119-667: The Dunedin Town Hall , also known as the Dunedin Centre , is a municipal building in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand . It is located in the heart of the city extending from The Octagon , the central plaza, to Moray Place through a whole city block. It is the seat of the Dunedin City Council, providing its formal meeting chamber, as well as a large auditorium and a conference centre. The oldest part of
238-404: A proscenium and a single gallery. Neither auditorium had a fly tower or an orchestra pit because they were designed primarily for musical performances. The project cost £86,000, exclusive of the organ. In 1939, the interior of Lawson’s building was remodelled. Lifts were installed and the exterior steps were removed and replaced with a balcony. Some time before 1955, two storeys were added to
357-510: A 'heritage city' with its main streets refurbished in the Victorian style . R. A. Lawson 's Municipal Chambers ( Dunedin Town Hall ) in the Octagon were handsomely restored. The city was also recognised as a centre of excellence in tertiary education and research. The university's and polytechnic's growth accelerated. Dunedin has continued to refurbish itself, embarking on redevelopments of
476-629: 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 ,
595-580: A comprehensive exterior restoration, planned and supervised by the Historical Preservation Studio of Vitetta Architects & Engineers, headed by renowned historical preservation architect Hyman Myers. The majority of the restoration was completed by 2007, although some work has continued, including the installation of four new ornamental courtyard gates, based on an original architectural sketch, in December 2015. The building
714-663: A cost of $ 24 million dollars (late 19th century value of American money). The City Hall's tower was completed by 1894, although the interior was not finished until 1901. Designed to be the world's tallest building, it was surpassed during the phase of construction by the Washington Monument (of Washington, D.C.), the Eiffel Tower (in Paris, France), and the Mole Antonelliana . The Mole Antonelliana
833-401: A courtyard, while Sydney’s interior plan does not have the transverse compartment of Dunedin’s old Concert Chamber. The long gap between the Dunedin building’s two construction phases also produced a discernible disunity of styles. While Lawson’s Municipal Chambers might be described as Neo-Renaissance , Fraser’s additions are better characterised as understated Neo-Baroque . In New Zealand
952-439: A double flight of steps from the street. Above it there is a high tower of five more levels incorporating a clock, bells and a mansard roof . The four corners of the building also have mansard roofs. The tower is 47 metres (165 feet) to the base of the flagpole and is very prominent in central Dunedin. The building’s principal elevation still dominates the Octagon. The inspiration of the design, or at least its main elevation,
1071-485: A fifty-year pause before a rearward extension was completed to a plan different from that which Lawson had envisaged. In 1913 the city council held a competition for the design of the Town Hall, which was won by Harry Mandeno (1879–1973) in 1914. The winning design projected two auditoria each in its own compartment: one smaller, running transversely across the site immediately behind the Municipal Chambers;
1190-667: A land area of 3,314.8 km (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 was the largest city in land area in New Zealand until the formation of the 5,600 km (2,200 sq mi) Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. The Dunedin City Council boundaries since 1989 have extended to Middlemarch in
1309-563: A long finger of land that formed the southeastern rim of the Dunedin Volcano . The peninsula is lightly settled, almost entirely along the harbour coast, and much of it is maintained as a natural habitat by the Otago Peninsula Trust . The peninsula contains several fine beaches, and is home to a considerable number of rare species including Yellow-eyed and Little penguins, seals , and shags . Taiaroa Head on
SECTION 10
#17327823108901428-478: 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 Māmoe late in the 16th century and then Kāi Tahu ( Ngāi Tahu in modern standard Māori ) who arrived in the mid-17th century. European accounts have often represented these successive influxes as "invasions", but modern scholarship has cast doubt on that view. They were probably migrations – like those of
1547-462: A population of 29,832 displacing Auckland's 27,840 residents to second place. 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. The first successful commercial shipment of frozen meat from New Zealand to
1666-512: A similar gradient close to its Mornington depot. Beyond the inner range of hills lie Dunedin's outer suburbs, notably to the northwest, beyond Roslyn. This direction contains Taieri Road and Three Mile Hill, which between them formed the original road route to the Taieri Plains . The modern State Highway 1 follows a different route, passing through Caversham in the west and out past Saddle Hill. Lying between Saddle Hill and Caversham are
1785-700: A type of municipal building characteristic of the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. Such structures provided civic offices, a council chamber and a large auditorium in one building and often had a clocktower. Most had an organ in the large auditorium and often a smaller auditorium for chamber music. The Dunedin building had all of these features and although its smaller auditorium is much reduced, they all survive. Parallel buildings in Sydney and Philadelphia have been mentioned. Those structures’ principal elevations resemble Lawson’s Octagon facade, but other characteristics are different. Philadelphia City Hall extends to enclose
1904-602: A variety of different landforms. To the southwest lie the Taieri Plains , the broad, fertile lowland floodplains of the Taieri River and its major tributary, the Waipori . These are moderately heavily settled, and contain the towns of Mosgiel , and Allanton . They are separated from the coast by a range of low hills rising to some 300 metres (980 ft). Inland from the Taieri Plain is rough hill country. Close to
