Waverley, Otago
Encyclopedia
Waverley is a suburb of the New Zealand
city of Dunedin
. It is located at the start of the Otago Peninsula
, 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) southeast of the city centre, on a rise overlooking the Otago Harbour
to the north.
The suburb is connected to central Dunedin by several streets of which Larnach Road is the most prominent. This descends from the suburb to link with Marne Street on the eastern shore of the Andersons Bay Inlet. Marne Street connects with the suburbs of Andersons Bay
and Musselburgh
to the south, and in the north links with the causeway which carries Portobello Road from South Dunedin
along the northern shore of the Otago Peninsula. Notable other roads linking Waverley and other suburbs include Doon Street, which winds down the steep slopes above the harbour to link Waverley with Vauxhall at Portobello Road, and McKerrow Street, which climbs from northeast Waverley to meet with Highcliff Road at the northern end of Shiel Hill
.
The suburb stands on land which was owned by Dunedin early settler The Reverend Thomas Burns
, whose dairy farm, Grant Braes, was located here. The farm was named for Burns's wife, whose maiden name was Grant. The original farmhouse still stands, incongruously surrounded by modern housing, and the area of Waverley close to the northern end of Belford Street is still known by the slightly amended name of Grants Braes. Today, the name is best known as that of a local football team, Grants Braes AFC, whose home ground is located 2 km (1.2 mi) to the southeast at Ocean Grove
.
In the early years of Dunedin, The cliffhead overlooking Andersons Bay Inlet was the site of a colourful and notorious recreation area, the Vauxhall Gardens. Opened at the height of the Central Otago Gold Rush
in 1862 and named for the gardens at Vauxhall
in London
, the gardens were the brainchild of wealthy local Henry Farley, who spent a then-astonishing £10,000 on their construction. The 23 acres (9.3 ha) site included a gymnasium, bandstands, dancing areas, and a funicular railway. A menagerie contained koala
s, kangaroo
s, vulture
s and Tasmanian devil
s. The gardens were highly popular, but also became known for the rowdiness and drunkenness of the parties, and for prostitution. The gardens did not survive the end of the gold rush,. and were closed in 1870. No trace remains of them today. The land was subdivided and today Vauxhall is a quiet residential suburb.
Two notable buildings stand in the harbourside stretch of Vauxhall. The Vauxhall Yacht Club is housed in a modern building at the southern end of the small bay which lies immediately to the south of Burns Point. Beyond it, in the centre of the bay's coast at the foot of Doon Street, is The White House, originally known as Dandie Dinmont. This building was owned by William Larnach
and occupied by him during the construction of Larnach Castle
. Larnach's intention was to turn the house into a hotel, the Dandie Dinmont Hotel, but these plans never eventuated. The building has been in a state of neglect for many years, but is undergoing a major restoration.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
city of Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. It is located at the start of the Otago Peninsula
Otago Peninsula
The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...
, 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) southeast of the city centre, on a rise overlooking the Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...
to the north.
The suburb is connected to central Dunedin by several streets of which Larnach Road is the most prominent. This descends from the suburb to link with Marne Street on the eastern shore of the Andersons Bay Inlet. Marne Street connects with the suburbs of Andersons Bay
Andersons Bay
Andersons Bay is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre...
and Musselburgh
Musselburgh, New Zealand
Musselburgh is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located in the southeast of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre, and at the narrowest point of the isthmus which joins Otago Peninsula to the rest of the South Island . The suburb takes its name from...
to the south, and in the north links with the causeway which carries Portobello Road from South Dunedin
South Dunedin
South Dunedin is a major inner city suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located, as its name suggests, to the south of the city centre, on part of a large plain known locally simply as "The Flat". The suburb is a mix of industrial, retail, and predominantly lower-quality residential...
along the northern shore of the Otago Peninsula. Notable other roads linking Waverley and other suburbs include Doon Street, which winds down the steep slopes above the harbour to link Waverley with Vauxhall at Portobello Road, and McKerrow Street, which climbs from northeast Waverley to meet with Highcliff Road at the northern end of Shiel Hill
Shiel Hill
Shiel Hill is a residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located at the southeastern edge of the city's urban area, southeast of the city's centre at the western end of the Otago Peninsula, close to the isthmus joining the peninsula to the mainland...
