Dunedin dʌnˈiːdɨn is the second-largest city in the
South IslandThe South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until superseded by Auckland on the creation of the
Auckland CouncilThe Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
in November 2010. Dunedin was the largest city in New Zealand by population until about 1900.
The Dunedin urban area lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, surrounding the head of
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
. The harbour and hills around Dunedin are the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the surrounding valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the
Otago PeninsulaThe Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
, and along the shores of the Otago Harbour and the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The city's largest industry is
tertiary educationTertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
– Dunedin is home to the
University of OtagoThe University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, New Zealand's first university (1869), and the
Otago PolytechnicThe Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with campuses throughout the region of Otago including Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown....
. Students account for a large proportion of the population: 21.6 percent of the city's population was aged between 15 and 24 at the 2006 census, compared to the New Zealand average of 14.2 percent.
Māori settlements
Archaeological evidence shows the first human (Māori) occupation of New Zealand occurred between AD 1250–1300, with population concentrated along the southeast coast. A camp site at Kaikai's Beach, near Otago Heads, has been dated from about that time. There are numerous archaic (
moaThe moa were eleven species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached about in height with neck outstretched, and weighed about ....
hunter) sites in what is now Dunedin, several of them large and permanently occupied, particularly in the 14th century. The population contracted but expanded again with the evolution of the Classic culture which saw the building of several
pāThe word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
, fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at (
Taiaroa HeadTaiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. It lies within the city limits of Dunedin...
), about 1650. There was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin (Ōtepoti) occupied as late as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826.
Maori tradition tells first of a people called Kahui Tipua living in the area, then Te Rapuwai, semi-legendary but considered to be historical. The next arrivals were
WaitahaWaitaha is an early historical Māori iwi . Inhabitants of the South Island of New Zealand, they were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest first by the Kāti Mamoe and then Ngāi Tahu from the 16th century onward....
followed by
Kāti MamoeKāti Mamoe, or Ngāti Mamoe, is an historic Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga area they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was occupied by Waitaha....
late in the 16th century and then
Kai TahuNgāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
(
Ngai Tahu in modern standard
MāoriMāori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
) who arrived in the mid 17th century. These migration waves have often been represented as 'invasions' in European accounts but modern scholarship has cast doubt on that. They were probably migrations like those of the European which incidentally resulted in bloodshed.
The sealer John Boultbee recorded in the 1820s that the 'Kaika Otargo' (settlements around and near
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
) were the oldest and largest in the south.
European settlement
Lieutenant
James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between February 25, 1770 and March 5, 1770, naming
Cape SaundersCape Saunders is a prominent headland on the Pacific Ocean coast of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand's South Island. It is home to the Cape Saunders Lighthouse....
on the
Otago PeninsulaThe Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
and Saddle Hill. He reported penguins and seals in the vicinity, which led
sealersSeal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
to visit from the beginning of the 19th century. The early years of sealing saw a feud between sealers and local Maori, from 1810–1823, the "
Sealers' WarThe Sealers' War, also known as the "War of the Shirt", was a conflict in southern New Zealand started in 1810 by a Māori chief's theft of a red shirt, a knife and some other articles from the sealing vessel the Sydney Cove in Otago Harbour, and the excessive revenge of unidentified Europeans from...
" sparked by an incident on Otago Harbour, but
William TuckerWilliam Tucker was a British convict, a sealer, a trader in human heads, an Otago settler, and New Zealand’s first art dealer....
became the first European to settle in the area in 1815. Permanent European occupation dates from 1831 when the
Weller brothersThe Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand’s most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.-Immigration:...
founded their whaling station at Otago, modern
OtakouThe settlement of Otakou lies within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour.-Overview:...
, on the Otago Harbour. Epidemics badly reduced the Maori population. By the late 1830s, the harbour was an international whaling port. Johnny Jones established a farming settlement and a mission station, the South Island's first, at
WaikouaitiWaikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
in 1840.
In 1844, the
Deborah, captained by Thomas Wing and carrying, among others his wife Lucy and a representative of the
New Zealand CompanyThe New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
, Frederick Tuckett, came south to determine the location of a
free churchThe term "free church" refers to a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separated from government . A free church does not define government policy, nor have governments define church policy or theology, nor seeks or receives government endorsement or funding for its general mission...
settlement. After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the south island, Tuckett selected the site which would become known as Dunedin. Tuckett turned down the site, which would become Christchurch, as he felt the ground around the Avon river was far too swampy.
The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland founded Dunedin at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its special settlement. The name comes from
Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the capital of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Charles KettleCharles Henry Kettle surveyed the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, imposing a bold design on a challenging landscape. He was aiming to create a Romantic effect and incidentally produced the world's steepest street, Baldwin Street....
the city's surveyor, instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking, 'Romantic' design. The result was both grand and quirky streets as the builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across the challenging landscape. Captain
William CargillWilliam Walter Cargill was the founder of the Otago settlement in New Zealand, after serving as an officer in the British Army. He was a Member of Parliament and Otago's first Superintendent.-Early life:...
, a veteran of the war against
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, was the secular leader. The Reverend
Thomas BurnsThomas Burns was a prominent early European settler and religious leader of the province of Otago, New Zealand.Burns was baptised at Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland in April 1796, the son of estate manager Gilbert Burns, who was the brother of the poet Robert Burns...
, a nephew of the poet
Robert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, was the spiritual guide.
Gold rush era
In 1852, Dunedin became the capital of the
Otago ProvinceThe Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.-Area:The capital of the province was Dunedin...
, the whole of New Zealand from the
WaitakiThe Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long. It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin.It is a braided river which flows through Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo,...
south. In 1861 the discovery of gold at
Gabriel's GullyGabriel's Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River.The discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully by Gabriel Read in May 1861 led to the Central Otago goldrush...
, to the southwest, led to a rapid influx of population and saw Dunedin become New Zealand's first city by growth of population in 1865. The new arrivals included many Irish, but also Italians, French, Germans, Jews and Chinese. The
Dunedin Southern CemeteryThe Southern Cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin was the first major cemetery to be opened in the city. The cemetery was opened in 1858, ten years after the founding of the city in an area known as "Little Paisley"...
was established in 1858, the
Dunedin Northern CemeteryThe Dunedin Northern Cemetery is a major historic cemetery in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located close to Lovelock Avenue on a spur of Signal Hill close to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and the suburb of Opoho, overlooking Dunedin North and Logan Park. The site was set aside in...
in 1872.
Dunedin and the region industrialised and consolidated and the
Main South LineThe Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...
connected the city with
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
in 1878 and Invercargill in 1879. The
University of OtagoThe University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, the oldest university in New Zealand, was founded in Dunedin in 1869.
Otago Girls' High SchoolOtago Girls' High School is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by educationalist Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple...
was founded in 1871. Between 1881 and 1957, Dunedin was home to
cable tramsThe Dunedin cable tramway system was a group of cable tramway lines in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is significant as Dunedin was the second city in the world to adopt the cable car .- History :...
, being both one of the first and last such systems in the world. Early in the 1880s the inauguration of the frozen meat industry, with the first shipment leaving from
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
in 1882, saw the beginning of a later great national industry.
After ten years of gold rushes the economy slowed but
Julius VogelSir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
's immigration and development scheme brought thousands more especially to Dunedin and Otago before recession set in again in the 1880s. In these first and second times of prosperity many institutions and businesses were established, New Zealand's first daily newspaper,
art schoolArt school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
,
medical schoolA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
and
public artThe term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...
gallery the
Dunedin Public Art GalleryThe Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
among them. There was also a remarkable architectural flowering producing many substantial and ornamental buildings.
R.A. LawsonRobert Arthur Lawson was one of New Zealand's pre-eminent 19th century architects. It has been said he did more than any other designer to shape the face of the Victorian era architecture of the city of Dunedin...
's First Church of Otago and
Knox ChurchKnox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church of any denomination. Situated close to the university at the northern end of the CBD on George Street it is visible from much of the central city.It was...
are notable examples, as are buildings by
Maxwell BuryMaxwell Bury was an English-born architect who was active in New Zealand in the 19th century. He is best remembered for his buildings for the University of Otago.-Life:...
and
F.W. PetreFrancis William "Frank" Petre was a prominent New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zealand. He followed the Roman Church's initiative to build Catholic places of worship in Anglo-Saxon countries in...
. The other visual arts also flourished under the leadership of
W. M. HodgkinsWilliam Mathew Hodgkins was a 19th century New Zealand painter.According to his daughter Frances Hodgkins the 'father of art in New Zealand', he was certainly the chief advocate of art in Dunedin when the city led New Zealand in the 19th century...
. The city's landscape and burgeoning townscape were vividly portrayed by
George O'Brien 1821–1888George O'Brien was an engineer of aristocratic background who turned to art in 19th century Australasia, dying in poverty but leaving a body of remarkable work.-Biography:...
. From the mid 1890s the economy revived. Institutions such as the
Otago Settlers MuseumThe Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south. It is New Zealand's oldest and most extensive history museum...
and the
Hocken CollectionsThe Hocken Library is a research library, historical archive and art gallery based in the New Zealand city of Dunedin...
– the first of their kind in New Zealand – were founded. More notable buildings such as the
Railway StationPossibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station...
and
OlvestonOlveston is a substantial house in an inner suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand. It was built between 1904 and 1907 for a wealthy merchant David Theomin, . He had originally emigrated to New Zealand from the village of Olveston, South Gloucestershire, England...
were erected. New energy in the visual arts represented by
G.P. NerliGirolamo Pieri Pecci Ballati Nerli, known more commonly as Girolamo Nerli was an Italian painter who worked and travelled in Australia and New Zealand in the late 19th century influencing Charles Conder and Frances Hodgkins and helping to move Australian and New Zealand art in new directions...
culminated in the career of
Frances HodgkinsFrances Mary Hodgkins was a painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born in New Zealand, but spent most of her working life in Britain...