2023-603: A veteran of the Napoleonic Wars , served as the secular leader of the new colony. The Reverend Thomas Burns (1796–1871), a nephew of the poet Robert Burns , provided spiritual guidance. By the end of the 1850s, around 12,000 Scots had emigrated to Dunedin, many from the industrial lowlands . In 1852, Dunedin became the capital of the Otago Province , the whole of New Zealand from the Waitaki south. In 1861,
2142-539: A vibrant youth culture (students are referred to as 'Scarfies' by people who are not students), consisting of the previously mentioned music scene , and more recently a burgeoning boutique fashion industry. A strong visual arts community also exists in Dunedin, notably in Port Chalmers and the other settlements which dot the coast of the Otago Harbour , and also in communities such as Waitati . Sport
2261-969: Is Michelangelo ’s for the Palazzo Senatorio on the Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome , the seat of the Roman civic government. With its corner mansard roofs and proportionately much higher tower, Lawson’s building also echoes the old civic halls of the Netherlands, and Flanders, the latter modern Belgium - for example, the Oudenaarde Town Hall . In this the design parallels George Gilbert Scott ’s for St Pancras Station in London which similarly mingles Italian and north European elements in an eclectic mix. The Sydney Town Hall , started in 1868,
2380-470: Is borne by granite and brick walls up to 22 ft (6.7 m) thick. The principal exterior materials are limestone , granite , and marble . The original design called for virtually no sculpture. The stonemason William Struthers and sculptor Alexander Milne Calder were responsible for the more than 250 sculptures, capturing artists, educators, and engineers who embodied American ideals and contributed to this country's genius. The final construction cost
2499-547: Is a comparable mixture and its main elevation is broadly similar. So is that of the Philadelphia City Hall , started in 1871, although that is far larger, more exuberant and apparently French, and was ultimately completed to a very different plan. While probably aware of these other near contemporaries it is clear Lawson arrived at his own composition whose combination of grandeur and restraint seems characteristic. The side elevations were dressed to be seen, like
SECTION 20
#17327823108902618-536: Is about the whole building. Dunedin City was incorporated in 1865, the first so constituted in New Zealand. Following the population growth and wealth generated by the Otago gold rush , the city council decided it should build new and larger premises. The settlement's first wooden town offices were demolished in 1859, and no formal structure existed after that, partly because of indecision as to where it should be. A decision
2737-534: Is another representative of the type, designed by Richard Roach Jewell and built between 1860 and 1870 in a revived Gothic style. To a lesser extent so too is the Hobart Town Hall , which has no tower. It was designed by Henry Hunter in an Italian classical manner and built between 1864 and 1866. In Britain the Leeds Town Hall and Manchester Town Hall are notable comparable examples, while
2856-527: Is catered for in Dunedin by the floodlit rugby and cricket venues of Forsyth Barr Stadium and University Oval, Dunedin , respectively, the new Caledonian Ground football and athletics stadium near the university at Logan Park , the large Edgar Centre indoor sports centre, the Dunedin Ice Stadium , and numerous golf courses and parks. There is also the Wingatui horseracing course to
2975-503: Is distinguished by its completeness of the features which characterise the type and their survival; its relatively large scale, especially considering the size of the city it serves; the unusually long gap between its construction phases; and the aesthetic distinction of some of its features, notably Lawson's Octagon elevation. It also forms an excellent townscape with its neighbour across Harrop Street, St. Paul's Cathedral . The Concert Hall's symphonic organ , affectionately dubbed "Norma",
3094-438: Is frequent, since much of this rainfall occurs in drizzle or light rain and heavy rain is relatively rare. Dunedin is one of the cloudiest major centres in the country, recording approximately 1,850 hours of bright sunshine per annum. Prevailing wind in the city is mainly a sometimes cool southwesterly and during late spring will alternate with northeasterlies. Warmer, dry northwest winds are also characteristic Foehn winds from
3213-407: Is known as the Octagon . It was once a gully, filled in the mid-nineteenth century to create the present plaza. The initial settlement of the city took place to the south on the other side of Bell Hill , a large outcrop which had to be reduced to provide easy access between the two parts of the settlement. The central city stretches away from this point in a largely northeast–southwest direction, with
3332-703: 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 . Dunedin is also home to MTF , the nationwide vehicle finance company. 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 were designed by one of New Zealand's most eminent architects R. A. Lawson . Other prominent buildings include Olveston and
3451-744: Is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style , City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia . This building is also a courthouse , serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania . It houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of
3570-642: Is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch ), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh , the capital of Scotland . The city has a rich Māori , Scottish , and Chinese heritage. With an estimated population of 136,000 as of June 2024, Dunedin is New Zealand's seventh-most populous metropolitan and urban area. For cultural, geographical, and historical reasons,
