Title
Dunedin, the commercial centre of Otago, New Zealand; bird's-eye view, taken from a hill in the Botanic Gardens
Description
Dunedin, the capital city of Otago, was established by a Scotch company in 1848, and is situated at the head of Otago Harbour, nine miles distant from its seaport, Port Chalmers. Otago Harbour has been greatly deepened by dredging during the past decade and ocean liners are -now berthed alongside the Dunedin wharves. The city proper is about two miles and a half long, by a mile broad, and has been much beautified of late years with numerous parks and reserves artistically laid out, of which the Octagon, Jubilee Park, and Victoria Gardens are worthy of mention. The private residences of Dunedin are largely situated on the hills, sloping upwards from the harbour, and cable tramways connect the city proper with the hill suburbs. A reserve of native bush fringes the surrounding hills, and is traversed by a fine carriage road, named "The Queen's Drive," from which views of the city and harbour can be obtained. Dunedin has now an electric tram service connecting southwards with Caversham, and extending to those favourite seaside resorts, Ocean Beach and St. Clair, each within three miles of the chief Post Office, and northwards, about two miles from the same point, to the Botanical Gardens. These gardens are most tastefully laid out with loamy beautiful flowers and shrubs. A band rotunda has been erected here, and on Sunday afternoons sacred concerts are given throughout the summer months. The Woodhaugh Valley, the Reservoir, and the Leith Valley, with its waterfalls are also within easy distance of the town, and from a scenic point of view possess many points of interest. Dunedin ranks among the first in commercial importance in the colony, having at its back a magnificent pastoral and mining country, with extensive woollen, iron, earthenware, leather, and other factories.