.
Early Modern era
By 1900, Dunedin was no longer the country's biggest city. Influence and activity moved north to the other centres ("the drift north"), a trend which continued for much of the following century. Despite this, the university continued to expand, and a student quarter became established. At the same time people started to notice Dunedin's mellowing, the ageing of its grand old buildings, with writers like E.H. McCormick pointing out its atmospheric charm. In the 1930s and early 1940s a new generation of artists such as
M.T. (Toss) WoollastonSir Mountford Tosswill "Toss" Woollaston was one of the most important New Zealand painters of the 20th century.Born in Toko, Taranaki on April 11, 1910, Woollaston studied art at the Canterbury School of Art in Christchurch...
, Doris Lusk, Anne Hamblett,
Colin McCahonColin John McCahon was a prominent New Zealand artist. During his life he also worked in art galleries and as a university lecturer...
and
Patrick HaymanPatrick Hayman was an English artist who worked in a variety of media including painting, drawing and three-dimensional constructions. Although he only lived in Cornwall, for a few years, he was closely associated with the St Ives School of painters and sculptors.Hayman acknowledged he was...
once again represented the best of the country's talent. The Second World War saw the dispersal of these painters, but not before McCahon had met a very youthful poet,
James K. BaxterJames Keir Baxter was a poet, and is a celebrated figure in New Zealand society.-Biography:Baxter was born in Dunedin to Archibald Baxter and Millicent Brown and grew up near Brighton. He was named after James Keir Hardie, a founder of the British Labour Party. His father had been a conscientious...
, in a central city studio.
Numerous large companies had been established in Dunedin, many of which became national leaders. Late among them was
Fletcher ConstructionFletcher Construction Limited is a leading New Zealand construction company. It is owned by Fletcher Building Limited and has three main divisions:*Building and interiors *South Pacific...
, founded by Sir
James FletcherSir James Fletcher was a New Zealand industrialist who founded Fletcher Construction, one of the country's largest firms. His son, Sir James Fletcher Junior, continued to build the corporation.-Early life:...
in the early 20th century.
Kempthorne ProsserKempthorne Prosser & Co. Ltd, also known as the New Zealand Drug Company Ltd, was the leading drug and fertiliser manufacturer in New Zealand from 1869 until 1978. Their complete name was Kempthorne Prosser & Co.'s New Zealand Drug Co. Ltd, established in Dunedin.Thomas Whitelock Kempthorne and...
, established in 1879 in Stafford Street, was the largest fertiliser and drug manufacturer in the country for over 100 years. G. Methven, a metalworking and tap manufacturer based in
South DunedinSouth Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known locally simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retail, and predominantly lower-quality residential...
, was also a leading firm, as was
H. E. ShacklockHenry Ely Shacklock was an iron moulder and manufacturer in colonial New Zealand. In 1873 H.E. Shacklock designed and built the first of thousands of cast iron coal ranges that, after various modifications, became the backbone of his business. The company he founded, H.E...
, an iron founder and appliance manufacturer later taken over by the Auckland concern Fisher and Paykel. The Mosgiel Woollens was another Victorian Dunedin foundation. Hallensteins was the colloquial name of a menswear manufacturer and national retail chain while the DIC and
Arthur BarnettArthur Barnett is a Dunedin, New Zealand-based department store operator. Established in 1903 by Arthur Barnett the store first began as a drapery for men and boys, progressing over the years to become one of Dunedin's most successful department stores.The 1924 Arthur Barnett building designed by...
were department stores, the former a nationwide concern. Coulls, Somerville Wilkie – later part of the
WhitcoullsWhitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in New Zealand, formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls...
group – had its origins in Dunedin in the 19th century. There were also the National Mortgage and Agency Company, Wright Stephensons Limited, the Union Steamship Company and the National Insurance Company and the Standard Insurance Company among many others, which survived into the 20th century.
Post War developments
After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
prosperity and population growth revived, although Dunedin trailed as the fourth 'main centre'. A generation reacting against
VictorianismVictorianism is the name given to the attitudes, art, and culture of the later two-thirds of the 19th century. This usage is strong within social history and the study of literature, less so in philosophy. Many disciplines do not use the term, but instead prefer Victorian Era, or simply "Late 19th...
started demolishing its buildings and many were lost, notably William Mason's
Stock ExchangeA stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
in 1969. (Dunedin Stock Exchange building) Although the university continued to expand, the city's population growth slowed and then contracted, notably from 1976 to 1981. This was, however, a culturally vibrant time with the university's new privately endowed arts fellowships bringing such luminaries as
James K BaxterJames Keir Baxter was a poet, and is a celebrated figure in New Zealand society.-Biography:Baxter was born in Dunedin to Archibald Baxter and Millicent Brown and grew up near Brighton. He was named after James Keir Hardie, a founder of the British Labour Party. His father had been a conscientious...
,
Ralph HotereHone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere is a New Zealand artist of Māori descent . He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and He is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important living artists...
,
Janet FrameJanet Paterson Frame, ONZ, CBE was a New Zealand author. She wrote eleven novels, four collections of short stories, a book of poetry, an edition of juvenile fiction, and three volumes of autobiography during her lifetime. Since her death, a twelfth novel, a second volume of poetry, and a handful...
, and
Hone TuwhareHone Tuwhare was a noted New Zealand poet of Māori ancestry. He is closely associated with The Catlins in the Otago region of New Zealand, where he lived for the latter part of his life.-Early years:...
to the city.
During the 1980s Dunedin's
popular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
scene blossomed, with many acts, such as
The ChillsThe Chills are a guitar and keyboard-based rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were one of the proponents of the Dunedin Sound.- History :...
,
The CleanThe Clean are an influential Indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott...
,
The VerlainesThe Verlaines are a rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups before going on an extended hiatus after their 1997 album Over The Moon. In 2003 a career retrospective, You're...
, and
Straitjacket FitsStraitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin Sound.-Biography:...
, gaining national and international recognition. The term "The
Dunedin SoundThe Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.-Characteristics:...
" was coined to describe the 1960s-influenced, guitar-led music which flourished at the time. Bands and musicians are still playing and recording in many styles.
By 1990,
population declinePopulation decline can refer to the decline in population of any organism, but this article refers to population decline in humans. It is a term usually used to describe any great reduction in a human population...
had steadied and Dunedin had re-invented itself as a 'heritage city' with its main streets refurbished in Victorian style and R.A. Lawson's Municipal Chambers (
Dunedin Town HallThe Dunedin Town Hall is a municipal building in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. It is located in the heart of the city extending from The Octagon, the central plaza, to Moray Place through a whole city block. It is the seat of the Dunedin City Council, providing its formal meeting chamber, as...
) in
the OctagonThe Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand.-Features:The Octagon is an eight sided plaza bisected by the city's main street, which is called George Street to the northeast and Princes Street to the southwest...
handsomely restored. The city was also recognised as a centre of excellence in
tertiary educationHigher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
and research. The university's and polytechnic's growth accelerated. Dunedin has continued to refurbish itself, embarking on redevelopments of the art gallery railway station and the Otago Settlers Museum.
The city has a population of , and is the seventh-largest urban area in New Zealand.
The city has flourishing niche industries including engineering,
software engineeringSoftware Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
,
bio-technologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
and fashion.
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
on the
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
provides Dunedin with deep-water facilities. It is served by the
Port Chalmers BranchThe Port Chalmers Branch was the first railway line built in Otago, New Zealand, and linked the region's major city of Dunedin with the port in Port Chalmers...
, a
branch lineA branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
railwayRail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
which diverges from the
Main South LineThe Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...
and runs from
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
by way of Dunedin to
InvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
. Dunedin is also home to
MTFMotor Trade Finances Limited is a vehicle finance company based in Dunedin, New Zealand, operating nationwide through a network of car dealerships and franchise offices. It is one of New Zealands largest finance companies.-History:...
, the nationwide vehicle finance company.
The cityscape glitters with gems of Victorian and Edwardian architecture – the legacy of the city's gold-rush affluence. Many, including First Church,
Otago Boys' High SchoolOtago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...
and
Larnach CastleLarnach Castle , is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki...
were designed by one of New Zealand's most eminent architects
R A LawsonRobert Arthur Lawson was one of New Zealand's pre-eminent 19th century architects. It has been said he did more than any other designer to shape the face of the Victorian era architecture of the city of Dunedin...
. Other prominent buildings include
OlvestonOlveston is a substantial house in an inner suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand. It was built between 1904 and 1907 for a wealthy merchant David Theomin, . He had originally emigrated to New Zealand from the village of Olveston, South Gloucestershire, England...
and the
Dunedin Railway StationPossibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station...
. Other unusual or memorable buildings or constructions are
Baldwin StreetBaldwin Street in a suburban part of New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin, is considered the world's steepest residential street. It is located in the suburb of North East Valley, northeast of Dunedin's city centre....
, the world's steepest street; the Captain Cook tavern; Cadbury Chocolate Factory (Cadbury World); and the local
Speight'sSpeight's is a brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is famous for its promotional branding based on being 'a real southern man' and being 'the pride of the south'. Speight's also gave rise to a series of Speight's Ale Houses across New Zealand.- History :...
brewery.
Dunedin is also a centre for
ecotourismEcotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
. The world's only mainland
Royal AlbatrossThe Northern Royal Albatross or Toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It was split from the closely related Southern Royal Albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and consider both of them to be subspecies of the Royal...
colony and several
penguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
and
sealPinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
colonies lie within the city boundaries on the
Otago PeninsulaThe Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
. To the south, on the western side of
Lake WaiholaLake Waihola is a tidal freshwater lake located 15 km north of Milton in Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. Its area is some 9 square kilometres, with a maximum length of 6 kilometres....