3689-645: Is uncommon (perhaps every two or three years), except in the inland hill suburbs such as Halfway Bush and Wakari, which tend to receive a few days of snowfall each year. Spring can feature "four seasons in a day" weather, but from November to April it is generally settled and mild. Temperatures during summer can reach 30 °C (86 °F). Due to its maritime influence, Dunedin's mild summers and mild winters both stand out considering its latitude. Dunedin has relatively low rainfall in comparison to many of New Zealand's cities, with usually only between 600 and 750 millimetres (30 in) recorded per year. However, wet weather
Dunedin Town Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-762: The 2008 World Series , a year and four months after a small William Penn statuette had been affixed to the final steel beam of the Comcast Center during its topping out ceremony in June 2007. Another Penn statuette was placed on the topmost beam of the Comcast Technology Center in November 2017, and the Eagles won the Super Bowl a few months later. City Hall is situated on land that
3927-599: The Act of Consolidation in 1854 created the much larger and coterminous city and county of Philadelphia . Though no longer at the exact center of the city, the square remains situated in the center of the historic area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers; an area which is now called Center City . Penn had intended that Centre Square be the central focus point where the major public buildings would be located, including those for government, religion, and education, as well as
4046-556: The Adelaide Town Hall , built between 1863 and 1866 and designed by Edmund Wright and Edward Woods in a Neo-Renaissance style, is another parallel. Melbourne Town Hall is one too. Built on a corner site between 1870 and 1887 to a Second Empire design of Joseph Reed ’s, it was extended in 1900, but a fire in 1925 destroyed much of it, including the main auditorium. The Perth Town Hall in Western Australia
4165-662: The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County . It also houses the Philadelphia facilities for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (which also holds session and accepts filings in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh ). Built using brick, white marble and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world's largest free-standing masonry building and was the world's tallest habitable building upon its completion in 1894. It
4284-773: The Dunedin Railway Station . Other unusual or memorable buildings or constructions are Baldwin Street , claimed to be the world's steepest residential street; the Captain Cook tavern; Cadbury Chocolate Factory ( Cadbury World ) (In 2018, both the factory and Cadbury World closed to make way for a new NZ$ 1.4 billion hospital to replace the existing Dunedin Public Hospital ); and the Speight's brewery. The thriving tertiary student population has led to
4403-632: The Philadelphia Municipal Court ). It was the tallest clock tower in the world when it was completed; it was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower in 1912, and is currently the 5th tallest building of this type. The tower features a clock face on each side that is 26 ft (7.9 m) in diameter. The clock faces are larger in diameter than those on Big Ben which measure 23 ft (7 m). City Hall's clock
4522-479: The Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh , the capital of Scotland . Charles Kettle the city's surveyor, instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking, "Romantic" town-planning design. There resulted both grand and quirky streets, as the builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across the challenging landscape. Captain William Cargill (1784–1860),
4641-531: The Second World War . Dunedin and the region industrialised and consolidated, and the Main South Line connected the city with Christchurch in 1878 and Invercargill in 1879. Otago Boys' High School was founded in 1863. The Otago Museum opened in 1868. The University of Otago , the oldest university in New Zealand, in 1869. Otago Girls' High School was established in 1871. By 1874, Dunedin and its suburbs had become New Zealand's largest city with
4760-609: The Sheffield Town Hall is perhaps rather less so. Leeds was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick in a Second Empire style and built between 1853 and 1858. Manchester was built between 1868 and 1877 to Alfred Waterhouse ’s Gothic Revival design. Sheffield is later, built between 1890 and 1897 in Jacobethan style, and was designed by E. W. Mountford . Among these numerous parallels, the Dunedin Town Hall
4879-610: The Southern District Health Board confirmed that test results indicated that long-term exposure to lead in the water supply posed little risk to the local population. In late January 2024, the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council released a joint draft strategy to expand housing development and industrial land over the next thirty years to accommodate a projected 10% population growth. The Dunedin City territorial authority has
Dunedin Town Hall - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-594: The Wellington Town Hall and Auckland Town Hall are comparable. The Wellington building, designed by Joshua Charlesworth and built between 1901 and 1904 in a Neo-Renaissance style, has lost its clocktower and portico. The Auckland Town Hall, opened in 1911 and designed by the Melbourne firm JJ & EJ Clarke in a Renaissance Revival manner, is better preserved. Both are rather smaller than their Dunedin counterpart. In Australia, apart from Sydney,
5117-792: The Whitcoulls group—had its origins in Dunedin in the 19th century. There were also the National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand , 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. After the Second World War prosperity and population growth revived, although Dunedin trailed as
5236-531: The art gallery , railway station and the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum . Meanwhile, the continued blossoming of local creative writing saw the city gain UNESCO City of Literature status in 2014. Dunedin has flourishing niche industries including engineering, software engineering, biotechnology and fashion. Port Chalmers on the Otago Harbour provides Dunedin with deep-water facilities. It
