BLOG POST 39
We travelled via Gore and Balclutha to Dunedin.
As we came closer to the city I had a feeling that I was
back in UK
Dunedin’s name comes from Dùn Èideann,
Scottish name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland
The urban area of Dunedin city lies on the
central-eastern coast of Otago, surrounding the head of Otago Harbour, and
the harbour and hills around Dunedin are the remnants of an extinct volcano.
In 1848 a Scottish settlement was established and between 1855 and 1900 many thousands
of Scots emigrated to the incorporated city.
Dunedin became
wealthy during the Central Otago Gold rush, beginning in the 1860s.
It is considered one of the four main cities of New
Zealand for historic, cultural and geographic reasons and has a diverse
economy, which includes manufacturing, publishing and technology-based
industries as well as education, research and tourism.
The city's most important activity centres
around tertiary education – Dunedin is home to the University of
Otago, New Zealand's oldest university (established 1869), and
the Otago Polytechnic
Students account for a large proportion of the
population. In 2014 Dunedin was designated as a UNESCO city of
literature
The first spot we
visited was Toitu Otago Settler’s museum, a regional history museum, show
casing social history dedicated to the people of Dunedin and the surrounding
area, whose character, culture, technology, art, fashion and transport shaped
New Zealand’s first great city.
Its fourteen themed galleries featured
interactive displays and powerful narratives tracing the human history of the
area, from the earliest settlers to the most recent arrivals.
There was an on site shop
and café. We especially enjoyed the historic clothing area, and vintage
technology and domestic appliances, and the old vehicles.
A rare old steam
engine in the foyer, Josephine was attracting attention of many visitors,
young and old alike. Josephine began her career on the
Dunedin-Port Chalmers Railway – one of two Double Fairlie locomotives brought
from England to operate the railway in 1872.
She went on to work at various other locations throughout
the country, before being sent to the scrap yard 45 years later. Luckily she avoided
the scrap heap, however, and, since the latter half of the 1920s, has been on
display at the Museum.
Initially exposed to the elements on the lawn outside, a
campaign to save Josephine in the late 1960s restored her and moved her
indoors. One of only a handful of surviving Double Fairlies left in the
world, Josephine is a much-loved icon of the Museum
We had a bite to eat in
the cafe and walked down to the Dunedin railway station adjacent and within
walking distance .The railway station was designed by George Troup
and is the city's fourth station. It earned its architect the nickname of
"Gingerbread George".
The station is
constructed of dark basalt from Kokonga with lighter Oamaru
stone facings, which gave it the distinctive light and dark pattern,
Pink granite was used for a series of supporting pillars which line
a colonnade at the front.
The roof was tiled
in terracota shingles from Marseilles surmounted by
copper-domed cupolas.
We stepped in and
waited in the booking hall which featured
a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 Minton tiles.
A frieze
of Royal Doulton porcelain ran around the balcony above it which featured a locomotive and
related symbols
The main platform was the country's longest extending
for about 500 metres.
On the platform we found two stout ladies dressed in old
European style giving photo opportunities which I promptly utilised of course!
In its early days the station was the country's busiest,
handling up to 100 trains a day. The city's economic decline and the reduction
in the prominence of rail transport meant that only a handful of trains use the
station today.
Bought by the Dunedin city council in 1994, its
uses have greatly diversified, though it still caters for the Dunedin
Railways tourist trains.
Much of the ground
floor is used as a restaurant, and the upper floor is home to both the New
Zealand Sports Hall of fame and the Otago Art Society
A produce market
is held in the grounds to the north every Saturday morning. Every year in
March, the station takes centre stage in the South Island's main fashion show,
with the main platform becoming reputedly the world's longest catwalk
Immediately outside the station is Anzac Square, which,
despite its name, was roughly triangular in shape, and was extensively
remodelled and extended in the 1990s to create a formal knot garden
We boarded the Silver Fern railcar for a Waitati sea sider journey along spectacular
clifftops overlooking the Pacific Ocean,Otago peninsula,Otago harbour and
Blueskin Bay,it provided vistas that
otherwise were invisible to the motorist.
We enjoyed the trip, and saw a part
of the Dunedin area that would have forever been unknown to us.
A lot of overgrown
vegetation sometimes obscured the views. Once in Waitati we had to swap seats with
the persons opposite us, so that they could have the coastal views on the
return leg
We enjoyed listening to the commentary and watching the
scenery. Most of the time the train travelled close to the coast and views were
really lovely.
The railcar had a
good food service with the attendants bringing around a cart loaded
with sandwiches and muffins, drinks and snacks, at set intervals.
On return to
Dunedin's historic Edwardian Railway Station, we boarded the coach for an
informative city tour.
That night we had a Scottish evening comprising of
bagpipes, great food, Haggis Ceremony in which Scottish origin tourists from
our group played a major role, I particularly enjoyed the cheerful bag pipe
music
Next day we travelled along the Otago Peninsula to
Larnach Castle for a guided tour. Larnach Castle is a mock
castle on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula .
The house was built by prominent entrepreneur and politician, William Larnach. The
Castle is now privately owned by the Barker Family, and operated as a tourism
destination.
We had a guide to explain and were allowed to take snaps
but without a flash
Much of the stone used for the Castle came from a
basalt quarry nearby. Other materials included yellow brick, Glasgow brick,
Oamaru stone, Port Chalmers basalt, Cornwall blackstone, Italian marble,
Marseilles cobbles, Catlins timber, North Island Kauri and local Caversham
sandstone for the ballroom.