, are the
Sinclair WetlandsThe Sinclair Wetlands are an internationally renowned wetlands located to the south west of Dunedin, New Zealand, at the southern edge of the Taieri Plains on the western side of Lake Waipori...
.
The thriving tertiary student population has led to a vibrant youth culture (students are referred to as 'Scarfies' by people who are not students), consisting of the previously mentioned music scene, and more recently a burgeoning boutique
fashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
industry. A strong visual arts community also exists in Dunedin and its environs, notably in
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
and the other settlements which dot the coast of the
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
, and also in communities such as
WaitatiWaitati is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre...
.
Sport is catered for in Dunedin by the floodlit
rugbyRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
venue of
CarisbrookCarisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
, the new
Caledonian GroundThe Caledonian Ground, often simply known as "The Caley", is a major sports venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is primarily used for soccer and athletics, and has a capacity of 7,500.-Location:...
soccer and athletics stadium near the University at
Logan ParkLogan Park is a sporting venue in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It lies on land reclaimed from the former Lake Logan.- History :Lake Logan was reclaimed in the early 20th century...
, the large
Edgar CentreThe Edgar Centre is a large multi-purpose indoor sports venue in South Dunedin, New Zealand, on the shore of Otago Harbour close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets basketball team, and an alternate venue for the Southern Steel netball team...
indoor sports centre, the University Oval
cricket groundA cricket field consists of a large circular or oval-shaped grassy ground on which the game of cricket is played. There are no fixed dimensions for the field but its diameter usually varies between 450 feet to 500 feet...
, the
Dunedin Ice StadiumThe Dunedin Ice Stadium is an ice rink in Saint Kilda, Dunedin, New Zealand.The rink was constructed in 2004 inside the structure of the former Dunedin Stadium, which had been used for netball and basketball but had been largely superseded by The Edgar Centre as a venue for these sports...
, and numerous
golfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
courses and parks. There are also the
Forbury ParkForbury Park Raceway is a horseracing venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located close to the Pacific Ocean coast in the suburb of Saint Kilda....
horseracingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
circuit in the south of the city and several others within a few kilometres. St Clair Beach is a well-known
surfingSurfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
venue, and the harbour basin is popular with
windsurfersWindsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
and
kitesurfersKitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
. Dunedin has four public swimming pools:
Moana PoolMoana Pool is the largest swimming pool in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island. It is located at the corner of Littlebourne Road and Upper Stuart Street close to Otago Boys' High School, on the slopes of Roslyn, overlooking the centre of the city of Dunedin.The largest of Dunedin's four...
, Port Chalmers Pool, Mosgiel, and St Clair Salt Water Pool.
Geography
Dunedin City has a land area of 3314.8 square kilometres (1,279.9 sq mi), slightly smaller than the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
or the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, and a little smaller than
CornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
It was the largest city in land area in
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
until the formation of the 5600 km² (2,162.2 sq mi)
Auckland CouncilThe Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
on 1 November 2010. The Dunedin City Council boundaries since 1989 have extended to
MiddlemarchMiddlemarch is a small town within the limits of Dunedin city in New Zealand with 300 inhabitants. It lies some 80km to the west of the city centre, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri...
in the west,
WaikouaitiWaikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
in the north, the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
in the east and south-east, and the Waipori/Taieri River and the township of
HenleyHenley is a township on New Zealand's Taieri Plains, presumably named after the rowing centre Henley-on-Thames in England. It lies close to the confluence of the Taieri and Waipori Rivers at the eastern edge of the plain, at the foot of a low range of coastal hills.Henley is near the south-west...
in the south-west.
Dunedin is the farthest city in the world from
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at 19100 km (11,868.2 mi) (90 km (56 mi) more than
InvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
, and 100 km (62.1 mi) more than
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
), and from
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
at 18200 km (11,309 mi). Its
antipodesIn geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
are some 300 km (186.4 mi) north of the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
city of
A CoruñaA Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, in the
Bay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
.
Inner city
The heart of the city lies on the relatively flat land to the west of the head of the
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
. Here is
The OctagonThe Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand.-Features:The Octagon is an eight sided plaza bisected by the city's main street, which is called George Street to the northeast and Princes Street to the southwest...
– once a gully, filled in the mid nineteenth century to create the present plaza. The initial settlement of the city took place to the south on the other side of Bell Hill, a large outcrop which had to be reduced in order to provide easy access between the two parts of the settlement. The central city stretches away from this point in a largely northeast-southwest direction, with the main streets of
George StreetGeorge Street is the main street of Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for two and a half kilometres north-northeast from The Octagon in the city centre to the foot of Pine Hill. It is straight and undulates gently as it skirts the edge of the hills to its...
and Princes Street meeting at The Octagon. Here they are joined by
Stuart StreetStuart Street is one of the main streets of Dunedin, New Zealand. As with many of Dunedin's streets, it is named after a main street in Edinburgh, Scotland....
, which runs orthogonally to them, from the
Dunedin Railway StationPossibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station...
in the southeast, and steeply up to the suburb of Roslyn in the northwest. Many of the city's notable old buildings are located in the southern part of this area and on the inner ring of lower hills which surround the central city (most of these hills, such as Maori Hill, Pine Hill, and Maryhill, rise to some 200 metres (656.2 ft) above the plain).
Dunedin is home to
Baldwin StreetBaldwin Street in a suburban part of New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin, is considered the world's steepest residential street. It is located in the suburb of North East Valley, northeast of Dunedin's city centre....
, which, according to the
Guinness Book of RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, is the steepest street in the world. Its gradient is 1 in 2.9. The long since abandoned Maryhill
CablecarA cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
route had a similar gradient close to its Mornington depot.
Beyond the inner range of hills lie Dunedin's outer suburbs, notably to the northwest, beyond Roslyn. This direction contains Taieri Road and Three Mile Hill, which between them formed the original road route to the
Taieri PlainsThe Taieri Plains are an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plains cover an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of 30 kilometres....
. The modern
State Highway 1State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
follows a different route, passing through
CavershamCaversham is one of the older suburbs of the South Island New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point...
in the west and out past Saddle Hill. Lying between Saddle Hill and Caversham are the outer suburbs of
Green Island and AbbotsfordGreen Island is an island off the coast of Dunedin, New Zealand, also the name of one of the city's suburbs. The suburb is not on the sea — formerly a borough, it took its name from the Green Island bush, uncleared native forest extending from the valley where the town is centred over the hills...
. Between Green Island and Roslyn lies the steep-sided valley of the
Kaikorai StreamThe Kaikorai Stream is a short river which runs through Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. The entirety of its length is within the city of Dunedin....
, which is today a residential and light industrial area. Suburban settlements – mostly regarded as separate townships – also lie along both edges of the Otago Harbour. Notable among these are
PortobelloPortobello is a village beside the Otago Harbour halfway along the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin City, New Zealand. It lies at the foot of a small peninsula between Portobello Bay and Latham Bay....
and Macandrew Bay, on the
Otago PeninsulaThe Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
coast, and
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
on the opposite side of the harbour. Port Chalmers provides Dunedin's main deep-water port, including the city's container port.
The Dunedin skyline is dominated by a ring of (traditionally seven) hills which form the remnants of a
volcanic craterA volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
. Notable among them are
Mount CargillMount Cargill is a 680 metre high volcanic outcrop which dominates the skyline of northern Dunedin, New Zealand. It is situated some 15 kilometres north of the city centre....
(700 m (2,296.6 ft)),
FlagstaffFlagstaff is a prominent hill overlooking the northwest of the city of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. Together with Mount Cargill, which lies to its northeast, it dominates the skyline of the city...
(680 m (2,231 ft)),
Saddle HillSaddle Hill is a prominent landmark overlooking the northeastern end of the Taieri Plains in Otago, New Zealand. Within the limits of Dunedin city, it is located 18 kilometres to the west of the city centre, between Mosgiel and Green Island, and is clearly visible from many of the city's southern...
(480 m (1,574.8 ft)),
Signal HillSignal Hill is a prominent landform in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located close to, and due north of, the head of the Otago Harbour and reaches an elevation of 393 m . The suburbs Ravensbourne, St. Leonards, and Opoho lie on its southern, eastern, and northwestern flanks, respectively...
(390 m (1,279.5 ft)), and Harbour Cone (320 m (1,049.9 ft)).
Hinterland
The hinterland of Dunedin city encompasses a variety of different landforms. To the southwest lie the
Taieri PlainsThe Taieri Plains are an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plains cover an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of 30 kilometres....
, the broad, fertile lowland floodplains of the
Taieri RiverThe Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is located in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw ranges, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 km south of Dunedin.The upper reaches meander...
and its major tributary the
WaiporiThe Waipori River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it flows southeast for 50 kilometres before joining the Taieri River near Henley, 30 km southwest of Dunedin of which it is officially the southernmost border.The upper reaches of the Waipori...
. These are moderately heavily settled, and contain the towns of
MosgielMosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area, but was physically separate from the contiguous suburbs until...
, East Taieri, and Allanton. They are separated from the coast by a range of low hills rising to some 300 metres (984.3 ft). Inland from the Taieri Plain is rough hill country. Close to the plain, much of this is forested, notably around
BerwickBerwick is a small farming community on the banks of the Waipori River in New Zealand. To the south of Berwick is the Berwick Forest, a large pine plantation.Berwick is also the location of one of the Otago Youth Adventure Trust's campsites....
and
Lake MahinerangiLake Mahinerangi is a small hydroelectric lake formed by a dam on the Waipori River 35 kilometres to the west of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island....
, and also around the
SilverpeaksThe Silverpeaks is an area of rough forest and tussock and scrub covered hill country inland and to the northwest of Dunedin, New Zealand...
