Dunedin, New Zealand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and
the principal city of the region of Otago. It has the largest council
boundary area of any New Zealand city, and is the hub of the fifth-largest
urban area. For historical and cultural reasons and its location, Dunedin is
considered one of the country's four main centres, although Hamilton has
overtaken Dunedin in its urban-area population.

The city of Dunedin stands on the hills and valleys surrounding the head of
Otago Harbour. The harbour and hills are the remnants of an extinct volcano.
This city is also is the home of the University of Otago.

History of Dunedin

Māori settlements

Modern archaeology favours a date around 1100 AD for the first human (Māori)
occupation of New Zealand 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 (moa hunter) sites in what is
now Dunedin, several of them large and permanently occupied, particularly in
the fourteenth century. The population contracted but expanded again with
the evolution of the Classic culture which saw the building of several pā,
fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at (Taiaroa Head), 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 Waitaha followed by Kāti Mamoe late in the sixteenth
century and then Kai Tahu (Ngai Tahu in modern standard Māori) who arrived
in the mid seventeenth 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 Harbour) were the oldest and largest in
the south.

European settlement

Captain James Cook stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between
February 25, 1770 and March 5, 1770,naming Cape Saunders on the Otago
Peninsula and Saddle Hill. He reported penguins and seals in the vicinity,
which led sealers 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' War" sparked by an incident on Otago Harbour, but William
Tucker became the first European to settle in the area in 1815. Permanent
European occupation dates from 1831 when the Weller brothers founded their
whaling station at Otago, modern Otakou, 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 Waikouaiti in 1840.

In 1844, the Deborah, captained by Thomas Wing and carrying, among others
his wife Lucy and a representative of the New Zealand Company, Frederick
Tuckett, came south to determine the location of a free church settlement.
After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the south island,
Tuckett selected the site which would become known as Dunedin.

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
Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. Charles Kettle 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 Cargill, a veteran of the war
against Napoleon, was the secular leader. The Reverend Thomas Burns, a
nephew of the poet Robert Burns, was the spiritual guide.

Gold rush era

In 1852, Dunedin became the capital of the Otago Province, the whole of New
Zealand from the Waitaki south. In 1861 the discovery of gold at Gabriel's
Gully, 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 Cemetery was established in 1858, the Dunedin
Northern Cemetery in 1872.

Dunedin and the region industrialised and consolidated, and the Main South
Line connected the city with Christchurch in 1878 and Invercargill in 1879.
The University of Otago, the oldest university in New Zealand, was founded
in Dunedin in 1869. Otago Girls' High School (1871) is said to be the oldest
state secondary school for girls in the Southern Hemisphere. Between 1881
and 1957, Dunedin was home to cable trams, 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 Chalmers in
1882, saw the beginning of a later great national industry.

After ten years of gold rushes the economy slowed but Julius Vogel's
immigration and development scheme brought thousands more especially to
Dunedin and Otago before recession set in again in the 1880s. In these first
times of prosperity many institutions and businesses were established, New
Zealand's first daily newspaper, art school, medical school and public art
gallery the Dunedin Public Art Gallery among them. There was also a
remarkable architectural flowering producing many substantial and ornamental
buildings. R.A. Lawson's First Church of Otago and Knox Church are notable
examples, as are buildings by Maxwell Bury and F.W. Petre. The other visual
arts also flourished under the leadership of W. M. Hodgkins. The city's
landscape and burgeoning townscape were vividly portrayed by George O'Brien
1821-1888. From the mid 1890s the economy revived. Institutions such as the
Otago Settlers Museum and the Hocken Collections – the first of their kind
in New Zealand – were founded. More notable buildings such as the Railway
Station and Olveston were erected. New energy in the visual arts represented
by G.P. Nerli culminated in the career of Frances Hodgkins.

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) Woollaston, Doris Lusk, Anne Hamblett, Colin McCahon and Patrick
Hayman 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. Baxter, in a central city studio.

