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Dunedin
The Celtic Capital of New Zealand
 Dunedin, Ōtepoti in Maori, is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Otago. It has the largest council boundary area of any New Zealand city, and is the hub of the fifth-largest urban area. The city is nestled in the hills and valleys surrounding the head of Otago Harbour, the remnants of an extinct volcano.
The Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland founded Dunedin at the head of Otago Harbour in 1848 as the principal town of its special settlement. The name comes from Důn Čideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. Charles Kettle the city's surveyor, instructed to emulate the characteristics of Edinburgh, produced a striking, 'Romantic' design.The result was both grand and quirky streets as the builders struggled and sometimes failed to construct his bold vision across the challenging landscape. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the war against Napoleon, was the secular leader. The Reverend Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet Robert Burns, was the spiritual guide.
In 1861 the discovery of gold at Gabriel's Gully, to the southwest, led to a population explosion. The new arrivals included many Irish, reinforcing the Celtic nature of the city. Much of this culture can be seen in the stone dykes sand croft-like farmlets of the Peninsula and surrounding countryside, and in much of the architecture, from the stone churches to the grandiose graveside headstones and monuments.
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