Range which lies northwest of the Dunedin urban area. Beyond this, the land becomes drier and opens out into grass and tussock-covered land. A high, broad valley, the Strath-Taieri lies in Dunedin's far northwest, containing the town of
MiddlemarchMiddlemarch is a small town within the limits of Dunedin city in New Zealand with 300 inhabitants. It lies some 80km to the west of the city centre, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri...
, one of the area's few concentrations of population.
To the north of the city's urban area is undulating hill country containing several small, mainly coastal, settlements, including
WaitatiWaitati is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre...
,
WarringtonWarrington is a small settlement on the coast of Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated close to the northern shore of Blueskin Bay, an area of mudflats north of Dunedin and is administered as part of Dunedin City. Warrington is 3 km from State Highway 1 linked by Coast Road...
,
SeacliffSeacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies 4 miles east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.- History :The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been contested through the ages...
and
WaikouaitiWaikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
.
State Highway 1State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
winds steeply through a series of hills here, notably
The KilmogThe Kilmog is a hilly area approximately 20 kilometres north of Dunedin, New Zealand, on State Highway 1, to the north of Blueskin Bay and south of Karitane...
. These hills can be considered a coastal extension of the Silverpeaks Range.
To the east, Dunedin City includes the entirety of the
Otago PeninsulaThe Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
, a long finger of land that formed the southeastern rim of the Dunedin Volcano. The peninsula is lightly settled, almost entirely along the harbour coast, and much of it is maintained as a
natural habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
by the Otago Peninsula Trust. The peninsula contains several fine beaches, and is home to a considerable number of
rare speciesA rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....
, such as
penguinPenguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
s,
sealsPinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
, and
shagsThe bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
. Most importantly, it contains the world's only mainland breeding colony of
Royal AlbatrossThe Southern Royal Albatross, Diomedea epomophora, is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of around , it is the second largest albatross, behind the Wandering Albatross.-Taxonomy:...
, at
Taiaroa HeadTaiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. It lies within the city limits of Dunedin...
on the peninsula's northeastern point.
List of suburbs
Inner suburbs
(clockwise from the city centre, starting at due north)
Woodhaugh; Glenleith;
Leith ValleyLeith Valley is a suburb, valley, and general area of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located to the northwest of the city centre. To differentiate the name of the valley from that of the suburb, the former is usually referred to as the Leith Valley, the latter simply as Leith Valley.-The valley...
; Dalmore; Liberton;
Pine HillPine Hill is a suburb, hill, and general area of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is sited on the hill of the same name, a spur of Mount Cargill overlooking North East Valley and Glenleith to the north of the city centre. This spur lies in the fork of the confluence of the Water of Leith and...
; Normanby; Mt Mera;
North East ValleyNorth East Valley is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin.-Geography and demographics:...
;
OpohoOpoho is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It sits on the western flank of Signal Hill, New Zealand, to the northeast of the city centre, overlooking North East Valley and the Dunedin Botanic Gardens....
;
Dunedin NorthDunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located to the northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, main hospital, and largest museum...
;
RavensbourneRavensbourne is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the steep southeastern slopes of Signal Hill above the Otago Harbour. It lies on the harbour's northern shore, east-northeast of the city centre...
; Highcliff;
Shiel HillShiel Hill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the southeastern edge of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre at the western end of the Otago Peninsula, close to the isthmus joining the peninsula to the mainland...
;
Challis"The Cove, New Zealand" redirects here. For other things called "The Cove", see Cove Challis is a settlement on the Otago Harbour coast of Otago Peninsula, within the city limits of the New Zealand city of Dunedin...
;
WaverleyWaverley is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the start of the Otago Peninsula, southeast of the city centre, on a rise overlooking the Otago Harbour to the north....
; Vauxhall;
Ocean GroveOcean Grove, also known as Tomahawk, is a suburb in the southeast of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. A semi-rural residential suburb on the Pacific coast at the southwestern end of the Otago Peninsula, Ocean Grove is located southeast of Dunedin city centre.The suburb is isolated from much of the...
(Tomahawk); Tainui;
Andersons BayAndersons Bay is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre...
;
MusselburghMusselburgh is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre, and at the narrowest point of the isthmus which joins Otago Peninsula to the rest of the South Island . The suburb takes its name from...
;
South DunedinSouth Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known locally simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retail, and predominantly lower-quality residential...
;
St KildaSt Kilda is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. A densely populated residential suburb, it lies on the southern part of the city's central plain, to the southwest of the head of the harbour and immediately north of Ocean Beach, parts of which are within the suburb and form its major...
;
St ClairSt Clair is a leafy residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast five kilometres from the city centre on the southwesternmost part of the coastal plain which makes up the southern part of the urban area, and also climbs the slopes of Forbury Hill...
;
CorstorphineCorstorphine is a suburb of southwest Dunedin in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the slopes of Calton Hill - a spur of Forbury Hill - between Caversham Valley and the Pacific Ocean...
; Kew; Forbury;
CavershamCaversham is one of the older suburbs of the South Island New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point...
; Concord;
MaryhillMaryhill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on a ridge to the southwest of the central city between the suburbs of Mornington, Kenmure, and Caversham. The smaller suburb of Balaclava lies immediately to its west. Maryhill takes its name from a district in the...
; Kenmure;
MorningtonMornington is a suburb of the city of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on hilly slopes to the west of the city centre, the slopes forming part of a ridge which surrounds the heart of the city....
;
Kaikorai ValleyKaikorai Valley is a long broad valley which runs through the west of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, to the west of the city centre. It is the valley of a small stream, the Kaikorai Stream,which runs from northeast to southwest down the length of the valley.The valley provides a route into...
;
City RiseCity Rise is an inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. One of the city's older suburbs, it is, as its name suggests, centred on the slopes which lie close to the city centre, particularly those closest to the city's original heart of The Exchange...
; Belleknowes;
Roslyn, OtagoRoslyn is a major residential and retail suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located above the city centre on the ridge which runs in a crescent around the central city's western edge. It is to the northwest of the city centre, immediately above the Town Belt. Roslyn's 2001...
;
KaikoraiKaikorai Valley is a long broad valley which runs through the west of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, to the west of the city centre. It is the valley of a small stream, the Kaikorai Stream,which runs from northeast to southwest down the length of the valley.The valley provides a route into...
;
WakariWakari is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, immediately to the west of the ridge which runs to the west of the city's centre. Wakari lies to the north of the upper reaches of the Kaikorai Valley, and is also north of the...
;
Maori HillMaori Hill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the northern end of the ridge which runs in a crescent around the central city's western edge, to the northwest of the city centre, immediately above and within the Town Belt...
.
Outer suburbs
(clockwise from the city centre, starting at due north)
Burkes; Saint Leonards;
Broad BayThe settlement of Broad Bay is located on the Otago Harbour coast of Otago Peninsula, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is administered as part of the city of Dunedin, and is technically a suburb of that city, though its isolation and semi-rural nature make it appear as a settlement in its own...
;
Company BayCompany Bay is a suburb on the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand, nearby to Macandrew Bay. It is often considered once of Dunedin's exclusive and wealthier suburbs....
; Macandrew Bay;
BurnsideBurnside is a mainly industrial suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the mouth of a long valley, the Kaikorai Valley, through which flows the Kaikorai Stream. This valley stretches to the northeast for . Burnside is to the southwest of the city centre, close to eastern end...
;
Green IslandGreen Island is an island off the coast of Dunedin, New Zealand, also the name of one of the city's suburbs. The suburb is not on the sea — formerly a borough, it took its name from the Green Island bush, uncleared native forest extending from the valley where the town is centred over the hills...
;
WaldronvilleWaldronville is a coastal settlement on the Pacific Ocean coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in the 1950s as a commuter settlement, it is located to the southwest of Dunedin city centre, and lies within the city's limits. Waldronville was developed by Bill Waldron, when he...
; Saddle Hill; Sunnyvale;
FairfieldThe quiet suburb of Fairfield lies 10 kilometres to the west of Dunedin CBD, in Otago, southern New Zealand.Fairfield lies in rolling hill country between Abbotsford and the Taieri Plains, close to the slopes of Saddle Hill and Scroggs Hill...
; Abbotsford;
BradfordKaikorai Valley is a long broad valley which runs through the west of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, to the west of the city centre. It is the valley of a small stream, the Kaikorai Stream,which runs from northeast to southwest down the length of the valley.The valley provides a route into...
;
BrockvilleBrockville is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the edge of the city's main urban area, to the northwest of the city centre, but separated from it by both a ridge of hills and the Kaikorai Valley....
;
Halfway BushHalfway Bush is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, close to the point at which Taieri Road becomes the winding rural Three Mile Hill Road...
; Helensburgh.
Towns within city limits
(clockwise from the city centre, starting at due north)
WaitatiWaitati is a small seaside settlement in Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located close to the tidal mudflats of Blueskin Bay, 19 kilometres north of the Dunedin city centre...
;
WaikouaitiWaikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
;
KaritaneThe seaside settlement of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre....
;
SeacliffSeacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies 4 miles east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland.- History :The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been contested through the ages...
;
WarringtonWarrington is a small settlement on the coast of Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated close to the northern shore of Blueskin Bay, an area of mudflats north of Dunedin and is administered as part of Dunedin City. Warrington is 3 km from State Highway 1 linked by Coast Road...
; Purakanui;
Long BeachLong Beach is a small coastal settlement in Otago, New Zealand comprising approximately 100 homes. Many of the sections were initially auctioned in October 1922 for a pound deposit. It is located within the city limits of Dunedin, and lies 15 kilometres northeast of the city centre, between...
;
AramoanaAramoana, also known as "The Spit" to locals, is a small coastal settlement, 27 kilometres north of Dunedin city, in the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy cribs...
; Deborah Bay; Careys Bay;
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
;
Sawyers BaySawyers Bay is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the southwest of Port Chalmers in a wide valley on the shore of Mussel Bay, to the northeast of Dunedin city centre....