The
Godfrey family carved many of the building's intricate ceilings; a single
ceiling in the main foyer took six and half years to complete.
In 1875, twenty
tonne of glass was imported from Venice, in an effort to enclose exposed
verandahs unsuitable for Dunedin winters.
The addition of the 3000 square foot ballroom was
made in 1887 which was a 21st birthday present for Larnach's eldest daughter
Kate.
I particularly loved an ivory sewing set
The resulting complex eventually contained 43 rooms and
required a staff of 46 servants.
We went up to the top where the views were beautiful but it was so windy we could not stay long
The complex
included 35 acres reserved for grounds, including a winery, and a home farm of
300 acres with its own farmstead including a cow byre for 300 cows, stables,
and quarters for farm workers.
After a series of
personal and financial setbacks Larnach committed suicide in New
Zealand's Parliament Buildings in October 1898.
Following bitter
legal battles over Larnach's will, the Larnach Family sold the house in 1906.
Throughout the 20th Century Larnach Castle went through
constant changes of ownership and usage.
The building fell into disrepair, and in 1967 was
bought by Barry and Margaret Barker. Norcombe Barker became Larnach Castle
Executive Director in 1990.
Significant
restoration work has since been carried out by the Barker Family, along with
retrieval of original furniture to refurnish the house.
The gardens which were marvellous were not an original
feature of William Larnach's home, and have been given "Garden of
International Significance" status
Larnach Castle operates as a significant tourist
attraction in Dunedin, receiving approximately 120,000 guests per annum.
The building has been visited by paranormal
investigators and featured on local New Zealand television shows such as Ghost
hunt and Spookers as well as international television shows
Next we went to Glenfalloch Restaurant for a
delightful free morning tea where we gorged on muffins ,bread ,butter and fresh
cream and had delightful cups of English
tea ,
It was located in a heritage garden with lovely flowers
Our accommodation was at Scenic Hotel Southern Cross was
the perfect location from which to explore Dunedin. Just a short walk to the
Octagon, Railway Station, theatres, shops, and close to Otago University.
We
visited the Steepest street in Dunedin
We parked our bus and went up the Baldwin street. It is
too steep for a normal type footpath, there are a long series of steps
It's in the Guinness Book of Records. The record for
running up and down is under 2 minutes which is hard to believe but
confirmed. We went halfway and found the houses on either side of the street
very quaint
I was strongly reminded of the "crooked street"
in San Francisco.
Next day morning we visited Olveston House, a prestigious
historic home, built for a wealthy merchant David Theomin, (1852-1933)
who was born in Bristol, England and emigrated to Melbourne, in 1874,
married Marie Michaelis and moved to Dunedin from Melbourne in 1881
The house was fitted with all the latest conveniences:
central heating, an internal telephone system, a service lift, a food mixer,
and an electric toaster, It had 35 rooms, with a total floor area of
1276 m².
Theomin had acquired land on the site in 1881 and work went
on from 1901 to 1907
The building was brick rendered
in Moeraki gravel, with Oamaru stone facings and roofed
with Marseilles tiles. The main entrance and some principal rooms faced east. A
galleried hall rises through the ground and upper floors and served as a ball
room.
An elevated
internal balcony was an eyrie from which to watch the dancing below. The
youthful Miss Theomin's personal suite with its own sitting room was delicate
and charming.
Olveston was not an Arts and Crafts house though
something of that aesthetic is apparent. While over-furnished by later
standards a lot of the contents were interesting and some outstanding.
Theomin's fortune came substantially from importing
pianos which he distributed through a New Zealand-wide chain of shops, called
The Dresden, and later The Bristol Piano Company. He and his daughter Dorothy
were patrons especially of music and the visual arts.
The Theomins collected art, ceramics and furniture. They
acquired significant Japanese material and works by famous people which
was particularly lovely
The house and its contents were gracefully bequeathed to
the city in 1966 by David Theomin's daughter Dorothy and opened to the
public the following year, and has between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors annually.
Its architectural distinction, its collections and
the record it represents of a sumptuous life in Edwardian New Zealand lend it a
special interest.
We then travelled to Oamaru, famous for its limestone.
Many public buildings use as their construction material the local limestone
(quarried especially near Weston) and known as Oamaru stone.
The bus dropped us at the Victorian precinct in southern
part of Oamaru's main commercial district which ranks as one of New Zealand's most
impressive street scapes due to the many prominent 19th century buildings
constructed from this material.
Several key historic buildings in the area centered
around Harbour Street and the lower Thames Street, Itchen Street and Tyne
Street have been preserved by the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust as part of
a historic precinct.
Oamaru looks a little different from any other town in
New Zealand.We enjoyed a stroll around this small town it was an unexpected delight,
looking at its Victorian buildings, wide streets and the Steam Punk train.
The wool industry was a big influence and it was very
interesting to see that wool is still being processed down in the precinct.
There were rows of interesting, funky, quirky shops in
historical buildings.
We spent our time checking out the coffee shop, bakery,
antique shops, book shop, glass shop, design shop, fabric shops. All the shops
were connected and we could go from one side to the other side.
We finally headed to Christchurch where we were put up
at Sudima Hotel which was just 2 minutes from the air port .That night we had a
farewell dinner with our friends from all over the world.
We sang and danced merrily and bid farewell to one another knowing very well that in all probability we would not be meeting ever again
A representative of the Pacific tour attended the dinner
The next day after a restful sleep we were bid farewell
by our Tony and dropped at the Christchurch airport where we took the flight
back to Singapore and from there to India