Numerous large companies had been established in Dunedin, many of which
became national leaders. Late among them was Fletcher Construction, founded
by Sir James Fletcher in the early 20th century. Kempthorne Prosser,
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 Dunedin, was also a leading firm, as was
H. E. Shacklock, 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
Barnett were department stores, the former a nationwide concern. Coulls,
Somerville Wilkie - later part of the 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

Baldwin Street

After World War II, prosperity and population growth revived, although
Dunedin trailed as the fourth 'main centre'. A generation reacting against
Victorianism started demolishing its buildings, and many were lost, notably
William Mason's Stock Exchange 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 Baxter, Ralph Hotere, Janet
Frame, and Hone Tuwhare to the city.

During the 1980s the city's popular music scene blossomed, with many acts,
such as The Chills, The Clean, The Verlaines, and Straitjacket Fits, gaining
national and international recognition. The term "The Dunedin Sound" was
coined to describe the 1960s-influenced guitar-led music which flourished at
the time. The music scene continues to thrive[neutrality disputed], with
bands and musicians playing and recording in many styles, from electronica
to reggae to folk.

By 1990, population decline 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 in the Octagon handsomely restored. It
was also recognised as a centre of excellence in tertiary education and
research. The university and polytechnic's growth accelerated. The city has
continued to refurbish itself, embarking on major developments and
redevelopments of the art gallery, railway station, and Otago Settlers
Museum.

Dunedin has flourishing niche industries including engineering, software
engineering, bio-technology and fashion. Port Chalmers on the Otago Harbour
provides Dunedin with deep-water port facilities. The port is served by the
Port Chalmers Branch, a branch line railway which diverges from the Main
South Line and runs from Christchurch by way of Dunedin to Invercargill.

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 School and Larnach Castle are designed by one of New
Zealand's most eminent architects R A Lawson. Other prominent buildings
include Olveston and the Dunedin Railway Station. Other attractions include
Baldwin Street, the world's steepest street; the famous Captain Cook Tavern;
Cadbury Chocolate Factory (Cadbury World); and the local Speight's brewery.

Dunedin is also notable now as a centre for ecotourism. Uniquely, the world
s only mainland Royal Albatross colony and several penguin and seal colonies
lie within the city boundaries on Otago Peninsula. To the south, on the
western side of Lake Waihola, lie the Sinclair Wetlands.

The thriving tertiary student population has led to a vibrant youth culture
(so named 'Scarfies'), consisting of the before mentioned music scene, and
more recently a burgeoning boutique fashion industry. A strong visual arts
community also lives in Dunedin and its environs, notably in Port Chalmers
and the other settlements which dot the coast of the Otago Harbour, and also
in communities such as Waitati.

Sport is catered for in Dunedin by the floodlit rugby and cricket venue of
Carisbrook, the new Caledonian Groundsoccer and athletics stadium near the
University at Logan Park, the large Edgar Centre indoor sports centre, the
University Oval cricket ground, and numerous golf courses and parks. There
are also Forbury Park horseracing circuit in the south of the city and
several others within a few kilometres. St Clair Beach is a well-known
surfing venue, and the harbour basin is popular with windsurfers and
kitesurfers. Dunedin has four public swimming pools: Moana Pool, Port
Chalmers Pool, Mosgiel, and St Clair Salt Water Pool.

Geography

Dunedin City has a land area of 3,314.8 square kilometres (1,279.9 sq mi),
slightly larger than the American state of Rhode Island or the English
county of Cambridgeshire, 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 the
Waipori/Taieri River and the township of Henley in the south-west.

Dunedin is the most remote city in the world from London at 19,100 km (11,870 mi) (90 km (56 mi) more than Invercargill, and 100 km (62 mi) more than Christchurch), and from Berlin at 18,200 km (11,310 mi). Its antipodes are some 300 km (190 mi) north of the Spanish city of A Coruña, in the Bay of Biscay.