;
RoseneathRoseneath is a small suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located on the northwestern shore of Otago Harbour, to the northeast of Dunedin city centre. It is situated between Saint Leonards and Port Chalmers on a rocky promontory of the same name which juts into the harbour between Sawyers...
;
OtakouThe settlement of Otakou lies within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour.-Overview:...
;
PortobelloPortobello is a village beside the Otago Harbour halfway along the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin City, New Zealand. It lies at the foot of a small peninsula between Portobello Bay and Latham Bay....
;
Brighton"Ocean View, New Zealand" redirects here. For the inner Dunedin suburb occasionally referred to as Ocean View, see Andersons BayBrighton is a small seaside town within the city limits of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 20 kilometres southwest from the city centre on the...
; Taieri Mouth;
HenleyHenley is a township on New Zealand's Taieri Plains, presumably named after the rowing centre Henley-on-Thames in England. It lies close to the confluence of the Taieri and Waipori Rivers at the eastern edge of the plain, at the foot of a low range of coastal hills.Henley is near the south-west...
; Allanton; East Taieri;
MomonaMomona is a small town in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the centre of the fertile floodplain of the Taieri River ....
;
OutramOutram is a rural suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 642 . It is located 28 kilometres west of the central city at the edge of the Taieri Plains, close to the foot of Maungatua. The Taieri River flows close to the southeast of the town...
;
MosgielMosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area, but was physically separate from the contiguous suburbs until...
; West Taieri;
WaiporiWaipori may refer to either:*Waipori, New Zealand, a township within Dunedin, New Zealand's city limits* The Waipori River in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand, or to* Lake Waipori, an area of wetlands draining into the Waipori River...
;
MiddlemarchMiddlemarch is a small town within the limits of Dunedin city in New Zealand with 300 inhabitants. It lies some 80km to the west of the city centre, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri...
;
HydeHyde is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, located in the Strath-Taieri. It is close to the northern end of the Rock and Pillar Range on State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Ranfurly....
.
Since local council reorganisation in the late 1980s, these are suburbs, but are not commonly regarded as such.
Climate
The climate of Dunedin in general is temperate, however the city is recognised as having a large number of microclimates and the weather conditions often vary between suburbs mostly due to the city's topographical layout. It is also greatly modified by its proximity to the ocean. This leads to warm summers and cool winters. Winter can be frosty, but significant snowfall is uncommon (perhaps every two or three years), except in the inland hill suburbs such as Halfway Bush and Wakari, which tend to receive a few days of snowfall each year. Spring can feature "four seasons in a day" weather, but from November to April it is generally settled and mild. Temperatures during summer can reach 30 °C (86 °F)
Dunedin has relatively low rainfall in comparison to many of New Zealand's cities, with only some 750 millimetres (30 in) recorded per year. Despite this fact it is regarded by many as a damp city, probably due to its rainfall occurring in drizzle over a larger number of days (northern centres such as Auckland and Wellington receive more rain overall through heavy downpours on relatively fewer days). Dunedin is one of the cloudiest centres in the country, recording approximately 1650 hours of bright sunshine per annum
Prevailing windsPrevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface. A region's prevailing and dominant winds...
in the city come from two directions, with cool, damp southwesterlies tending to alternate with northeasterlies. Warmer, dry northwest winds are also characteristic
Foehn winds from the northwestThe Nor'west arch is a weather pattern peculiar to the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. For this reason, it is also often referred to as the Canterbury arch. It is shown in an apparent arch of high white cloud in an otherwise clear blue sky over the Southern Alps, and is accompanied by a...
. The circle of hills surrounding the
inner cityThe inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
shelters the inner city from much of Otago's prevailing weather, often resulting in the main urban area having completely different weather conditions from the rest of Otago.
Inland, beyond the heart of the city, the climate is sub-continental: winters are quite cold and dry, summers hot and dry. Thick freezing ground fogs are common in winter in the upper reaches of the
Taieri RiverThe Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is located in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw ranges, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 km south of Dunedin.The upper reaches meander...
's course around
MiddlemarchMiddlemarch is a small town within the limits of Dunedin city in New Zealand with 300 inhabitants. It lies some 80km to the west of the city centre, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri...
, and in summer the temperature sometimes reaches into the mid-30s Celsius.
Demographics
Compared to New Zealand as a whole, Dunedin's demographics tend to show traits of the New Zealand education sector, largely caused by the city's high tertiary student population. These traits include a higher female population compared to males, a lower-than-average median age, a high proportion of people under 25 years, a higher proportion of people of European and Asian ethnicity and a lower proportion of Maori and Pacific Island ethnicities, higher unemployment, lower median income, and a higher proportion of those with school and post-school qualifications.
At the 2006 census, Dunedin City had a residential population of 118,683, an increase of 4,341, or 3.8 percent, since the 2001 census. There were 45,072 occupied dwellings, 3,615 unoccupied dwellings, and 240 dwellings under construction.
Of the residential population, 56,931 (48.0%) were male compared to 48.8% nationally, and 61,752 (52.0%) were female, compared to 51.2% nationally. The city had a median age of 35.0 years, 0.9 years below the national median age of 35.9 years. People aged 65 and over made up 13.4% of the population, compared to 12.3% nationally, and people under 15 years made up 16.8%, compared to 21.5% nationally. Due to the large tertiary education sector, people aged between 15 and 24 made up approximately 21.6% of the city's residential population.
Dunedin's ethnicity is made up of (national figures in brackets): 78.7% European (67.6%), 6.4% Maori (14.7%), 5.3% Asian (9.2%), 2.2% Pacific Islanders (6.9%), 0.7% Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (0.9%), 13.6% 'New Zealanders' (11.1%), and 0.04% Other (0.04%).
Dunedin had an unemployment rate of 6.1% of people 15 years and over, compared to 5.1% nationally. The median annual income of all people 15 years and over was $19,400, compared to $24,400 nationally. Of those, 51.2% earned under $20,000, compared to 43.2% nationally, while 13.4% earned over $50,000, compared to 18.0% nationally.
Local
The Dunedin City Council (DCC) governs the Dunedin City territorial authority. It is made up of an elected mayor, a deputy mayor/councillor, and 13 additional councillors. They are elected under the
Single Transferable VoteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system in triennial elections, with the
most recent electionThe Dunedin local elections, 2010 were part of the New Zealand local elections, 2010, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. The Dunedin elections are used to elect the Mayor of Dunedin and to elect councilors to the Dunedin City Council...
held on 9 October 2010, and the next due on 12 October 2013.
As of 9 October 2010, the current council members are:-
| Mayor |
Dave Cull David Charles "Dave" Cull, QSO JP is the mayor of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. He became the 57th Mayor of Dunedin in October 2010.-Early life and career before politics:...
|
| Councillors – Central Ward |
Bill Acklin
John Bezett
Fliss Butcher
Neil Collins
Paul Hudson
Jinty MacTavish
Chris Staynes
Teresa Stevenson
Richard Thompson
Lee Vandervis
Colin Weatherall |
| Councillors – Mosgiel-Taieri ward |
Syd Brown
Kate Wilson |
| Councillor – Waikouaiti Coast-Chalmers ward |
Andrew Noone |
National
Dunedin is covered by two general electorates:
Dunedin NorthDunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located to the northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, main hospital, and largest museum...
and
Dunedin SouthDunedin South is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It first existed from 1881–1890, then from 1905–1946 and was re-established for the introduction of MMP in 1996. A Labour Party stronghold, it has been represented by Clare Curran since the .-Area:...
, and one Maori electorate:
Te Tai TongaTe Tai Tonga is a New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Te Tai Tonga is Rino Tirikatene of the Labour Party, who in 2011 defeated Rahui Katene of the Māori Party, who won the seat in 2008.Te Tai...
.
The city in general is a stronghold of the
New Zealand Labour PartyThe New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
, having won the Dunedin-based electorate seats continuously since the 1978 election. As of the
2008 general electionThe 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
, both general electorates are held by the party, with
Pete HodgsonPeter Colin Hodgson is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party.Hodgson was born in Whangarei, and received a Bachelor's degree in veterinary science from Massey University...
representing Dunedin North and
Clare CurranClare Elizabeth Curran is the 3rd and current member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin South.-Early life and education:Curran grew up and was educated in Dunedin, she attended Moreau College where she achieved School Certificate...
representing Dunedin South. The Maori electorate Te Tai Tonga, which covers the entire South Island and part of
WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in the North Island, is currently held by the
Maori PartyThe Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
and represented by
Rahui KateneRahui Katene is a New Zealand politician. She was elected to the 49th New Zealand Parliament at the 2008 general election representing the Māori Party in the seat of Te Tai Tonga, but lost in the 2011 general election to Labour's Rino Tirikatene.- Ancestry :...
.
In addition to electorate MPs, Dunedin is the home to three list MPs, all based in Dunedin North but representing both general electorates:
Hilary CalvertHilary Calvert is a lawyer and a member of the New Zealand parliament for the ACT Party. Following the resignation of ACT MP David Garrett in September 2010, she assumed a position in the House of Representatives as the next MP on ACT's list....
of the
ACT Party,
Metiria TureiMetiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei is a New Zealand member of Parliament and the female co-leader of the Green Party. she is the Green Party spokesperson on Social Equity, Electoral Reform, Māori and Treaty Issues, Housing and Children....
, co-leader of the
Green PartyThe Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
, and
Michael WoodhouseMichael Woodhouse is a National member of the 49th New Zealand Parliament.-Early years:He was born and raised in South Dunedin and attended Kavanagh College which he left in 1983. After that he studied Commerce and Accounting at Otago University which he graduated from in 1993...
of the
National PartyThe New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
.