5355-473: The 1980s birthplace of the Dunedin sound (which heavily influenced grunge , indie and modern alternative rock ). In 2014, the city was designated as a UNESCO City of Literature . Archaeological evidence shows the first human (Māori) occupation of New Zealand occurred between 1250 and 1300 AD, with the population concentrated along the southeast coast. A camp site at Kaikai Beach, near Long Beach to
5474-549: The 1990s, the statue was partially clothed in a major league sports team 's uniform when they were in contention for a championship: a Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap in 1993 and a Philadelphia Flyers ice hockey team jersey in 1997—both teams lost however. The supposed curse ended 22 years later when the Philadelphia Phillies professional Major League Baseball team in the National League won
5593-589: The British royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York toured Dunedin. 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
5712-560: The Europeans – which incidentally resulted in bloodshed. The sealer John Boultbee recorded in the late 1820s that the 'Kaika Otargo' (settlements around and near Otago Harbour ) were the oldest and largest in the south. Lieutenant James Cook stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between 25 February 1770 and 5 March 1770, naming Cape Saunders (on the Otago Peninsula ) and Saddle Hill. He reported penguins and seals in
5831-407: The Moray Place front and comparable "towers" at the southward end give the main auditorium's building compartment a basilica -like form. The Concert Hall's entrance facade is more detailed, and more closely matches Lawson's Municipal Chambers whose west elevation it joins, making a successful transition to the plainer side of the main auditorium. The narrow Harrop Street flanks that western boundary of
5950-400: The Octagon frontage, sharing its tiers of pedimented and then arched windows, Corinthian pilasters , cornice and balustrade . The rear elevation was left clearly unfinished with bricked-in apertures intended to give access to the auditorium when it was built. A clock was ordered from Gillett & Bland of London, with its own peal of chimes, and was started on 2 December 1880. There was
6069-437: The Otago Harbour. Epidemics severely reduced the Māori population. By the late 1830s, the Harbour had become an international whaling port. Wright & Richards started a whaling station at Karitane in 1837 and Sydney-born Johnny Jones established a farming settlement and a mission station (the South Island's first) at Waikouaiti in 1840. The settlements at Karitane and Waikouaiti have endured, making modern Dunedin one of
SECTION 50
#17327823108906188-467: The Pacific Ocean by a long line of dunes which run east–west along the city's southern coastline and separate residential areas from Ocean Beach , which is traditionally divided into St. Clair Beach at the western end and St Kilda Beach to the east. Dunedin is home to Baldwin Street , which, according to the Guinness Book of Records , is the steepest street in the world. Its gradient is 1 in 2.9. The long-since-abandoned Maryhill Cablecar route had
6307-467: The Pacific Ocean. Archaeological evidence points to lengthy occupation of the area by Māori prior to the arrival of Europeans. The province and region of Otago takes its name from the Ngāi Tahu village of Otakou at the mouth of the harbour, which became a whaling station in the 1830s. In 1848 a Scottish settlement was established by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland and between 1855 and 1900 many thousands of Scots emigrated to
6426-481: The United Kingdom was on the Dunedin in 1881. 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 and second 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
6545-468: The United States and one of the largest in the world. The building houses three branches of government: the city's executive branch (the Mayor 's Office), its legislature (the Philadelphia City Council ), and a substantial portion of the judicial activity in the city (the Civil Division and Orphan's Court of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District are housed there, as well as chambers for some criminal judges and some judges of
6664-521: The awkwardness introduced by placing the smaller compartment transversely across the site and the lower floor level of the smaller auditorium. It is also proposed to remove Mr Heath's entrance on Moray Place and to replace it with a new glass-clad structure, set slightly apart from the building. The architect is Jeff Thompson. It is anticipated construction will start in 2010 and will cost NZ$ 45.4 million. The Town Hall will be closed to events for twelve months from May 2010. The Dunedin Town Hall represents
6783-466: The building has been called the only substantial Victorian town hall still in existence in New Zealand. The name is ambiguous. The structure was built in two major stages with a fifty-year gap between. The first stage, built in the 19th century, is a block of offices. This was popularly called the "Dunedin Town Hall" even though it had no auditorium. The second stage, built in the early 20th century, had not one but two auditoriums; this whole new addition
6902-524: The central city (most of these hills, such as Maori Hill , Pine Hill, and Maryhill , rise to some 200 metres [660 ft] above the plain). The head of the harbour includes a large area of reclaimed land ("The Southern Endowment"), much of which is used for light industry and warehousing. A large area of flat land, simply known colloquially as "The Flat" lies to the south and southwest of the city centre, and includes several larger and older suburbs, notably South Dunedin and St Kilda . These are protected from
7021-399: The central marketplace. However, the Delaware riverfront would remain the de facto economic and social heart of the city for more than a century. City Hall has been a filming location for several motion pictures including Rocky (1976), Blow Out (1981), Trading Places (1983), Philadelphia (1993), 12 Monkeys (1995), National Treasure (2004), Transformers: Revenge of
