Dunedin or Otepoti in
Maori lies in the south east of the
South Island and is the principal city of the
Otago Region. The name
Dunedin is derived from the Scottish Gaelic name for
Edinburgh as the first European settlers came mostly from
Scotland. The city first became important as a whaling station in 1831, and 30 years later, gold was discovered at Gabriel’s Gully and this started a goldrush which brought many Europeans here in search of prospective fortunes to be made. Nowadays Dunedin is renowned for hosting the world’s only mainland breeding colony of the northern royal albatross and being the home of the yellow-eyed penguin, one of the world’s rarest penguin species. Next to the abundant wildlife Dunedin is also New Zealand’s architectural heritage capital, mainly because of the gold rush in the 1860’s when many
Victorian and Edwardian buildings were created here.
Dunedin is also the place where New Zealand's first university, the
University of Otago, was founded.