Otago (Ōtākou)
Settlement Support Coordinator
Fi McKay
Dunedin City Council
50 The Octagon
Dunedin 9016
Phone: 03 474 3332
Visit Settlement Support Dunedin webpage
Compare with another region
Sited at the head of a long harbour close to the world’s only mainland Wandering Albatross colony, the city of Dunedin is the principle settlement of an area rich in history and scenic beauty. Scottish migrants called it the ‘Scotland of the South’. Many still do.
Just 13 years after the town was founded, gold was discovered in Central Otago, and the town and region boomed. Now, soaring cathedral spires, a magnificent Flemish-style railway station, the country’s only castle and our oldest university all carry this heritage proudly.
Over time Otago University has grown steadily to become an internationally renowned institution with a defining influence over both Dunedin and the rest of the country. Otago includes the principal Medical School in the country and the only School of Dentistry. Each year around 25,000 or 20% of Dunedin’s residents are students at Otago University.
However the university also features in New Zealand culture because of the distance from the rest of the country. Consequently for most of the large student population, study in Dunedin is their first period of real independence a substantial distance from home.
The personality of the students permeates the city. Despite its relative distance from the large centres and a cooler more Hibernian climate, Dunedin has energy well beyond its size.
Beyond the city Otago extends across four districts: Clutha, Waitaki, the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago. Each of these areas has it’s own character, but together they present a very attractive proposition to both tourists and residents.
Inland Otago has a continental climate, with warm summers, cold winters, and times of true transition in between. In the Queenstown lakes area quite stunning mountain scenery and snow skiing exists mere kilometres from some of the world’s most famous ‘New world’ Pinot Noir wineries.
It is very likely no matter where in Otago you might choose to settle, you would find a quality of life unparalleled elsewhere.
