This eight-sided plaza forms Dunedin’s City centre. The plan remains mostly unchanged since the 1800’s, with a ring of civil and public buildings around a central plaza, including the Dunedin Town Hall, Library, Art Gallery, and St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. It also bisects the city’s main shopping street, George street.
Located proudly at the upper side of the octagon, stand a statue of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who’s nephew Thomas Burns, was one of the founders of the city.
First laid out in 1846, the site was largely derelict for many years until the two major early parts of the city’s settlement (to the north and south of the Octagon) were linked by the excavation of Bell Hill.
From the 1890s on it rose to prominence as the city’s central area. The Octagon was substantially renovated during the 1980s, and is now a centre of the city’s cafe culture, with many al fresco dining areas.
Dunedin’s city centre and shopping district
- Duration:
- 15 minutes
- Facilities:
- Cafes, Toilets