Dunedin: An overview - Part 1

Dunedin City

Dunedin is located on the rugged east coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It was officially founded in 1848 by the Free Church of Scotland and now it has become home to twenty five thousand students at the University of Otago. The students mingle with the town’s people to create an eclectic mix that seem to get on with each other quite well. The town is surrounded by a deep blue harbour on one side and rolling, often cloud covered, hills on the other. Dunedin’s verdant green surroundings and its old world architecture say much about the city’s Scottish heritage. Dunedin has become a creative hub that attracts many of the country’s leading designers in every field from fashion to music and architecture, graphics and jewellery.

At the centre of Dunedin you will find the Octagon. This as the name suggests is an eight sided square lined with cafés and bars right in the heart of the city. You will also find a grand architectural building; this was Dunedin’s original main railway terminus. It is an impressive and stately building made from basalt, limestone and granite with the traditional clock towers from that period. It is home now to the city’s annual Fashion Week when the industry lines up to use long railway catwalk.

The locals love their Rugby Union and the city’s Carisbrook stadium at the foot of The Glen is dubbed The House of Pain by visiting teams. The stadium comes alive with sports mad fans when the Otago Rugby Team is playing at home. The terrain slopes skyward behind the Octagon through the green belt parkland of City Rise. This is the expensive part of the city, housing the suburbs of Roslyn and every more up market Maori Hill. Many of the homes here have million dollar views out across the wild bay out to the Otago Peninsula. The students in the town tend to be in located north of the Octagon. This is at the end of the main shopping precinct of George Street in Dunedin North. This tends to be a fun and lively area with plenty of pubs with lots of customers.

The harbour area which is west of the Octagon, takes pride of place in Dunedin with many beachfront suburbs. These include the exclusive St Clair with its strolling promenade and surf beach which is shares with the neighbouring St Kilda area. If you want to relax while in town then here is a good place to do it; just grab a waterside seat and watch as all life passes by.

The outer suburbs of Dunedin take in the artistic hub of Port Chalmers to the north of the bay and the quite suburbs of the Otago Peninsula which juts out into the sea. Port Chalmers and its sister settlement Carey’s Bay is home to a large number of the city’s artists. They seem to be attracted to the blend of country and sea on this hilly peninsula which also houses the city’s container port. It also has a colourful history as it was a staging point for whaling and Antarctic exploration ships.

Continued in part 2