Visual arts
Dunedin has a multi-storey art gallery, The
Dunedin Public Art GalleryThe Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
, in the Octagon. The city contains numerous other galleries, including over a dozen dealer galleries (many of which are found south of the Octagon along
Princes StreetPrinces Street is a major street in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs south-southwest for two kilometres from The Octagon in the city centre to the Oval sports ground, close to the city's Southern Cemetery...
,
Moray PlaceMoray Place is an octagonal street which surrounds the city centre of Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. The street is intersected by Stuart Street , Princes Street and George Street...
and Rattray Street. There are also several more experimental art spaces, notably the Blue Oyster Gallery in Moray Place.
Many notable artists have strong links with Dunedin, among them
Ralph HotereHone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere is a New Zealand artist of Māori descent . He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and He is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important living artists...
,
Frances HodgkinsFrances Mary Hodgkins was a painter chiefly of landscape and still life, and for a short period was a designer of textiles. She was born in New Zealand, but spent most of her working life in Britain...
,
Grahame SydneyGrahame Sydney, ONZM is a New Zealand artist, based in the southern South Island region of Otago. His landscapes, which concentrate largely on sparse elements of human impact on Otago's wild natural beauty and the loneliness of individuals in this scenery, possess a style which could be described...
, and Jeffrey Harris.
Theatre
Dunedin holds the world's southernmost professional theatre: The Fortune Theatre, as well as the
Regent TheatreThe Regent Theatre is a theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand with a seating capacity of about 1,650. It is in The Octagon, the city's central plaza, directly opposite the Municipal Chambers and close to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery....
in the Octagon. Smaller theatres in Dunedin include the
Globe TheatreThe Globe Theatre is the name of a theatre located in Dunedin, New Zealand, and the amateur theatre company that runs it. The theatre was built in 1961 by Patric and Rosalie Carey as an extension of their house, at a time when professional theatre was virtually non-existent in New Zealand.The...
, the
Mayfair TheatreThe Mayfair Theatre, Dunedin, New Zealand, was opened on December 8, 1914 as the "King Edward Picture Theatre". It is owned by the Dunedin Opera Company and serves as a 400 seat venue for live performances for a number of local community groups and as the Dunedin venue for some touring agencies.It...
, AS IS Performance Space, and the Playhouse Theatre.
Dance
Dunedin is a regular venue for touring ballet and dance companies, and also has multiple dance studios.
Choirs
Dunedin is home to many choirs. These include the following:
- The 140-member City of Dunedin Choir
The City of Dunedin Choir is a community choir in Dunedin, New Zealand. It accepts singers of all age groups from the wider Dunedin community and performs large-scale classical choral works...
is Dunedin's leading performer of large-scale choral works. The Southern Consort of VoicesSouthern Consort of Voices is an SATB adult mixed voice choir, based in Dunedin, New Zealand.Southern Consort was first set up in Dunedin in 1980 by Professor Jack Speirs...
is a smaller choir regularly performing Choral Works.
- The Royal Dunedin Male Choir
The Royal Dunedin Male Choir is one of New Zealand's oldest male choirs. Their repertoire includes popular tunes, hymns, operatic choruses, folk songs and traditional melodies...
, conducted by Richard Madden, performs two concerts a year, and the Dunedin RSA Choir also regularly performs concerts.
- The all-female Dunedin Harmony Singers are an important part of the Dunedin culture.
- The Southern Children's Choir, based in Marama Hall in the university, is Dunedin's main children's choir. Most schools in Dunedin have choirs, many having more than one. Notable school choirs include the Sacred Heart School Choir, the Balmacewen Intermediate School Special Choir, the Barock Choir of Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...
and Otago Girls' High SchoolOtago Girls' High School is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by educationalist Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple...
, and also the St. Hilda's Collegiate Madrigal Choir.
- The Southern Youth Choir is a concert-based youth choir, as is the charitable Cothram Foirfe.
- The University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
is home to three official choirs: the two chapel choirs (Knox and Selwyn), and the travelling Cantores choir.
- Several Dunedin Churches and Cathedrals hold choirs. Among these are St. Joseph's Catholic Cathedral, home to two choirs: the Cathedral Choir and the Gabrieli Singers; Knox Church
Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church of any denomination. Situated close to the university at the northern end of the CBD on George Street it is visible from much of the central city.It was...
's large mixed gender choir for adults and children, the Knox Church Choir; St. John's Church, Roslyn's small mixed-gender parish choir; and St. Paul's Anglican CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, in New Zealand and the seat of the Bishop of Dunedin.-Location:The Cathedral Church of St Paul occupies a site in the heart of The Octagon near the Dunedin Town Hall and hence Dunedin...
's mixed-gender adult choir.
Instrumental classical and jazz ensembles
The Southern Sinfonia is a semi-professional orchestra based in Dunedin. Other instrumental ensembles include the Rare Byrds early music ensemble, the
Collegiate OrchestraThe Collegiate Orchestra in Dunedin, New Zealand began as a training orchestra for student music teachers at the Dunedin College of Education in the late 1970s...
, and the Dunedin Youth Orchestra. Many schools also hold school orchestras and bands. There are also three brass bands in Dunedin: St. Kilda Brass, Kaikorai Brass,and Mosgiel Brass. The Otago Symphonic Band and City of Dunedin Pipe Band are also important Dunedin musical ensembles. Jazz bands include the City of Dunedin Jazz Orchestra, and the tricentenary
Zimbe! Quintet.
Popular music
Dunedin lends its name to the
Dunedin SoundThe Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.-Characteristics:...
, a form of
indieIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
rock music which was created in the city in the 1980s. At that time, Dunedin was a fertile ground for bands, many of whom recorded on the
Flying Nun RecordsFlying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s...
label, based in Christchurch. Among the bands with strong Dunedin connections at this time were
The ChillsThe Chills are a guitar and keyboard-based rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were one of the proponents of the Dunedin Sound.- History :...
,
The CleanThe Clean are an influential Indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott...
,
The VerlainesThe Verlaines are a rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups before going on an extended hiatus after their 1997 album Over The Moon. In 2003 a career retrospective, You're...
,
The BatsThe Bats are an influential New Zealand rock band formed in 1982 in Christchurch by Paul Kean , Malcolm Grant , Robert Scott and Kaye Woodward...
,
Sneaky FeelingsSneaky Feelings were a 1980s New Zealand pop/rock band, led by Matthew Bannister, who recorded on the Flying Nun label. Initially recording with the line-up of Bannister , David Pine , Kat Tyrie and Martin Durrant , Tyrie was replaced by John Kelcher early in the band's career...
, and
Straitjacket FitsStraitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin Sound.-Biography:...
, all of which had significant followings throughout New Zealand and on the college radio circuit in the United States and Europe.
Major teams
- The Highlanders – Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
rugby union team (represents Otago & Southland regions)
- Otago Rugby Football Union
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...
– ITM Cup rugby union team
- Otago Volts
The Otago Volts are a first class cricket team representing the Otago Cricket Association, one of six major associations that make up New Zealand Cricket....
and Otago SparksThe Otago Sparks are a New Zealand women's cricket team that plays in the State League....
– men's and women's cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
teams
- Southern Steel
The Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup, the Dunedin-based Otago Rebels and the Invercargill-based Southern Sting...
– ANZ ChampionshipThe ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball league in the world. The competition is held annually between April and July, comprising 69 matches played over 17 weeks. It is contested by ten teams, five from Australia and five from New Zealand...
netballNetball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
team (represents Otago & Southland Netball- Based in InvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
)
- Otago United
Otago United is a soccer club based in Dunedin, New Zealand.It participates in the ASB Premiership. Their previous home stadium is Carisbrook in the South Dunedin suburb of Caversham which is the soon the replaced home of Otago Rugby...
– association football team in the New Zealand Football ChampionshipThe New Zealand Football Championship is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional status Association football sports Franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football...
- Otago Nuggets
The OCEANAGOLD Nuggets, formerly the Otago Nuggets, are a New Zealand professional basketball team that play in the National Basketball League. They play their home games at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.-2006 season:...
– National Basketball LeagueThe National Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NBL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in New Zealand.There were 10 teams in the 2010 season with teams based in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, North Shore, Palmerston North,...
team
- Dunedin Thunder
The Dunedin Thunder is a team in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League. It is based in Dunedin, New Zealand and was founded in 2008.-Current roster:2008 NZIHL Season-Promotional Items:-External links:****...
- New Zealand Ice Hockey LeagueThe NZIHL is New Zealand’s national league. It is an amateur league that was formed in 2005 to develop the sport in the New Zealand and to give the top players regular competition against each other and to allow them to improve the skill level of the game domestically as well become more...
team
- Caversham AFC- Soccersouth Premier League
The FootballSouth Premier League or ODT FootballSouth Premier League for sponsorship reasons is a New Zealand Association football league competition ran by involving football clubs from the lower half of the South Island, New Zealand, including eight from Dunedin, one from Invercargill, one...
team
- Mosgiel AFC – Soccersouth Premier League
The FootballSouth Premier League or ODT FootballSouth Premier League for sponsorship reasons is a New Zealand Association football league competition ran by involving football clubs from the lower half of the South Island, New Zealand, including eight from Dunedin, one from Invercargill, one...
team
Major grounds and stadiums
- Caledonian Ground
The Caledonian Ground, often simply known as "The Caley", is a major sports venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is primarily used for soccer and athletics, and has a capacity of 7,500.-Location:...
- Carisbrook
Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
Notable for being the southernmost venue on the planet that hosts Test Cricket
- Dunedin Ice Stadium
The Dunedin Ice Stadium is an ice rink in Saint Kilda, Dunedin, New Zealand.The rink was constructed in 2004 inside the structure of the former Dunedin Stadium, which had been used for netball and basketball but had been largely superseded by The Edgar Centre as a venue for these sports...
