Dunedin: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 18:34, 15 October 2004

Alternative meanings at Dunedin (disambiguation)

Dunedin
Urban Area	Population	113,600
Urban Area	Extent	Dunedin, Mosgiel, Port Chalmers
Territorial Authority	Name	Dunedin City
	Population	121,100
	Land area	3314.8km&sup2
	Extent	urban area, and out as far as Middlemarch, Waikouaiti and the Taieri River
Regional Council	Name	Otago

Dunedin is the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, located in coastal Otago. Known in Maori as Otepoti, the city is built on the hills and valleys surrounding Otago Harbour. The harbour and hills are the remnants of an extinct volcano. Dunedin is the home of The University of Otago.

History

Dunedin was founded in 1848 as a Scottish settlement by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland. The town's name comes from Dun Eideann, the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. The University of Otago, the oldest university in New Zealand, was founded in Dunedin in 1869. Dunedin became wealthy during the Central Otago goldrush which began at Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence in 1861. During the 20th century, influence and activity moved north to the other centres ("the drift north"), but by the end of the century Dunedin had re-established its identity as a centre of excellence in tertiary education and research.

Modern Dunedin

There are flourishing niche industries including engineering, software engineering, bio-technology and fashion. Port Chalmers on Otago Harbour provides Dunedin with deep-water port facilities.

The Dunedin Botanical Gardens is to the north of the city.

The cityscape glitters with gems of Victorian and Edwardian architecture including Larnach Castle, Olveston, First Church, and the magnificent Railway Station. Other not-to-be missed attractions are the world's steepest street (Baldwin St), the famous Captain Cook tavern, and the local Speight's brewery. Tours of the Cadbury chocolate factory are popular with tourists and students alike.

Dunedin is also notable now as centre for ecotourism, and is unique in that the world's only mainland royal albatross colony and several penguin and seal colonies lie within the city boundaries on Otago Peninsula.

The thriving tertiary student population has led to Dunedin having a vibrant youth culture, which came to prominence with the "Dunedin Sound" rock bands of the 1980s (such as the Chills, the Clean, Straitjacket Fits, and the Verlaines), and more recently a burgeoning boutique fashion industry. There is also a very strong visual arts community in Dunedin and its environs.

The climate is moderate. Winter can be frosty, but significant snowfall is uncommon (perhaps every two or three years). Spring can feature "four seasons in a day" weather, but from January to June it is generally settled and mild.

The world's most southern motorway is found in Dunedin. The 10km divided highway section of State Highway One (SH1) runs from the centre of the city to the southern suburb of Mosgiel.

Geography

Dunedin City has a land area of 3314.8 km, about 10% larger than Cambridgeshire, England, and a little smaller than Cornwall. It is the largest city in land area in New Zealand. The Dunedin City Council boundaries since 1989 have extended to Middlemarch in the west, Waikouaiti in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east and south-east, and Henley and Taieri Mouth in the south-west.

Dunedin is also home to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, with a slope of 1:2.9 (i.e. for every 2.9 m horizontally the street rises 1 m). The long since abandoned Maryhill Cablecar route had a similar gradient close to its Mornington depot.

180° view of Dunedin shot from the hills on the west. (Larger version.)

Noted inhabitants

Thomas Bracken (21 December 1843 -- 16 February 1898), the noted late 19th century poet who wrote the New Zealand National Anthem and who was the first person to publish the phrase "God's Own Country".
Popular e-mail program Pegasus Mail was written by David Harris while he was employed by the University of Otago.
Illustrator and engraver John Buckland Wright.
Maori sculptor Carissa Proffit (b 1974), who works in Oamaru stone.
Nobel Prize short-listee Janet Frame, born there in 1924, died there in 2004: NZ Edge biography
Writer James K. Baxter was born in Dunedin in 1926 and wrote many of his plays there in the '60s in association with Rosalie and Patric Carey's Globe Theatre.
Harold Gillies, one of the founders of modern plastic surgery, was born there in 1882
Cartoonist David Low lived in Dunedin before making his fame in London.
Maori painter Ralph Hotere lives and works in Port Chalmers.