7140-716: The city centre, starting at due north) Burkes ; Saint Leonards ; Deborah Bay; Careys Bay; Port Chalmers ; Sawyers Bay; Roseneath; Broad Bay ; Company Bay ; Macandrew Bay ; Portobello ; Burnside ; Green Island ; Waldronville ; Westwood ; Saddle Hill; Sunnyvale ; Fairfield ; Abbotsford ; Bradford ; Brockville ; Halfway Bush ; Helensburgh . (clockwise from the city centre, starting at due north) Waitati ; Waikouaiti ; Karitane ; Seacliff ; Warrington ; Pūrākaunui ; Long Beach ; Aramoana ; Otakou ; Mosgiel; Brighton; Taieri Mouth ; Henley ; Allanton ; East Taieri ; Momona ; Outram ; West Taieri ; Waipori ; Middlemarch ; Hyde . Since local council reorganisation in
7259-411: The city from rising above the hat on the famous William Penn statue, so for decades, the Philadelphia City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until it was surpassed by the skyscraper One Liberty Place in 1986. The abrogation of this municipal agreement in local folklore of the nicknamed Curse of Billy Penn , supposedly brought down a curse onto local professional sports teams. Twice during
SECTION 60
#17327823108907378-419: The city has long been considered one of New Zealand's four main centres. The urban area of Dunedin lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, surrounding the head of Otago Harbour . The harbour and hills around Dunedin are the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the surrounding valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the Otago Peninsula , and along the shores of the Otago Harbour and
7497-422: The city's economy remains centred around tertiary education , with students from the University of Otago , New Zealand's oldest university , and the Otago Polytechnic , accounting for a large proportion of the population; 21.6 per cent of the city's population was aged between 15 and 24 at the 2006 census, compared to the New Zealand average of 14.2 per cent. Dunedin is also noted for its vibrant music scene, as
7616-518: The city. During the 1980s Dunedin'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. Bands and musicians are still playing and recording in many styles. By 1990, population decline had steadied and slow growth has occurred since and Dunedin re-invented itself as
7735-426: The details of his work. But the statue in reality, actually faces to the northeast, towards Penn Treaty Park in the Fishtown section of the city, which commemorates the site where Penn signed a treaty with the local Native American tribe. Pennsbury Manor , Penn's country home in Bucks County, is also located to the northeast. By the terms of a gentlemen's agreement that forbade any other structure later built in
7854-414: The discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully , to the south-west, led to a rapid influx of people and saw Dunedin become New Zealand's first city by growth of population in 1865. The new arrivals included many Irish, but also Italians, Lebanese, French, Germans, Jews and Chinese. The Dunedin Southern Cemetery was established in 1858, the Dunedin Northern Cemetery in 1872. In the 1860s, Ross Creek Reservoir
7973-400: The early 1920s ratepayers voted against raising a loan to pay for the building. The city council's profits from its trading departments during the 1925-1926 New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition enabled it to undertake the project and pay for it with cash. The plans were now modified explicitly by Mandeno's new partner Roy Fraser. Among other changes, the floor of the Concert Hall
8092-481: The event he was allowed to substitute his own design for Cameron’s. A contract was let to Mercer & Low for £15,230 – a considerable increase on the original budget. The foundation stone was laid on 23 May 1878 and the building was opened for business on 25 May 1880. By the time a clock had been installed the whole price was £20,000. The structure was conceived as the first part of a larger complex which would eventually include an auditorium to seat 2,000 people. What
8211-511: 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 contracted, notably from 1976 to 1981. This was a culturally vibrant time with the university's new privately endowed arts fellowships bringing writers including James K Baxter , Ralph Hotere , Janet Frame and Hone Tuwhare to
8330-498: The incorporated city. Dunedin's population and wealth boomed during the 1860s' Otago gold rush , and for a brief period of time it became New Zealand's largest urban area. The city saw substantial migration from mainland China at the same time, predominately from Guangdong and Guangxi . Dunedin is home to New Zealand's oldest Chinese community . Today Dunedin has a diverse economy which includes manufacturing, publishing, arts, tourism and technology-based industries. The mainstay of
8449-428: The informal gentlemen's agreement that had limited the height of buildings in the city to no higher than the Penn statue. It was constructed over the time span from 1871 to 1901 and includes 700 rooms dedicated for uses of various governmental operations. The building structure used over 88 million bricks and thousands of tons of marble and granite. With almost 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in
8568-489: The late 1980s, these are suburbs, but are not commonly regarded as such. The climate of Dunedin in general is temperate. Under the Köppen climate classification , Dunedin features an oceanic climate . This leads to mild summers and coolish winters. Winter is not particularly frosty with around 49 frosts per year, lower than most other South Island locations, but sunny. Snowfall is not particularly common and significant snowfall
8687-530: The latest cleaning done in May 2017. Penn's statue is hollow, and a narrow access tunnel through it from beneath in the stone / masonry and steel framing of the clock tower leads to a 22-inch-diameter (56 cm) hatch atop the hat. Artist / sculptor Calder wished the statue to face south towards the Delaware River and Bay , so that its face would be lit by the sun most of the day, and the better to reveal
8806-608: The longest-standing European-settled territories in New Zealand. Early 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 , sailed south from Nelson to determine the location of a planned Free Church settlement. After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the South Island, Tuckett selected
