One aspect that makes Dunedin unique is its Scottish heritage. The city's Scottish beginning gives it a special flavour which makes it quite different from anywhere else in New Zealand or Australia.Late nineteenth century visitors, like the French political scientist Andre Siegfried, the Irish land radical Michael Davitt and the inimitable Mark Twain, were struck by the city's Scottish character. Since that time immigration from Scotland has declined to almost nothing, but the Scottish character remains intact.
Dunedin is the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh, yet Dunedin is nothing like the Scottish capital except for the street names and the entrancing "Juliet" towers which grace some of the older houses. Dunedin is hillier, smaller, closer to the sea and has better climate than Edinburgh.
Yet the place somehow reminded the founding settlers of the Midlothian countryside from which the majority came. It's rugged hills were familiar and they were delighted to discover that a bracing winter's frost was usually followed by a still, blue day, that the surrounding country was ideally suited to running sheep and growing oats, wheat and barley and that the river water was clear and clean. Galloway dry stone walls are dotted around the hills of the Otago Peninsula. Dunedin seemed tailor made for settlement by Scots.
These Scots, who established their own special free church Presbyterian settlement would made three major contributions to Dunedin's distinctive character.
First, they brought with them a passionate enthusiasm for education. The wealth generated by the gold rushes was soon put to good use in setting up Otago Boys' High School in 1864, the University of Otago in 1869 and Otago Girls' High School in 1871. Girls' High was one of the first state run secondary schools for girls in the world. New Zealand's oldest university has gone on to become the second largest in the country and boasts a range of special schools, including the first medical school in New Zealand.
