours, while the other half is undertaken by people walking on their own or in informal groups. The two types of walker use separate systems of huts.

In 1992, sports organiser [[Robin Judkins]] planned a [[mountain marathon]] to be held on the Milford Track – the Milford Mountain Marathon. The event was most contentious and caused much angst, including death threats, physical attacks and anonymous phone calls. Judkins fought a very public fight with politicians and conservationists, including Gerry McSweeney, and obtained all the approvals and permits, but cancelled the event.<ref>{{Cite book
 | ref = {{sfnRef|McKerrow & Woods|1994}}
 | title = Coast to Coast: The Great New Zealand Race
 | last1 = McKerrow
 | first1 = Bob
 | author-link1 = Bob McKerrow
 | last2 = Woods
 | first2 = John
 | location = Christchurch, New Zealand
 | publisher = Shoal Bay Press
 | year = 1994
 | isbn = 978-0-908704-22-4
 | page = 23
}}</ref>

Due to its popularity and the limited facilities available for overnighting (camping is not permitted), the track remains heavily regulated.