Orton is a rural district seven miles east of and below the Rangitata railway station, which is seventy-five miles from Christchurch and twenty-five from Timaru. The district has a post office, which is thirty-three miles from Timaru, and mails are received and despatched on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Rangitata, seven miles away, has the nearest telegraph office. There is a public school, which is attended by about twenty children. Orton is named after a village in Westmorland, England, where one of the local settlers, Mr. John Airay, used to live before he left the Old Land for Australia.