Otago

Otago pronunciation (help·info) is a region of New Zealand in the south-east of the South Island. It has an area of approximately 32,000 km² (12,350 mi²), making it the country's second-largest region. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 181,542.

The name "Otago" anglicises the Kai Tahu Māori dialect name "Ōtākou". The village of Otakou on the Otago Peninsula served as a whaling base during early years of European economic interest in the east coast of Murihiku around 1840.

Major centres include Dunedin (the Central City of the Region), Oamaru (made famous by Janet Frame), Balclutha, Alexandra, and the major tourist centres Queenstown and Wanaka. Kaitangata in South Otago provides a prominent coal source. The Waitaki and Clutha rivers also provide for much of the country's hydroelectricity-generated electricity.

New Zealand's first university, The University of Otago, was founded in 1869 as the provincial university in Dunedin.

The Central Otago area produces wines of excellent quality made from varieties such as the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Riesling grapes.

History

Main article: History of Otago

The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland, materialised in March 1848 with the arrival of the first two immigrant ships from Greenock on the Firth of Clyde -- the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the Peninsular War, served as the colony's first leader: Otago citizens subsequently elected him to the office of Superintendent.

Initial settlement concentrated on port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, where the fertile Taieri Plains offered good farmland. The 1860s saw rapid commercial expansion after Gabriel Read discovered gold at Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, and the Central Otago goldrush ensued. Veterans of goldfields in California and Australia, plus many other fortune-seekers from Europe, North America and China poured into the then Province of Otago, swamping its Scottish Presbyterian character. Further gold discoveries at Clyde and on the Arrow River round Arrowtown led to a boom, and Otago became for a period the cultural and economic centre of New Zealand, if not of Australasia. New Zealand's first daily newspaper, the Otago Daily Times, originally edited by Julius Vogel, dates from this period.

The Province of Southland separated from Otago Province and set up its own Provincial Council at Invercargill in 1861. After difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in 1870, but for local government purposes Southland is a separate region.

Provincial government in New Zealand ceased in 1876, and the national limelight gradually shifted northwards. The colony divided itself into counties in 1876, two in Otago being named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce.

Climate

In Central Otago cold frosty winters are succeeded by hot dry summers. Central Otago's climate is the closest approximation to a continental climate anywhere in New Zealand. This climate is part of the reason why Otago is a successful wine-growing region.

Link to Peterborough?

Otago also appears as a street name in Whittlesey near Peterborough in England. There is Otago road and Otago Close. There is a mystery as to why this small fenland town should choose this name for two of its streets.

See also

• Flag of Otago

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