Some (Very) Local Heritage

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Kia ora,

For the last month New Zealand has been in lockdown to try and eliminate the Covid-19 virus. This has temporarily placed considerable restrictions on our normal freedom of movement. For most New Zealanders, this has meant travel outside of one's immediate neighbourhood has been limited to the access of essential services, such as grocery stores and medical care. In response I thought I would write a short blog post about a couple of sites of historic interest I've come across during recent walks in my local area - the North East Valley in Dunedin.  

I thought it was particularly appropriate to write a New Zealand focused blog post this week, seeing as it is New Zealand Archaeology Week. This is an annual nation-wide event coordinated by the New Zealand Archaeological Association that is now into its fourth year. In previous years events such as public exhibits, talks and guided tours of archaeological sites and landscapes have been held across the country during this week with the aim of increasing public awareness and appreciation of local archaeology. 

In light of current events, this year's New Zealand Archaeology Week is being run as an online-only event. For New Zealand archaeology related content follow #NZArchWeek2020 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


Google Earth aerial image of North Dunedin and surrounding area, showing the relative locations of places referred to in this blog post.  


Chingford Park and Stables


The Chingford Park Stables, North East Valley, Dunedin. Photo taken by author.


The now public Chingford Park in the North East Valley was formerly a private estate, originally purchased in the early 1860s by Dr Andrew Buchanan. Dr. Buchanan had emigrated to New Zealand in 1857 with his wife Emma and their eight children. The estate was christened 'Chingford' after his family's former home in England. After Dr. Buchanan returned to England, the Chingford estate was bought by prominent Dunedin merchant Percival Clay (P.C.) Neill in 1877, and was to be his home until his death in 1936. The extant stone stables (originally built in the early 1880s and then rebuilt after a fire in 1890) were built in a Neo-Gothic style to match the wooden homestead (now demolished). The Stables are recognized as one of the larger stone stables built in the Neo-Gothic style in New Zealand and are included on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero (List No. 2146) as a Category 1 Historic Place (indicating special or outstanding cultural or historical value).



Dr Andrew Buchanan. Image source here.

Percival Clay (P.C. Neill). Image source here.

Chingford Estate, North East Valley, ca. 1880, with wooden homestead (now demolished) visible in foreground. Undated photo source here. Approximate date of photo is based on a different source.


The Royal Oak Tree (Dunedin Botanic Garden)



The Royal Oak Tree in the Dunedin Botanic Garden. Photo taken by author.


The Royal Oak Tree in the Dunedin Botanic Garden was one of two oak saplings planted in 1863 during festivities to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales Albert Edward (the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and later to become King Edward VII upon the death of his mother in 1901) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark - but not in its present location!

When the Dunedin Botanic Garden was first established in 1863, it was located a kilometre or so south of where it is today, on Albany Street. However, this site was found to be prone to flooding and in 1869 the Garden was relocated to its present location and the surviving oak sapling was transplanted. The vacant site was apparently fine for a University though - about a decade later the University of Otago relocated there, and this remains the location of the University's Central Campus today!



Ca. 1868 photo taken facing southwest from Tanna Hill. On the left-hand side, in the middle distance, is a circular garden. This was part of the original Botanic Garden and the original location of the Royal Oak Tree. The two-storey white building just to the right of this circular garden sits at the corner of Castle St and Albany St (today this is the site of the University of Otago's Clubs and Societies Building). The Water of Leith (colloquially referred to as the Leith River) is visible in the bottom right quadrant. Photo source here.


Thanks for reading, and stay safe!





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