The Otago Peninsula is a long, rugged indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. The peninsula lies due east of Otago Harbour, and runs parallel to the mainland for 30 km. Its maximum width is 12 km. It is joined to the mainland at the south-west end by a narrow isthmus a little over 1 km in width. Peninsula A peninsula (from Latin paene insula, almost island) is a geographical formation consisting of an extension of land from a larger body, surrounded by water on three sides. ... Alternative meanings at Dunedin (disambiguation) Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, located in coastal Otago. ... Otago Harbour consists of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating Otago Peninsula from the main urban areas of Dunedin, New Zealand. ...

Panorama of the view from the top of a Pyramid near Victory Beach on Otago Peninsula.

NASA satellite photo of Otago Peninsula and Otago Harbour. The city of Dunedin is located at the isthmus at lower left.

Looking across Port Chalmers and the Otago Harbour to the Otago Peninsula. The hill at the top centre is Harbour Cone

Location of the Otago Peninsula

The peninsula was formed at the same time as the hills which face it across the harbour, as part of the crater wall of a large - now long-extinct - volcano. Several of the peninsula's peaks (notably the aptly-named Harbour Cone) clearly show these volcanic origins in their form. These rocks were built up between 13 and 10 million years ago. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (15561x1773, 4457 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Otago Peninsula Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (15561x1773, 4457 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Otago Peninsula Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Download high resolution version (1280x948, 111 KB)NASA World Wind landsat image of Otago Harbour. ... Download high resolution version (1280x948, 111 KB)NASA World Wind landsat image of Otago Harbour. ... View across Port Chalmers and Otago Harbour to Otago Peninsula, new zealand (photo by James Dignan, March 2005) File links The following pages link to this file: Otago Peninsula Otago Harbour Port Chalmers Saint Martin Island/Quarantine Island Categories: GFDL images | Volcanoes of New Zealand ... View across Port Chalmers and Otago Harbour to Otago Peninsula, new zealand (photo by James Dignan, March 2005) File links The following pages link to this file: Otago Peninsula Otago Harbour Port Chalmers Saint Martin Island/Quarantine Island Categories: GFDL images | Volcanoes of New Zealand ... Panorama overlooking the Port. ... Image File history File links NZ-Otago_P.png Location map of Otago Peninsula, New Zealand File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links NZ-Otago_P.png Location map of Otago Peninsula, New Zealand File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A volcano is a geological landform usually generated by the eruption through a planets surface of magma, molten rock welling up from the planets interior. ...

Much of the peninsula is steep hill country, with the highest points being Mount Charles (408 m), Harbour Cone, and Sandymount. Two tidal inlets dominate the Pacific coast of the peninsula, Hoopers Inlet and Papanui Inlet. Between them is the headland of Cape Saunders. Nearby natural features include the 250-m-high cliffs of Lovers' Leap and The Chasm.

At its western end, the Otago Peninsula is suburban, containing several of Dunedin's inner suburbs (such as Vauxhall and Shiel Hill). For much of its length, however, only the strip adjacent to the Otago Harbour is heavily populated, with several small communities dotting its length. Largest of these are Macandrew Bay, Portobello, and Otakou, which was the site of the first permanent European settlement on the Harbour, and the site of an early whaling station (comemmorated at nearby Weller's Rock). Dunedin is a city of 122,000 people in the South Island of New Zealand The principal suburbs of Dunedin are as follows. ... Dunedin is a city of 122,000 people in the South Island of New Zealand The principal suburbs of Dunedin are as follows. ... Portobello Portobello is a village beside the Otago Harbour halfway along the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin City. ... The settlement of Otakou lies within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling refers to the practice, history and industries associated with the hunting and killing of whales. ...

At the entrance to the Otago Harbour the peninsula rises to Taiaroa Head, noted for a breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatrosses, the only colony of albatrosses to be found on an inhabited mainland. The viewing centre for the albatross colony is one of the peninsula's main ecotourism attractions, along with other wildlife such as seals and Yellow-eyed Penguins. Much of the peninsula's land under the auspices of the Otago Peninsula Trust, and is maintained as a sanctuary for wildlife. Many species of seabirds and waders in particular may be found around the tidal inlets, including spoonbills, plovers, and herons. Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of Otago Harbour in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. ... A seabird colony is a site which seabirds visit to breed. ... Binomial name Diomedea sanfordi Murphy, 1917 Synonyms Diomedea epomophora sanfordi The Northern Royal Albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) is a large seabird from the albatross family. ... Ecotourism means ecological tourism, where ecological has both environmental and social connotations. ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ... Binomial name Megadyptes antipodes (Hombron & Jacquinot,, 1841) The Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) or Hoiho is a penguin found in New Zealand, on the south-east coast of South Island, Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island/Rakiura, and Auckland and Campbell Islands. ... Genera and Species See text Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises. ... Genera Pluvialis Charadrius Thinornis Elseyornis Peltohyas Anarhynchus Phegornis Oreopholus Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. ... Genera See text. ...

