History, heritage, and a whole lotta cool _{by Madelaine Empson}

Dunedin (Summer 2020)

Ōtepoti Dunedin has always held a special place in my heart. My grandad, Barry Empson, taught German at Otago University and lived in Waipiata, a tiny ‘town’ an hour and a half out of the CBD. I stayed there the odd school holiday and remember him taking me into the city for hot chocolate. Even as a kid, the buildings fascinated me. They seemed to ooze history and heritage, words that would come to define a long weekend in Dunedin so many years later.

My fiancé Dean and I began our trip with a visit to Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, New Zealand’s first and oldest history museum, where we would meet Penny, Yvette, Chris – and Josephine, a 148-year-old double-ended Fairlie steam locomotive. In a private tour, we learned about the first steps Dunedin’s pioneers took in the mud of the Toitū Estuary in 1848 and what has happened to the region and its people over the dawning of two centuries since. Toitū has 14 themed galleries, including the Smith Portrait Gallery, where Penny discovered a picture of her own ancestors – her father’s mother’s great grandparents (I think!) years after starting at the museum. In Dunedin Goes Digital, we ogled the city’s first computer, which weighed around 5.5 tonnes.

We were then taken around the corner to Lan Yuan Chinese Garden, a Garden of National Significance built to celebrate Dunedin’s Chinese heritage and sister city relationship with Shanghai. While the garden is surrounded by the hubbub of the city, it’s a little pocket of stillness and peace that feels a world away. Over a cup of jasmine green tea, Chris shared many interesting facts about Chinese tradition and culture, explaining the zigzag design of the garden. Did you know evil spirits can only travel in a straight line?

After saying goodbye to Penny, Yvette, and Chris and wolfing down a lunch that nearly put us into a food coma at Papa Chous Yum Cha, we headed to Olveston Historic Home for a guided tour. Olveston was built for the Theomin family and served as their home from 1906 to 1966. In 1967, it opened as a historic house museum. What’s remarkable about Olveston is that very little has changed, right down to the wallpaper. The books still line the shelves of the opulent library. The original silverware adorns the dining table. The games room lies in wait for a whisky-flushed flurry of cards and cigars. Olveston feels like a time capsule of a past perfectly preserved.

Speaking of the past, it was time to venture way back to prehistoric times at Otago Museum, where Australia’s Gondwana Studios travelling exhibition Dinosaur rEvolution is on until February. I had a lot of fun engaging in a roar-off with a T. rex and deciding I won. Plus, we made some dino-mite discoveries. Most dinosaurs had feathers!

From tip to toe, Dean and I explored the entire museum – which includes the only fully 3D planetarium in Australasia – with the wickedly funny marketing manager Kate. Thanks to passionate tour guide Emma for talking us through the super strange, oddly exquisite Animal Attic. This is a treasure trove of stuffed creatures and their parts, from insects and shark teeth to escaped lions and rat kings. Don’t ask.

Within the museum is the Tūhura Science Centre, New Zealand’s biggest science centre and the only bicultural one in the world, integrating Te Reo Māori throughout. Science communicator Alice showed us around the centre, which features 43 fun interactive displays and a three-storey indoor DNA double helix slide for the kids – and the Madelaines, obviously. Also inside is a breathtaking tropical forest with a waterfall and thousands of exotic butterflies. In a holiday highlight, a big blue butterfly landed on Dean’s foot and we both froze, awed in the moment.

That night, we headed to Harbourside Grill for dinner in a glass pod overlooking the waterfront. Our night was filled with exquisite food and exemplary service from staff who went above and beyond, even bringing us hot water bottles!

Only after the day’s adventures were we able to fully appreciate our impeccable accommodation at Bluestone on George. Gorgeously appointed with a plush super king bed and a welcome spa bath, our loft apartment was spotless. An easy stroll to the CBD with the friendliest hosts, we couldn’t have asked for a nicer place to stay.