8925-555: The low-lying flats and nearby hills and across the isthmus to the slopes of the Otago Peninsula . Eastern Otago is tectonically stable, meaning that it does not experience many earthquakes. One of the only known faults near Dunedin is the Akatore Fault . The first earthquake to cause widespread damage in Dunedin since its founding was the 1974 Dunedin earthquake, which had a magnitude of 4.9 and caused about $ 3.5 million in damages (2024 terms). The central region of Dunedin
9044-403: The main streets of George Street and Princes Street meeting at The Octagon. Here they are joined by Stuart Street , which runs orthogonally to them, from the Dunedin Railway Station in the southeast, and steeply up to the suburb of Roslyn in the northwest. Many of the city's notable old buildings are located in the southern part of this area and on the inner ring of lower hills which surround
9163-687: The mid-1890s, the economy revived. Institutions such as the Otago Settlers Museum (now renamed as Toitū 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 . By 1900, Dunedin
9282-481: The north of the city's urban area is undulating hill country containing several small, mainly coastal, settlements, including Waitati , Warrington , Seacliff , and Waikouaiti . State Highway 1 winds steeply through a series of hills here, notably The Kilmog . These hills can be considered a coastal extension of the Silverpeaks Range. To the east of Dunedin lies the entirety of the Otago Peninsula ,
9401-510: The north of the present-day city of Dunedin, 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 14th century. The population contracted but expanded again with the evolution of the Classic Māori culture which saw the building of several pā , fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at ( Taiaroa Head ), about 1650. There
9520-430: The northwest . The circle of hills surrounding the inner city shelters the inner city from much of the prevailing weather, while hills just to the west of the city can often push inclement weather around to the west of the city. Inland, beyond the heart of the city and into inland Otago, the climate is sub-continental: winters are quite cold and dry, summers warm and dry. Thick freezing ground fogs are common in winter in
9639-558: The opposite side of the harbour. Port Chalmers provides Dunedin's main deep-water port, including the city's container port. The Dunedin skyline is dominated by a ring of (traditionally seven) hills which form the remnants of a volcanic crater . Notable among them are Mount Cargill (700 m [2,300 ft]), Flagstaff (680 m [2,230 ft]), Saddle Hill (480 m [1,570 ft]), Signal Hill (390 m [1,280 ft]), and Harbour Cone (320 m [1,050 ft]). Dunedin's hinterland encompasses
9758-509: The other, larger, extending from there to Moray Place, oriented on the same north/south axis as the whole site from the Octagon. The smaller auditorium, then called the Concert Hall, was to seat 600 people. The larger was to seat 3,000. Although Mandeno's name was on the winning design, it is likely it was the work of Roy Fraser (1895–1972), then too young to enter the competition independently. The First World War delayed progress, and in
9877-540: The outer suburbs of Green Island and Abbotsford . Between Green Island and Roslyn lies the steep-sided valley of the Kaikorai Stream , which is today a residential and light industrial area. Suburban settlements—mostly regarded as separate townships—also lie along both edges of the Otago Harbour. Notable among these are Portobello and Macandrew Bay , on the Otago Peninsula coast, and Port Chalmers on
9996-816: The peninsula's northeastern point is a site of global ecological significance, as it is home to the world's only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross . (clockwise from the city centre, starting at due north) Woodhaugh ; Glenleith ; Leith Valley ; Dalmore ; Liberton ; Pine Hill ; Normanby ; Mt Mera ; North East Valley ; Opoho ; Dunedin North ; Ravensbourne ; Highcliff ; Shiel Hill ; Challis ; Waverley ; Vauxhall ; Ocean Grove (Tomahawk); Tainui ; Andersons Bay ; Musselburgh ; South Dunedin ; St Kilda ; St Clair ; Corstorphine ; Kew ; Forbury ; Caversham ; Concord ; Maryhill ; Kenmure ; Mornington ; Kaikorai Valley ; City Rise ; Belleknowes ; Roslyn ; Kaikorai ; Wakari ; Maori Hill . (clockwise from
10115-562: The plain, much of this is forested, notably around Berwick and Lake Mahinerangi , and also around the Silverpeaks Range which lies northwest of the Dunedin urban area. Beyond this, the land becomes drier and opens out into grass and tussock -covered land. A high, broad valley, the Strath-Taieri lies in Dunedin's far northwest, containing the town of Middlemarch , one of the area's few concentrations of population. To
10234-607: The previous 3,800 years—the Great Pyramid of Giza ; even the Mole Antonelliana was supposed to be a religious building—a synagogue—but then received a different use. The location chosen was one of the five center city urban park squares dedicated by William Penn, that geometrically is the center to the other four squares within Center City renamed as Penn Square. City Hall is a masonry building whose weight
10353-623: The site which would become known as Dunedin. (Tuckett rejected the site of what would become Christchurch , as he felt the ground around the Avon River / Ōtākaro was swampy. ) The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland , through a company called the Otago Association , founded Dunedin at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its special settlement. The name "Dunedin" comes from Dùn Èideann ,
10472-694: The south of the city. 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. In February 2021, the East Otago towns of Waikouaiti and Karitane in New Zealand reported high lead levels in their water supplies. Local and national authorities responded by dispatching water tanks to assist local residents and providing free blood tests, fruits and vegetables. The lead poisoning scare also attracted coverage by national media. By early March 2021,
10591-402: The southeast corner of the 1930 extension. In 1963, the top of the Municipal Chambers' tower was removed and replaced with a truncated aluminium cap, known as "the meat safe" ostensibly for reasons of safety, but in fact as a prelude to demolishing the whole of Lawson’s structure. This was controversial but plans to demolish the building continued to be entertained into the 1980s. Nevertheless,