- The Edgar Centre
The Edgar Centre is a large multi-purpose indoor sports venue in South Dunedin, New Zealand, on the shore of Otago Harbour close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets basketball team, and an alternate venue for the Southern Steel netball team...
- Forbury Park Raceway
Forbury Park Raceway is a horseracing venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located close to the Pacific Ocean coast in the suburb of Saint Kilda....
- Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza
- Logan Park
Logan Park is a sporting venue in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It lies on land reclaimed from the former Lake Logan.- History :Lake Logan was reclaimed in the early 20th century...
- Moana Pool
Moana Pool is the largest swimming pool in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island. It is located at the corner of Littlebourne Road and Upper Stuart Street close to Otago Boys' High School, on the slopes of Roslyn, overlooking the centre of the city of Dunedin.The largest of Dunedin's four...
- Tonga Park
- University Oval
Media
The major daily newspaper is the
Otago Daily TimesThe Otago Daily Times is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.-History:Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch's The Press, six months older, was a...
, which is also the country's oldest daily newspaper and part of the
Allied PressAllied Press is a New Zealand publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the Otago Daily Times, New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper...
group. Weekly and bi-weekly community newspapers include
The Star,
Taieri Herald,
D-Scene,
*INK (successor to the now defunct
f*INK) (entertainment), and student magazines
CriticCritic is the official magazine of the Otago University Students' Association of the University of Otago. It is freely available around both the university's campus and selected sites in Dunedin city weekly during term time. It was tabloid in size until 2002, when it went quarterfold...
(University of Otago) and
GyroGyro is the official magazine of its owners the Otago Polytechnic Students' Association at Otago Polytechnic in Otago, New Zealand. Gyro is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association , and was the first polytechnic publication to fully join.Gyro is printed monthly and covers news,...
(Otago Polytechnic).
The city is served by all major national radio and television stations. The city's main terrestrial television (analogue and digital) and FM radio transmitter sits atop
Mount CargillMount Cargill is a 680 metre high volcanic outcrop which dominates the skyline of northern Dunedin, New Zealand. It is situated some 15 kilometres north of the city centre....
, north of the city, while the city's main AM transmitter is located at Highcliff, east of the city centre on the Otago Peninsula. Local radio stations include
Radio DunedinRadio Dunedin is a radio station, broadcasting from Dunedin on 1305 AM and 99.8 FM. It is rated number 1 for 'Share of Commercial Radio Listening in Dunedin' in the Radio Audience Measurement Survey....
, community station Toroa Radio (formerly Hills AM), and the university's radio station, Radio One. The city has one local television station,
Channel 9Channel 9 is a regional television station operating in Dunedin, New Zealand. The channel is an operating division of Allied Press, also the publishers of the local daily newspaper. It commenced transmission in 1995 as a tourism station. In 1997 the station was expanded to a full service regional...
, part of Allied Press.
The city is home to several prominent media-related production companies, notably
Natural History New ZealandNHNZ is a New Zealand-based factual television production company that creates around 60 hours of television programming each year in the genres of nature, history, science, adventure and people....
and Taylormade Media.
The city was once home to the head offices of
Radio OtagoRadio Otago was a radio company that operated a group of local radio stations in radio markets around New Zealand from the 1970s to the late 1990s...
– now called Radioworks (part of
MediaworksMediaWorks may refer to:* MediaWorks New Zealand, runs two television channels and many radio stations across New Zealand* MediaWorks , a Japanese book and magazine publisher, child company of Kadokawa Shoten...
) and based in Auckland. It was also formerly the home to several now-defunct newspapers, prominent among which were the
Otago WitnessThe Otago Witness was a prominent newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Inaugurated in 1851, three years after the founding of the city, the Witness was originally a four-page fortnightly paper, becoming a...
and the
Evening StarThe Evening Star was a daily evening newspaper published in Dunedin, New Zealand from June 1863. Second-longest lasting of Dunedin's newspapers, it was the only rival to the Otago Daily Times to survive beyond the first few years of the twentieth century.The Star - as the paper was originally...
.
Transport
The Dunedin urban area is served by two
State HighwaysThe New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
, with an additional two State Highways and one tourist route serving other parts of the district. The main State Highway in Dunedin is State Highway 1, which runs in a north to south-west direction through the middle of the city, connecting Dunedin with Invercargill to the south and Timaru and Christchurch to the north. Between The Oval and Mosgiel, State Highway 1 follows the eleven-kilometre
Dunedin Southern MotorwayThe Dunedin Southern Motorway is the main arterial route south from the South Island city of Dunedin, part of New Zealand's State Highway 1. It is one of the world's southernmost motorways.-Route:...
. Other State Highways in the city are: State Highway 86 connecting SH 1 at Allanton with Dunedin International Airport, State Highway 87 connecting SH 1 at Kinmont with SH 85 at Kyeburn via Middlemarch, serving the Dunedin city hinterland, and State Highway 88 connecting central Dunedin to the citys port facilities at Port Chalmers. Dunedin is the northeastern terminus of the
Southern Scenic RouteThe Southern Scenic Route is a tourist highway in New Zealand linking Queenstown, Fiordland, Te Anau and the iconic Milford Road to Dunedin via, Riverton, Invercargill and The Catlins...
, a tourist highway connecting Dunedin to Te Anau via
The CatlinsThe Catlins comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions...
,
InvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
and
FiordlandFiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western-most third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys...
.
Buses in Dunedin are organised by the Otago Regional Council under the
GoBus brand. A total of 64 buses operate on 17 weekday routes and 13 weeknight/weekend/holiday routes across the city. Buses are run by two operators, Ritchies Transport with two routes and private Invercargill-based operator
Passenger TransportInvercargill Passenger Transport Ltd is a bus company which operates public transport routes and school transport services in Dunedin and Invercargill and leisure and tourism transport services throughout New Zealand.-Public transport services:Passenger Transport operates almost all public...
with the remainders. Dunedin City Council-owned operator Citibus was a major player until 2011 when Passenger Transport(New Zealand) purchased Citibus from Dunedin City Holdings. In addition, Mosgiel Coach Services operate a loop service in Mosgiel on weekdays.
Dunedin Railway StationPossibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station...
, located east of the Octagon, is the city's main railway station. Once the nation's busiest, decline in rail over the years saw the withdrawal of most services. Suburban services ceased in 1982, and the last regular commercial passenger train to serve Dunedin, The Southerner, was cancelled in February 2002. The
Taieri Gorge RailwayThe Taieri Gorge Railway is a railway line and tourist train operation based at Dunedin Railway Station in the South Island of New Zealand...
currently operates tourist-orientated services from the station, the most prominent of which is the Taieri Gorge Limited, a popular and famous train operated daily along the former
Otago Central Railway through the scenic
Taieri GorgeThe Taieri Gorge is located on the Taieri River, in the South Island of New Zealand.It is a deep canyon carved by the Taieri River on the middle stage of its journey from Central Otago to the Pacific Ocean, between the high plateau of the Maniototo and the coastal Taieri Plains.The Taieri Gorge...
. Taieri Gorge Railway also operates to
PalmerstonThe town of Palmerston, in New Zealand's South Island lies 50 kilometres to the north of the city of Dunedin. It is the largest town in the Waihemo Ward of the Waitaki District with a population of 890 residents...
once weekly. The station is also sometimes visited by excursions organised by other
heritage railwaythumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
societies, and by trains chartered by
cruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s docking at Port Chalmers.
Dunedin International AirportDunedin International Airport is an international airport in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, serving Dunedin city and the Otago and Southland regions. Dunedin International Airport is one of two international airports in Otago, the other being Queenstown International Airport...
is located 30 km (18.64 mi) southwest of the city, on the
Taieri PlainsThe Taieri Plains are an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plains cover an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of 30 kilometres....
at
MomonaMomona is a small town in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the centre of the fertile floodplain of the Taieri River ....
. The airport operates a single terminal and 1900 metres (6,233.6 ft) runway, and is the third-busiest airport in the South Island, after Christchurch and Queenstown. It is primarily used for domestic flights, with regular flights to and from
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
,
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
,
WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
,
RotoruaRotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
,
Palmerston NorthPalmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
, and seasonal flights to and from
QueenstownQueenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet called Queenstown Bay on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin Z-shaped lake formed by glacial processes, and has spectacular views of nearby mountains....
,
WanakaWanaka is a town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, adjacent to the outflow of the lake to the Clutha River. It is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wanaka is primarily a resort town but has both summer and winter...
, and
FiordlandFiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand that is situated on the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western-most third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys...
, but it also has international flights arriving from and departing to
BrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
year round and seasonally to
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In recent years, a decline in International passengers can be attributed to less international flights operating direct to the airport.
Ferries operated between
Port ChalmersPort Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
and
PortobelloPortobello is a village beside the Otago Harbour halfway along the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin City, New Zealand. It lies at the foot of a small peninsula between Portobello Bay and Latham Bay....
in the late 19th and early 20th centures. Occasional calls have been made to revive them, and a non-profit organisation, Otago ferries Inc., has been set up to examine the logistics of restoring one of the original ferries and again using it for this route.
In 1866, plans were made for a bridge across the
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
between Port Chalmers and Portobello, but this grand scheme for an 1140-metre structure never eventuated. Plans were also mooted during the 1870s for a canal between the Pacific coast at Tomahawk and
Andersons BayAndersons Bay is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre...
, close to the head of the harbour. This scheme also never came to fruition.
Panoramas
Annual events
- January – Whare Flat Folk Festival ends
- January – Southern Festival of Speed classic car
A classic car is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic, while cars over 45 years fall into the Antique Class.- Classic Car Club of America :...
road-race
- February – New Zealand Masters Games (Biennial event)
- February – Otago University Students' Association & Otago Polytechnic Orientation Weeks
- February – Dunedin Summer Festival
- March – Fringe Festival
Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
- March – Id Dunedin Fashion Show (to be run in early April in 2010)
- May – Capping week
Capping Week is a term used in New Zealand for the week of graduation from university. This is when graduates of the university are presented with their degrees and Capped....
