Otago Region

Sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland, the first ships carrying Scottish migrants, set sail for New Zealand in 1847 with the aim of establishing a 'New Edinburgh' in the Pacific. The community was eventually named Dunedin, the ancient name for Edinburgh and although the Scottish pioneers were soon outnumbered by later arrivals, they made an indelible mark on the city. In the first decade the settlement’s population had only reached 1,712 but from 1861, the gold rushes in central Otago transformed Dunedin and the city prospered. By the end of the next decade the population had increased to nearly 15,000 and by 1881 it had nearly tripled. Dunedin had become New Zealand’s largest and most influential centre, with a population in 1874 that was significantly larger than Auckland's. By 1900 Dunedin’s capitalists were thriving on the back of the gold dredging boom. They traded nationally and internationally. Leading architects from around the country as well as overseas were drawn to the city and Dunedin’s schools were New Zealand’s best. Dunedin had the first university in New Zealand and the first cable-operated tramway outside the United States. Cable cars ran up into the suburbs in the hills while trams ran south to ‘the Flat’. Many grand buildings were erected and today Dunedin has the most interesting collection of Edwardian and Victorian architecture of any New Zealand city, with numerous stately homes reflecting the aspirations of miners who retired to the city once they had struck it rich. A strong Scottish influence is still evident in the city which possesses the only kilt store in the country as well as boasting a statue of the poet Robbie Burns, that presides over the Octagon in the heart of Dunedin.

Historic Dunedin - First Church

1the first church

Head south from the Octagon on Princes Street and turn first left into Moray Place. Follow Moray Place across Burlington Street to the First Church.
Melbourne architect R. A. Lawson won a competition to design the First Church when he was only 29 years old. Lawson subsequently designed many of Dunedin's buildings, including Otago Boys High School, the Knox Church, the Trinity Methodist Church and the ANZ Bank in Princes Street. Churches were his specialty and Lawson had considerable experience in working with the local materials by the time construction of the First Church started in 1867. The result is an inspiring piece of architecture. Set amongst trees in spacious grounds, the church is a Gothic revival masterpiece with its beautifully proportioned tower and spire. It is worthwhile taking a walk right around the church to fully appreciate the intricacies of its architecture. The interior and exterior stone carvings are the creations of Louis Godfrey, whose work can also be seen at Larnach Castle.

2law courts

Continue along Moray Place and turn right at the next corner into Lower Stuart Street. The Law Courts are on the right on the corner of Dunbar Street.

Featuring a façade made from Port Chalmers stone, this Gothic-style building in was opened in 1902 complete with blunt pillars, battlements and a marble statue of Justice, with a sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other. It was designed by the government architect John Campbell.

Otago Station

3railway station

Continue along Lower Stuart Street across Castle Street to the Railway Station directly ahead.
The grandiose Railway Station was built in Flemish Renaissance style of basalt with Oamaru limestone facings. It features copper domed towers, lions perched on the clock tower and elaborate stonework around the arched windows. The New Zealand Rail cipher is engraved on many of the windowpanes, it is woven into ornate scrolls above the ticket windows as well as being incorporated into matching stained-glass windows, each of which portrays an approaching locomotive at full steam. Inside the booking hall the spacious foyer is decorated with Royal Dalton majolica tiles complete with 16 ceramic nymphets looking down approvingly at an amazing mosaic floor, whose tiles repeatedly mirror the cipher. George Troup, earned a knighthood for the design of this remarkable building which was completed in 1906.

4old police station

Across the road south of the Railway Station is the old red brick Police Station on Castle Street.
Completed in 1895, the Police Station, like the Law Courts, was designed by John Campbell. The building bears a strong resemblance to the original Scotland Yard which designed by the English architect Norman Shaw, who had a strong influence on Campbell's work.

Settlers museum

5otago early settlers museum

Continue towards Cumberland Street to the Otago Early Settlers' Museum on the left.
The museum features two distinctive steam locomotives in huge glass fronted display rooms facing the street. The double-ended Josephine, is the oldest steam locomotive in New Zealand and once pulled passenger coaches between Dunedin and Port Chalmers. Inside the museum are displays of a remarkable range of colonial household items, including furniture, paintings and photographs in an Edwardian setting. A range of exhibits cover the early Maori history of the area as well as telling the story of the early European and Chinese gold diggers.