10710-426: The statuary and clocks. Stairs within the tower are only used for emergency exit. The ornamentation of the tower has been simplified; the huge garlands that festooned the top panels of the tower were removed. In the 1950s, the city council investigated tearing down City Hall for a new building elsewhere, but abandoned the plan due to the high cost of the demolition. Beginning in 1992, Philadelphia City Hall underwent
10829-659: The surrounding settlements and rural area. Dunedin City had a population of 128,901 in the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 2,646 people (2.1%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 8,652 people (7.2%) since the 2013 census . There were 61,722 males, 66,300 females and 873 people of other genders in 49,920 dwellings. 5.8% of people identified as LGBTIQ+ . The median age was 37.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 19,056 people (14.8%) aged under 15 years, 34,455 (26.7%) aged 15 to 29, 53,055 (41.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 22,329 (17.3%) aged 65 or older. Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall
10948-522: The then city architect Bill Hesson (1929–2007) conceived a plan to redevelop the whole complex. The Concert Chamber was substantially modified and its seating capacity reduced to become the Glenroy Auditorium by a design of Hesson's when it was made part of a conference centre, the "Dunedin Centre", in 1985-88. The main auditorium was refurbished, but not substantially changed, and a new entrance
11067-401: The tower's four clocks. City Hall's observation deck is located directly below the base of the statue, about 500 ft (150 m) above street level. Once enclosed with chain-link fencing , the observation deck is now enclosed by glass. It is reached in a 6-person elevator whose glass panels allow visitors to see the interior of the iron superstructure that caps the tower and supports
11186-580: The upper reaches of the Taieri River 's course around Middlemarch , and in summer, the temperature occasionally reaches 30 °C (86 °F). The Dunedin City territorial authority has a population of 136,000 as of June 2024. This comprises 106,700 people in the Dunedin urban area, 15,150 people in the Mosgiel urban area, 1,580 people in Brighton , 1,330 people in Waikouaiti , and 11,240 people in
11305-560: The vicinity, which led Australian, American and British sealers to visit from the beginning of the 19th century. The early years of sealing saw a feud between sealers and local Māori from 1810 to 1823, the " Sealers' War " sparked by an incident on Otago Harbour. William Tucker became the first European to settle in the area – in 1815. Permanent European occupation dates from 1831, when the Weller brothers of New South Wales founded their whaling station at Otago (present-day Otakou ) on
11424-559: 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 situated at the head of Otago Harbour , a narrow inlet extending south-westward for some 15 miles. The harbour is a recent creation formed by the flooding of two river valleys. From the time of its foundation in 1848, the city has spread slowly over
11543-485: The whole complex while the eastern one, originally designed to be chiefly unseen, is bounded by the pedestrian walkway of Municipal Lane. The main auditorium has two galleries above the ground floor, the first arranged as a long-sided U, and an organ, installed at the back of the stage. Its ground floor foyer has an impressive barrel-vaulted, coffered ceiling. The Concert Hall, long called the Concert Chamber, had
11662-626: Was $ 24 million. At 548 ft (167 m), including the statue of city founder William Penn atop its tower, City Hall was the tallest habitable building in the world from 1894 to 1908. It remained the tallest in Pennsylvania until it was surpassed in 1932 by the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh ; it is now the 16th tallest. It was the tallest in Philadelphia until 1986 when the construction of One Liberty Place surpassed it, ending
11781-613: Was a few feet taller and was the tallest masonry (i.e. without the use of steel) building in the world until 1953. In that year a storm caused the spire to collapse and so the Philadelphia City Hall then became the tallest masonry building in the world (excluding monuments). Upon completion of its tower in 1894, it became the world's tallest habitable building. It was also the first secular building to have this distinction, as all previous world's tallest buildings were religious structures, including European cathedrals and—for
11900-420: Was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin (Ōtepoti), occupied as late as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826. There were also Māori settlements at Whareakeake (Murdering Beach), Pūrākaunui , Mapoutahi (Goat Island Peninsula) and Huriawa ( Karitane Peninsula) to the north, and at Taieri Mouth and Otokia ( Henley ) to the south, all inside the present boundaries of Dunedin. Māori tradition tells first of
12019-421: Was abandoned in favour of making the additional provision by opening the compartment housing the Glenroy Auditorium internally into the adjacent Municipal Chambers. While further reducing the capacity of the Glenroy Auditorium this would also allow linear access through the whole extended complex from the Octagon to Moray Place at the level Lawson intended, the first floor of his Municipal Chambers. It thus mitigates
12138-500: Was added at the foot of the Moray Place facade in 1988-1990. This entrance was designed by Tim Heath. In a notable reversal of earlier intentions, in part brought about through public protest, Lawson’s building was now restored. Its tower and steps were replaced and its interiors thoroughly redecorated and retrofitted with modern servicing. This was done under the supervision of Hesson's successor as City Architect, Robert Tongue and
12257-550: 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
12376-536: Was among these new foundations. It had been actively promulgated by artist William Mathew Hodgkins . 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