(University of Otago) including the Capping ShowThe Capping Show is the name given to the University of Otago student revue. This is a comedy revue full of offensive and entertaining skits. In previous years, there has been a main story line which has weaved through it little skits, bad puns and musical numbers...
run by the Otago University Students' Association
- May – Otago Rally
- May – Regent Theatre 24-hour book sale
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand with a seating capacity of about 1,650. It is in The Octagon, the city's central plaza, directly opposite the Municipal Chambers and close to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery....
(reputedly the southern hemisphere's largest regularly held second-hand bookA used book or secondhand book is a book which has been owned before by an owner other than the publisher or retailer, usually by an individual or library....
sale)
- June - Dunedin Midwinter Carnival
- July – New Zealand International Science Festival (every second year)
- July – Taste Otago Dunedin Food and Wine Festival
- July – Cadbury Chocolate Carnival
- July- Dunedin International Film Festival
- August/September The German play at Otago University
- August/September – Undie 500
- September - Moro Marathon
- October – Otago Festival of the Arts – every second year (even numbered years)
- October – Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
Week
- December – Samstock Music Festival
- December – Santa Parade
- December – Whare Flat Folk Festival begins
- December – New Year's Eve Party Octagon
Past events
- 1865 – New Zealand Exhibition (1865)
- 1889 – New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition (1889)
The New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition was a world's fair held in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1889 which celebrated that country and the South Seas...
- 1898 – Otago Jubilee Industrial Exhibition (1898)
- 1925 – New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition (1925)
The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition was a world's fair held in Dunedin, New Zealand from November 1925 until May 1926 which celebrated that country and the South Seas...
Main sights
- Dunedin Railway Station
Possibly the best-known building in the southern half of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin Railway Station is a jewel in the country's architectural crown. Designed by George Troup, the station is the fourth building to have served as Dunedin's railway station...
- Dunedin Town Hall
The Dunedin Town Hall is a municipal building in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. It is located in the heart of the city extending from The Octagon, the central plaza, to Moray Place through a whole city block. It is the seat of the Dunedin City Council, providing its formal meeting chamber, as...
- Larnach Castle
Larnach Castle , is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki...
- Cargill's Castle
The ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin. It is one of only four castles in New Zealand, the others being nearby Larnach Castle, Firth's Castle in Mt Eden, Auckland and Merkleworth in Takapuna, Auckland...
- Cadbury World
- Olveston
Olveston is a substantial house in an inner suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand. It was built between 1904 and 1907 for a wealthy merchant David Theomin, . He had originally emigrated to New Zealand from the village of Olveston, South Gloucestershire, England...
- Speight's Brewery
Speight's is a brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is famous for its promotional branding based on being 'a real southern man' and being 'the pride of the south'. Speight's also gave rise to a series of Speight's Ale Houses across New Zealand.- History :...
- University of Otago Registry Building
The University of Otago Registry Building, also known as the Clocktower Building, is a Victorian and later structure in the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It stands next to the banks of the Water of Leith and is constructed from contrasting dark Leith Valley basalt and Oamaru stone, with a...
- University of Otago Clocktower complex
The University of Otago Clocktower complex is a group of architecturally and historically significant buildings in the centre of the University of Otago campus. Founded in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1869, the University of Otago was the expression of the province's Scottish founders' commitment to...
- Regent Theatre
The Regent Theatre is a theatre in Dunedin, New Zealand with a seating capacity of about 1,650. It is in The Octagon, the city's central plaza, directly opposite the Municipal Chambers and close to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery....
- Fortune Theatre
New Zealand's Fortune Theatre is located on the corner of Moray Place and Upper Stuart Street, in the heart of the southern city of Dunedin. The theatre lays claim to being the world's southernmost professional theatre company and is the sole professional theatre group in Dunedin...
- Municipal Chambers
- Allied Press Building
Allied Press is a New Zealand publishing company based in Dunedin. The company's main asset is the Otago Daily Times, New Zealand's oldest daily newspaper...
- Dunedin Public Hospital
Dunedin Hospital is the main public hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital south of Christchurch and serves as the major hospital for the Otago and Southland regions...
- Meridian Mall
The Meridian Mall is a large shopping complex in Dunedin, New Zealand designed by ASA Crone Architects, an Australian development company. At it is the largest retail mall in the southern South Island, and one of the largest in the South Island as a whole....
- The Octagon
The Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand.-Features:The Octagon is an eight sided plaza bisected by the city's main street, which is called George Street to the northeast and Princes Street to the southwest...
Museums, art galleries, and libraries
- Otago Museum
The Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography...
- Otago Settlers Museum
The Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south. It is New Zealand's oldest and most extensive history museum...
- Dunedin Public Art Gallery
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery holds the main public art collection of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located in The Octagon in the heart of the city, it is close to the city's public library, municipal chambers, and other facilities such as the Regent Theatre.-History:The gallery was founded by...
- Dunedin Public Libraries
Dunedin Public Libraries is a network of five libraries and two bookbuses in Dunedin, New Zealand, owned and operated by the Dunedin City Council. The libraries collection includes over 700,000 items, and around 30,000 books and audiovisual items plus 15,000 magazines are added each year...
- Hocken Library
The Hocken Library is a research library, historical archive and art gallery based in the New Zealand city of Dunedin...
Churches
- All Saints Church
All Saints parish is the Anglican parish of the northern part of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is part of the Diocese of Dunedin. The parish boundaries include North Dunedin, Ravensbourne and Leith Valley....
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- First Church
- Hanover Street Baptist Church
The Hanover Street Baptist Church was the first Baptist church in Dunedin, New Zealand.The present building, the second for the congregation, was designed by Edmund Anscombe and completed in 1912...
- Kaikorai Presbyterian Church
Kaikorai Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian congregation of the PCANZ Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand located in Kaikorai, a suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand....
- Knox Church
Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church of any denomination. Situated close to the university at the northern end of the CBD on George Street it is visible from much of the central city.It was...
- St. Joseph's Cathedral
- St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin, in New Zealand and the seat of the Bishop of Dunedin.-Location:The Cathedral Church of St Paul occupies a site in the heart of The Octagon near the Dunedin Town Hall and hence Dunedin...
- Trinity Wesleyan Church — now the Fortune Theatre
New Zealand's Fortune Theatre is located on the corner of Moray Place and Upper Stuart Street, in the heart of the southern city of Dunedin. The theatre lays claim to being the world's southernmost professional theatre company and is the sole professional theatre group in Dunedin...
Tertiary
- University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
- Otago Polytechnic
The Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with campuses throughout the region of Otago including Cromwell, Wanaka and Queenstown....
- Aoraki Polytechnic
Aoraki Polytechnic is a public NZ Tertiary Education Institution. Aoraki Polytechnic's main campus is based in central Timaru, South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. It also has campuses offering a variety of programmes in Ashburton, Oamaru, Christchurch and Dunedin....
(Dunedin campus)
- Dunedin College of Education
Secondary
- Bayfield High School
Bayfield High School is a co-educational high school in Dunedin New Zealand. It was established in 1961 and is located on the corner of Musselburgh Rise and Shore Street, adjacent to the Otago Harbour. The school currently has approximately 700 students....
- Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...
- Otago Girls' High School
Otago Girls' High School is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by educationalist Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple...
- Columba College
Columba College is an integrated presbyterian school in Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages...
- St. Hilda's Collegiate School
Saint Hilda's Collegiate School is a girls' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. Founded as an Anglican school in 1896 by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill and staffed by the Sisters of the Church, it is now integrated into the state school system...
- John McGlashan College
John McGlashan College is an integrated secondary, day and boarding school for boys, located in the suburb of Maori Hill in Dunedin, New Zealand...
- Kavanagh College
Kavanagh College is a Catholic Secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. The school in its present form dates from 1989 but its origins as a secondary school go back to 1871....
- Logan Park High School
Logan Park High School is a high school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was opened in 1975 on the site of a former rifle range in a small wooded valley adjacent to Logan Park, an area of land reclaimed from the former Lake Logan and now largely converted into a park and playing fields in Dunedin North...
- Kaikorai Valley College
Kaikorai Valley College is a large co-educational secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. Initially starting as Kaikorai Valley High School in 1958, the school combined with Kenmure Intermediate School in 1996 to become Kaikorai Valley College, and in 2008 celebrated its 50th jubileeThe college...
- King's High School
King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single-sex girls' school, Queen's High School...
- Queen's High School
Queen's High School is a state single-sex girls' secondary school in Dunedin. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single-sex boys' school, King's, with which it shares some facilities....
- Taieri College
Taieri College, formerly called The Taieri High School, is a co-educational state school in Mosgiel, Dunedin, New Zealand.In 2003 a review of the schools on the Taieri Plains by the New Zealand Ministry of Education proposed that the high school would merge with Mosgiel Intermediate School to...
Twin towns – Sister cities
Dunedin is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with several cities throughout the world. These include:
| City |
Region/Nation |
Sovereign State |
Year |
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
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 ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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1974 |
| Otaru |
 Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
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 JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
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| Portsmouth Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
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 VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
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 United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
|
 Shanghai Municipality |
ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
|
1994 |
Further reading
- Herd, J. & Griffiths, G. J. (1980). Discovering Dunedin. Dunedin: John McIndoe. ISBN 0-86868-030-3.
- Smallfield, J. & Heenan, B. (2006) Above the belt: A history of the suburb of Maori Hill. Dunedin: Maori Hill History Charitable Trust. ISBN 1-877139-98-X.
External links