6queen gardens

Cross the road to the Queens Gardens opposite.
The Queens Gardens feature a white marble cenotaph dedicated to the soldiers who fell in the First and Second World Wars. There is also a statue of Queen Victoria and one of the Reverend D. M. Stuart, the first minister of Dunedin's Knox Church.

7consultancy house

Continue along Bond Street and turn right into Water Street. A plaque set into the pavement on the right of the road marks the location where the first settlers stepped ashore in 1848 following their arrival on the sailing ship John Wickcliffe. Turn right into Princes Street. The Grand Hotel is on the opposite side of the road on the comer of High Street.
Originally the old Express Company Building, Consultancy House has had a number of different owners and names, but has retained its unmistakable character. This seven-storey structure was hailed as New Zealand's first skyscraper in 1908 when it was completed. It is a copy of the famous Auditorium Building in Chicago, designed by Louis Sullivan, the original 'inventor of the skyscraper'.

8grand hotel

Turn left into Crawford Street then right into Rattray, and first left into Bond Street. Consultancy House is on the left.
The Grand Hotel was completed in 1883 and at the time was the finest hotel in the city, opening to a crowd of over 6000 people. Inside the decoration is particularly elaborate with carved brackets supporting fluted columns on the first floor. The building is now part of the Southern Cross Hotel, which houses Dunedin's casino.

9st joseph's cathedraL

Continue north on Princes Street, turn left into Rattray Street and walk up the hill to St Joseph's Cathedral.
Many of Dunedin's churches were built using Oamaru limestone, including St Joseph's Cathedral, with its magnificent stained-glass windows that were crafted in Munich. Designed by Frank Petre and completed in 1886, the building features numerous internal stone carvings of lizards, birds, flowers, leaves, vines and grapes. Petre also designed St Dominic's Priory, which was completed a year later in 1887 and is located next to the cathedral. This large building, featuring monolithic concrete construction, was completed in a simplified Gothic style that he had adapted to the use of these materials. The success of his works, established Petre as the leading Catholic church architect in the country. Petre had already supervised the building of the Dunedin to Balclutha and Blenheim to Picton railways before setting up his own engineering and architectural practice in 1875. An innovative pioneer in the use of concrete, his finest work is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch.

Stuart Street

10TERRACE HOUSES

Past the cathedral turn right into Tennyson Street and then left into Smith Street. Turn right and head down Stuart Street towards the Octagon. The Terrace Houses are on the right.
These Victorian terrace houses, with their bay windows and balconies, were more modest homes built in the style of those in British cities. The style originated in the late 17th century, featuring a row of identical or houses, with shared side walls. You can see more of these beautifully preserved working class homes in Dundas Street, near the university.

St Pauls Cathedral

11ST PAULS CATHEDRAL

As you return to the Octagon, St Paul's Cathedral is on the left side of Stuart Street.
Dating back to 1919, St Paul's Cathedral features the only stone-vaulted nave roof in New Zealand. The cathedral was built using Oamaru stone on land that had been donated by Johnny Jones, an early Otago trader and whaler. At the time, this location occupied a prime site and many feathers were ruffled when it was given to the Church of England, in a city where Presbyterians outnumbered Anglicans by nearly five to one.

12DUNEDIN PUBLIC ART GALLERY

At the southern side of the Octagon.
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery was founded in 1884 and is New Zealand's oldest art gallery. The gallery houses a significant collection of New Zealand and international pieces, including over 40 works by Frances Hodgkins and paintings by Constable, Reynolds, Durer, Turner, Rosa, Tissot, Gainsborough and Monet. One of the art gallery’s earliest acquisitions was Petrus Van der Velden's ’Waterfall in the Otira Gorge’, considered to be New Zealand's finest nineteenth-century landscape painting.

13MUNICIPAL CHAMBERS

Head northwest across the Octagon on Princes Street to the Municipal Chambers.
The best view of the Municipal Chambers is from the statue of Robbie Burns on the north side of the Octagon. The bronze statue of Scotland's national poet was erected in 1877. Over 2000 people gathered in the Octagon in 1878 for the laying of the foundation stone for the Municipal Chambers designed by R. A. Lawson. The building was completed in 1880 and although the tower was later reduced in height it was faithfully restored to its original appearance in 1989.