It was an early rise the next morning for our day out on the Otago Peninsula, which began with a visit to Penguin Place. Our tour guide Bella was knowledgeable and personable, filling the fun bumpy bus ride with stories about the resident yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho). We saw Toby up close and learned all about his sordid affair with Miro, whom he left his wife of 17 years for. The jilted Tash still hangs around, apparently! We also loved hearing about Todd, who used to jump out of the bushes at female penguins walking by in a bid to mate with them. Unsurprisingly, he never bagged himself a girlfriend. We got so close to a group of New Zealand fur seals that they started showing off, with one posing for the camera as if to say “paint me like one of your French seals”.

Next stop, the Royal Albatross Centre on Taiaroa Head, the only mainland breeding colony of northern royal albatross in the world. While we didn’t spot any of the majestic seabirds, we had a great time learning about them and all the work the centre does to protect them with operations manager Chris, and there was plenty to see on the Unique Taiaroa Tour regardless. We ventured through an underground network of tunnels to the secret Fort Taiaroa, housing the world’s only fully restored 1886 Armstrong Disappearing Gun. It was built to counter the threat of invasion but thankfully, as Chris said, was never fired in anger.

Chris generously shouted us lunch at the onsite Toroa Café before we zipped to the wharf for a salty joyride with Monarch Cruises. I recommend tying this in with the Royal Albatross Centre, as you get to see the birds of the headland from the other side. While I got a bit seasick (thanks to Neil on deck for the peppermint oil fix!) we saw so many amazing species onboard – including not just the northern royal albatross, but the Buller’s albatross, the white-capped albatross, and even a little blue penguin (kororā).

Anticipating how chilly we’d get out on the water, Deborah had reserved a table for us in front of a roaring fire in the ballroom at Larnach Castle for a high tea to die for. We devoured scones, savouries, and sweet treats (then couldn’t eat dinner, talk about overindulgence) before Deborah took us on a quick tour of Larnach Castle, one of my favourite attractions in the whole country.

New Zealand's only castle was built in 1871 by William Larnach for his first wife Eliza. It took more than 200 workmen three years to build – plus another 12 years for master European craftsmen to embellish the interior. It’s easy to see why when you walk through the magnificent halls. The grounds too are spectacular, filled with beautiful blooms that frame sweeping harbour and city views. But the beauty of the estate is in stark contrast to the Larnach family story. After Eliza died in 1880, Larnach remarried – her sister, Mary Alleyne, who died in 1887. He then married Constance de Bathe Brandon in 1891. Soon after, his eldest daughter Kate died of typhoid. Rumours ran rampant that his third wife was having an affair with his son Douglas. In 1898, he shot himself in the New Zealand House of Parliament.

Seeing Larnach’s Tomb with its 17-metre spire the next day at Dunedin Northern Cemetery was an intriguing experience. It has been repeatedly vandalised over the years, with Larnach’s skull stolen and many drunken parties held there. Not pointing any fingers, but the cemetery is in walking distance to Otago University, which we also visited on our last day in the city.

This was a special experience for me. I’d heard that a memorial bench had been erected on the university grounds for my grandad, but didn’t know where to start looking for it. I rang Otago University on the way and spoke with a lovely man for half an hour about where it might be. He was so interested in the story that he came to meet us on campus (“look out for the big hairy dude”, he quipped) and lo and behold, it was exactly where he suspected. We spent a quiet moment sitting where Grandad used to eat his lunch outside the Burns/Arts Building. The writing on the plaque, “ein magnet für viele die ihn schätzten”, translates to “a magnet for many who treasured him”.

After soaking in the sweet scents of the vibrant Rhododendron Dell at Dunedin Botanic Garden, Dean and I took a self-guided street art tour. We picked up a map at Dunedin i-SITE to wander the route, popping into cafés, galleries, and shops along the way. Between the amazing works lining the streets, we discovered the astonishing Dunedin Railway Station and found a new favourite burger joint, Good Good. The tour is perfect if you want to see a new side of the city.

After all that walking the day before, our trip to the airport on Monday morning was more waddle than walk. It was time to get back on the plane to reality, but we couldn’t resist craning our necks for one more glimpse of this eclectic, grand ol’ city. Until next time, Dunedin.