12495-503: Was built in 1919 by William Hill and Son of London, and contains 3,500 pipes. Originally considerably smaller, though still an impressive 23 tons in weight, the instrument toured England and was set up in halls and theatres as part of a travelling vaudeville show. The organ was enlarged and installed at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924, before being moved to Tunbridge Wells Opera House . From there, it
12614-504: Was built in this first stage was a set of offices on the Octagon, with a council chamber and an observation tower, the latter intended as a lookout for the Fire Brigade. This first building has three main storeys, the ground or basement constructed of Port Chalmers breccia with the floors above built of Oamaru limestone . There was a central entrance at the first floor level – the piano nobile in architectural terms - reached by
12733-524: Was cast at the Tacony Iron Works of Northeast Philadelphia and hoisted to the top of the tower in fourteen sections in 1894, seven years before the building was declared completed in 1901. The William Penn statue is the tallest atop any building in the world. Despite its lofty perch, the city has mandated that the statue be cleaned about every decade / ten years to remove corrosion and reduce metal deterioration due to weathering , with
12852-436: Was created so as to serve Dunedin's need for water. The London-owned Bank of Otago opened its doors in Dunedin in 1863, opened 12 branches throughout its region, then in 1873 merged with the new National Bank of New Zealand also based in London and also operated from Dunedin but, true to its name, it rapidly expanded throughout New Zealand. Dunedin remained the principal local source of the nation's development capital until
12971-538: Was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976; in 2006, it was also named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers . The building was designed by Scottish-born architect John McArthur Jr. (1823–1890), and Thomas Ustick Walter (1804–1887). in the French Second Empire style of architecture, and was constructed from 1871 to 1901 at
13090-509: Was designed by Warren Johnson and built in 1898. The 1937 Philadelphia Guide noted that "shortly after the clock was installed the city inaugurated a custom which still continues. Every evening at three minutes of nine the tower lights are turned off, and then turned on again on the hour. This enables those within observation distance, though unable to see the hands, to set their timepieces. There are four bronze eagles, each weighing three tons with 12 ft (3.7 m) wingspans, perched above
13209-610: Was donated to Dunedin by Mr and Mrs A. S. Paterson at a cost to them of £16,000. The organ has been extensively restored, and though care has been taken to ensure that the organ's sound has not been greatly altered, this restoration has included the upgrading of the console with the latest playing accessories. 45°52′24″S 170°30′11″E / 45.873343°S 170.503053°E / -45.873343; 170.503053 Dunedin Dunedin ( / d ʌ ˈ n iː d ɪ n / duh- NEE -din ; Māori : Ōtepoti )
13328-576: Was finally made in favour of the site of the city's first hospital. (This is commemorated by a plaque in Municipal Lane.) A design competition was held which was won in 1877 by Thomas Bedford Cameron, with a design submitted by R. A. Lawson placed second. When costed Cameron’s design proved to be more expensive than the £7,000 allowed for the project. The council, which had admired Lawson’s impressive front elevation, employed him to re-work Cameron’s design and also to supervise its construction. In
13447-532: Was generally and critically well received. (It won the New Zealand Institute of Architects’ National Award in 1991.) The building was re-opened on 16 November 1989. The Metro Cinema was incorporated into the basement of the main auditorium in the mid 1990s. In the early 2000s a plan to enlarge the space available for conferences was developed. This envisaged building onto the western elevation across Harrop Street. After much public debate, this plan
13566-428: Was lowered below that of the main auditorium and also below the first floor of the Municipal Chambers, thus placing a barrier between them. This impeded Lawson's intended entry from the Octagon to the spaces behind the Municipal Chambers, and generally made movement through the whole extended complex difficult. The foundation stone was laid on 3 March 1928 and the building was opened on 15 February 1930. The main auditorium
13685-451: 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 1901
13804-403: Was reserved as a public square upon the city's founding in 1682. Originally known as Centre Square—later renamed Penn Square —it was used for public gatherings until the construction of City Hall began in 1871. Centre Square was one of the five original squares of Philadelphia laid out on the city grid by William Penn . The square had been located at the geographic center of Penn's city plan, but
13923-461: Was then officially designated the "Dunedin Town Hall", and the pre-existing office block became the "Municipal Chambers". The term "Dunedin Town Hall" now came to be used in its official sense but also specifically for the main auditorium by itself and frequently too for the whole extended building. In the 1980s the official name for the second stage additions was changed to "The Dunedin Centre" but few people know exactly what that refers to. This article
14042-506: Was then, and remains, the largest in New Zealand. The building was constructed of steel-reinforced concrete with Oamaru limestone cladding and was intended to harmonise with the Municipal Chambers which it physically adjoins. The initial design employed a revived Baroque style. The later re-working simplified this, making it more austere and more purely classical. The main auditorium has a pillared and pedimented facade to Moray Place accommodating its principal entrance. Corner stairwells on
14161-506: Was voted 21st on the American Institute of Architects ' list of Americans' 150 favorite U.S. structures in 2007. The center of municipal government building is topped by a 37 ft (11 m) bronze statue weighing 53,348 lb (24,198 kg) of state and city founder William Penn (1644–1718), one of the 250 sculptures created by Alexander Milne Calder (1846–1923), that adorn the building inside and out. The statue
#889110