The University of Otago is a public research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in Oceania.
The University of Auckland is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially located in a repurposed courthouse, the university has grown substantially over the years. As of 2024, it stands as the largest university in New Zealand by enrolment, teaching approximately 43,000 students across three major campuses in central Auckland.
Knox College is a selective residential college, founded and run by the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and affiliated with University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college is set in a 4.57 hectares landscaped site in Opoho on the opposite side of the Dunedin Botanic Gardens from the university. It is named after John Knox, a sixteenth century leader of the Scottish Reformation, whose efforts in establishing a universal system of free education comprising both academic learning and character formation had a profound influence, not just in Scotland, but internationally, as subsequent generations of Scottish settlers, products of the Scottish Enlightenment, emigrated to far-flung corners of the globe, including New Zealand, taking with them a deep-seated belief in the benefits of applied knowledge and a broad and liberal education. Those strong Scottish Presbyterian foundations are something that Knox College has in common with the university to which it is affiliated. They are depicted on the college's Coat of Arms in the form of a blue St Andrew's Cross. Superimposed on the St Andrew's Cross is the image of a white dove in flight, carrying an olive branch in its mouth, a symbolic depiction of the flood myth in Genesis 8, wherein the olive-branch-bearing dove is a symbol of life and peace. The college motto, Gratia et Veritas (Latin), or Grace and Truth (English), comes from the Prologue to the Gospel according to Saint John.
Selwyn College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill as a theological college training clergy for the Anglican Church and as a hall of residence for students attending the university. It is named after George Augustus Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand and is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin. It was opened on 15 January 1893. It was Otago's first residential college and on the model of an English university college it included students of all subjects. Women were admitted in 1983. The main building is listed as a Category II Historic Place. Selwyn is one of the most popular colleges in Dunedin, its 214 available places oversubscribed every year.
Salmond College is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. As an affiliated college, it is privately owned and is run independently from the university, being governed by The Council of Knox College and Salmond College, a body with links to the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The college was opened in 1971 as Salmond Hall, originally to accommodate women students, to parallel the male-only facility Knox College. It became a coeducational facility during the 1970s. The name was changed to Salmond College in 2006.
The ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin. It is one of about ten castles in New Zealand, the other one in Otago being nearby Larnach Castle. More a castle in name than in fact, this Italianate mansion was built for Edward Cargill, eighth child of city founder William Cargill, in the late 19th century, who called it The Cliffs. Designed by the young architect Francis Petre, and built in concrete by Harry Lyders at a cost of £14,000, it was completed in 1877. Several kilometres south of the castle is Tunnel Beach, so named because this quiet beach is only accessible through a steeply sloping tunnel cut into the 60 metres (200 ft) high cliffs by the Cargill family. It is also very likely that Petre was the supervisor of the construction of the tunnel. While designing the house, Petre fell in love with Cargill's daughter Margaret. After a difficult courtship the couple were eventually permitted to marry, the wedding taking place in the villa's principal salon on 1 March 1881.
Carrington College is a residential college of the University of Otago. This complex of buildings has accommodation for 243 students and was opened in 1945. It was the first university hall of residence in Australasia to accept both male and female students. It is named for G.W. Carrington, a former head of the Otago Education Board. The current Warden is Ali Norton.
The Aramoana massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, northeast of Dunedin, New Zealand. Resident David Gray killed 13 people, including local police Sergeant Stewart Guthrie, one of the first responders to the reports of a shooting, after a verbal dispute between Gray and his next-door neighbour. After a careful house-to-house search the next day, police officers led by the Anti-Terrorist Squad located Gray, and shot and injured him as he came out of a house firing from the hip. He died in an ambulance while being transported to hospital.
Arana College is a residential college of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, founded in 1943 by the Rev. Harold W.Turner and the Stuart Residence Halls Council. The name "Arana" is a Māori transliteration of "Allen", chosen to honour Sir James Allen, a former Vice Chancellor (1903–1909) and Chancellor (1909–1912) of the University of Otago. The current warden is Ruben Katigbak.
Studholme College is a residential college of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand situated on Clyde Street, a few minutes walk northeast of the university. Housing approximately 185 students, it is one of the smaller colleges in the region. It was founded as Studholme House in 1915 to provide facilities for domestic science students. The college maintains close links with the Department of Human Nutrition, though it now accepts students from all faculties.
Hocken Collections (Māori: Uare Taoka o Hākena, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago.
Otago Polytechnic is a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provides career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accredited postgraduate qualifications, degrees, diplomas and certificates at levels 2–10. In November 2022, it became a business unit of the national mega polytechnic Te Pūkenga, ending its existence as an independent entity.
Cumberland College is a residential college in Dunedin, New Zealand, for the University of Otago. Cumberland College was established as a hall of residence in 1989. It is located in the former Dunedin Hospital Nurses' Home, built in 1916, across the road from Dunedin Hospital and the Queen Mary Maternity Hospital. Cumberland College is linked by tunnels to both Dunedin Hospital and Hayward College. Over 7000 students have spent time living in Cumberland College since its establishment.
The Robertson Library is a shared library run by the University of Otago's College of Education and Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is named after Bill Robertson, who taught at Otago Polytech and also chaired the College of Education Council and the Otago Education Board. The Robertson Library also shares books and resources with Otago Polytechnic's Central Campus in Cromwell, Central Otago and International Campus in Auckland.
Saint Margaret's College, Otago is a residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The current head of college is Elizabeth Koni. The previous head of college, Dr Charles Tustin, retired in January 2023. His predecessor, Dr Peter Norris, retired in November 2016 after 28 years of service to the college.
On 8 August 1979, a major landslip occurred in the Dunedin, New Zealand, suburb of Abbotsford. It was the largest landslide in a built-up area in New Zealand's history, resulting in the destruction of 69 houses – around one sixth of the suburb – but no fatalities.
Caroline Freeman College is a residential college owned and operated by the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college is located a short distance north of the Otago central campus near the Dunedin Botanical Gardens.
Papaarangi Mary-Jane Reid is a New Zealand public health academic and, as of 2019, is a full professor at the University of Auckland.
On Tuesday, 22 October 2019, a fire broke out on the roof of the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. The convention centre is to become part of the SkyCity complex and was undergoing construction by Fletcher Construction, due for completion before the end of the year. The site was occupied by construction workers at the time and was not open to the public.
The 2023 southern New Zealand floods were caused by heavy rain that struck the southern part of New Zealand's South Island on 21 September 2023. This storm caused flooding in several places across the Southland and Otago regions including Gore and Queenstown. 100 homes were evacuated in Queenstown and Tuatapere's water treatment plant was damaged. A state of emergency was declared in the Southland Region. In addition, a state of emergency was declared in Queenstown on 22 September, which recorded its wettest day in 24 years.
