Living in Dunedin
Dunedin is a university city. Modelled on Edinburgh in Scotland, it is one of the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in the Southern Hemisphere. But what distinguishes Dunedin is its spectacular coastal landscape.
A long, natural harbour gives way to church spires and towers of the historic town centre and University, set against high, green forested hills.
Scores of golden beaches and dizzying cliffs skirt the city’s thundering Pacific Ocean flank, where seals, penguins, albatross – and incredible surf - can be found. Deservedly, Dunedin is a popular tourist destination.
Golden History
The historic feel of Dunedin is a legacy of Otago’s 1860s gold rush, which briefly turned the city into the industrial centre of New Zealand. The boom did not last, but Dunedin developed a solid tradition for education, while retaining its sophistication and grandeur. The city has since produced many of New Zealand’s greatest novelists, poets, artists, scientists, journalists, musicians, sportsmen and women, business people and leaders. It has always occupied a special place in the nation’s heart as a haven for creativity and a producer of fine minds.
As well as the lure of the coast, other attractions include the fairy-tale-like historic Dunedin Railway Station, and reputedly the World’s steepest street, Baldwin Street, which runs an annual (and literal) gut-buster race.
The peaceful Chinese Gardens remembers the city’s Chinese industrial past. The city centre, just a few minutes’ walk from the Business School, is full of cafes, restaurants, bars, boutiques and shopping centres of an international standard. The harbour, a popular place for kayaking, rowing, wind-surfing, fishing and yachting, is also a short distance from the eastern side of the University where the City's new Stadium now stands.
The city centre hosts an award winning public art gallery housing one of New Zealand’s best international art collections, with theatres, museums and libraries which rank among the country’s finest. Modern infrastructure, including an airport, public transport and major hospital, service the population of more than 120,000. Dunedin is often dubbed ‘Rugby City’ for the infectious carnival atmosphere that takes hold every time a major rugby match is hosted. The hospitality of Dunedin at Rugby events is the envy of the rest of the country.
Dunedin's Seasons
Dunedin’s coastal and temperate climate is characterised by cool winters and warm, occasionally hot summers. Significant snow-falls occur perhaps once every two years, although frost can make a more persistent presence in winter.
Other attractions further inland from Dunedin include the Catlins native forests and the ski fields and wineries in the Queenstown Lakes/Central
Otago region – just a three and a half hours’ drive away.
Dunedin is a vibrant, stunningly beautiful and a peaceful place to live and study – a great gateway to the rest of New Zealand.
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