The Pacific coast of the peninsula includes several beaches which are far enough removed from Dunedin city to be sparseply populated even in mid-summer. these include Allan's Beach, Victory Beach and Sandfly Bay. View of the Pacific Ocean from Oregon. ...

Victory Beach, named for the 19th century shipwreck of the Victory close to this coast, features a rock formation known locally as "The Pyramids" for their resemblance to the ancient Egyptian buildings. Sandfly Bay (named not for the insect but for the sand blown up by the wind in this area) is reached via a path through some of New Zealand's tallest sand dunes, which rise for some 100 metres above the beach. This article is about the sand formations, for other meanings see Dune (disambiguation) Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian (wind-related) processes. ...

Other tourist attractions on the peninsula include Larnach Castle, a restored Armstrong 'disappearing' gun coastal defence post, and a war memorial cairn. Impressive views of the city and surrounding country can be gained from Highcliff Road, which runs along the spine of the peninsula. Larnach Castle at night. ... One of many cairns marking British mass graves at the site of the Battle of Isandlwana. ...

Further reading

Dann, C. & Peat, N. (1989). Dunedin, North and South Otago. Wellington, NZ: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01438-0.

History

A map of recorded Maori archaeological sites for the Otago Conservancy shows many more on the Otago Peninsula than anywhere else in the region. (Hamel 2001 fig. 1) Another showing only those of of the Archaic (or moa hunter) period shows sites from this period clustered on the Peninsula but also along the coast across the harbour to the west and north. (Hamel, 2001 fig. 2) There were three more or less distinct clusters, all coastal, one from about Oamaru south to Pleasant River; another from Waikouaiti south which includes the Otago Peninsula and tails off about the Kaikorai estuary and another extending south from the Clutha mouth. The clusters contain a few larger sites and on the Otago Peninsula one at Little Papanui is of middle size while that at Harwood Township is of the largest.   pronunciation[?] Waitaki District Council building, Thames Street, Oamaru Oamaru is the largest town of North Otago in New Zealands South Island, and serves as its principal centre. ... Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. ... The Clutha were a traditional Scottish band Early years In 1957 Norman Buchan was a teacher at Rutherglen Academy. ...

Modern archaeological opinion favours a date for New Zealand's first human settlement around 1100 AD with people concentrated on the east coast of the South Island. In Moa Hunter times the Otago Peninsula was a relatively densely occupied area at the centre of the country's most populated region.

Whale ivory chevron pendants found at Little Papanui were made by the site's early occupants and are now in the Otago Museum, Dunedin. The site's lowest levels have been estimated to have been first occupied at a time between 1150 and 1300 A.D. Another Peninsula site at Papanui Inlet has been dated to the same period as has the extensive one at Harwood Township. (Anderson, 1983, p.7.) Little Papanui and Harwood are considered to have been permanent settlements, not temporary camps. A single radio carbon date for Harwood suggests it was still in occupation in 1450. (Entwisle, 1976 p.8.) Three magnificent greenstone adzes, said by H.D. Skinner to be the finest of their sort were found nearby and are dated to the same time. They represent a form already archaic by the time they were made. They too are now in the Otago Museum. Relating any of these sites to the earliest traditions is difficult.

Southern Maori oral tradition tells of five successively arriving peoples and while the earliest, Kahui Tipua, appear to be fairy folk endowed with superhuman qualities modern anthropological opinion is that nevertheless they represent historical people who have become encrusted with legend.(Anderson, 1993 p.7 & 1998 p.13.) Te Rapuwai were next and seemed to be succeeded by two Waitaha tribes but it has been suggested this was really one with 'Waitaha' also being used as a catchall name for all earlier peoples by some later arrivals. 'Te Rapuwai' may perhaps also sometimes have been used like this. (Anderson, 1993 p.7.) Nevertheless some middens such as the old ones on the Otago Peninsula, have been identified traditionally with Te Rapuwai. On Anderson's interpretation the later or tribal Waitaha would have arrived in the south in the 15th century.

Moa and moahunters went into decline but a new Classic Maori culture evolved, characterised by the construction of pa, fortified villages and new peoples arrived on the Otago Peninsula.

References

• Anderson, A. (1983) When All the Moa-Ovens Grew Cold. Dunedin, NZ: Otago Heritage Books.
• Anderson, A. (and others)(1996) Shag River Mouth the Archaeology of an Early Southern Maori Village. Canberra, Aust: The Australian National University. ISBN 0-7315-0342-1
• Anderson, A. (1998) The Welcome of Strangers. Dunedin, NZ: University of Otago Press. ISBN 1-877133-41-8 pb
• Entwisle, P. (1976) The Otago Peninsula. Dunedin, NZ: John McIndoe Limited. ISBN: 0-908565-23-2
• Hamel, J. (2001) The Archaeology of Otago. Wellington, NZ: Department of Conservation. ISBN 0-478-22016-2