.
The suburb stands on land which was owned by Dunedin early settler The Reverend Thomas Burns
Thomas Burns (New Zealand)
Thomas Burns was a prominent early European settler and religious leader of the province of Otago, New Zealand.Burns was baptised at Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland in April 1796, the son of estate manager Gilbert Burns, who was the brother of the poet Robert Burns...
, whose dairy farm, Grant Braes, was located here. The farm was named for Burns's wife, whose maiden name was Grant. The original farmhouse still stands, incongruously surrounded by modern housing, and the area of Waverley close to the northern end of Belford Street is still known by the slightly amended name of Grants Braes. Today, the name is best known as that of a local football team, Grants Braes AFC, whose home ground is located 2 km (1.2 mi) to the southeast at Ocean Grove
Ocean Grove, New Zealand
Ocean Grove, also known as Tomahawk, is a suburb in the southeast of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. A semi-rural residential suburb on the Pacific coast at the southwestern end of the Otago Peninsula, Ocean Grove is located southeast of Dunedin city centre.The suburb is isolated from much of the...
.
Vauxhall
The smaller suburb of Vauxhall surrounds the suburb on two sides, sitting on the point which juts out over the Andersons Bay Inlet to the southwest of Waverley and on a strip of Portobello Road which follows the Harbour coast to Waverley's northwest. This strip follows a fairly straight course as far as Vauxhall Yacht Club, then curves around a small bay before reaching Burns Point at the northernmost point of Vauxhall. Waverley continues to follow the higher slopes past Burns Point, but the coast road itself is sparsely populated from here as far as The Cove, 1.6 km (0.994196378639691 mi) to the east.In the early years of Dunedin, The cliffhead overlooking Andersons Bay Inlet was the site of a colourful and notorious recreation area, the Vauxhall Gardens. Opened at the height of the Central Otago Gold Rush
Central Otago Gold Rush
The Central Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand...
in 1862 and named for the gardens at Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the gardens were the brainchild of wealthy local Henry Farley, who spent a then-astonishing £10,000 on their construction. The 23 acres (9.3 ha) site included a gymnasium, bandstands, dancing areas, and a funicular railway. A menagerie contained koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
s, kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s, vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s and Tasmanian devil
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
s. The gardens were highly popular, but also became known for the rowdiness and drunkenness of the parties, and for prostitution. The gardens did not survive the end of the gold rush,. and were closed in 1870. No trace remains of them today. The land was subdivided and today Vauxhall is a quiet residential suburb.
Two notable buildings stand in the harbourside stretch of Vauxhall. The Vauxhall Yacht Club is housed in a modern building at the southern end of the small bay which lies immediately to the south of Burns Point. Beyond it, in the centre of the bay's coast at the foot of Doon Street, is The White House, originally known as Dandie Dinmont. This building was owned by William Larnach
William Larnach
William James Mudie Larnach was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He is known for building Larnach Castle and for his suicide.- Early career :Larnach was born in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, Australia...
and occupied by him during the construction of Larnach Castle
Larnach Castle
Larnach Castle , is an imposing mansion on the ridge of the Otago Peninsula within the limits of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, close to the small settlement of Pukehiki...
. Larnach's intention was to turn the house into a hotel, the Dandie Dinmont Hotel, but these plans never eventuated. The building has been in a state of neglect for many years, but is undergoing a major restoration.
Education
- Grant's Braes School is a decileSocio-Economic DecileDecile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....
10. It is a state co-educational primary school for year 1 to 6 children, with seven classrooms and has a roll of around 180 pupils. The school was opened in 1950. - Rotary Park School is also a decile 10 school co-educational primary school for year 1 to year 6 children. It has a roll of about 80. The school features four classrooms. A Montessori classroom was established in 2001, but was closed in 2010.