Cruise Day 8: Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand: On Walk About, Part 4 - Saturday, December 30, 2023

Continued from Parts 1, 2, and 3...

From the top of View Street, we tramped around the hills of Dunedin, New Zealand. The church architecture is over the top in this city! 

The Gothic-style construction of St. Joseph's Cathedral used materials consisting of Water of Leith bluestone, imported hard Melbourne stone, Port Chalmers agglomerate, and abundant use of Oamaru limestone. The majority of the stained glass windows were made in the studios of Franz Meyer & Co., Munich, Germany, and stone carvings inside and out are by London sculptor L. J. Godfrey.

St. Joseph's Cathedral (Catholic) in
Dunedin, New Zealand,

St. Matthew's (Anglican) Church - it's the
huge one in the middle of the photo.

Millenium Art, The Art of Seaweed.

The photos above and below are artwork on top of poles in a small pocket park in Dunedin. They are from Millenium Art and focus on the Art of Seaweed.

Millenium Art, The Art of Seaweed.

A small triangular park on a hill 
where Millenium Art, The Art of
 Seaweed is found.

Looking downhill from the park. We're headed into downtown
 Dunedin where the shops and restaurants are located.

Otago Boys' High School, Gothic Revival,
1863, moved to its present site in 1885. 

St. John's Ambulance Station HQ,
Dunedin, New Zealand, Art Deco, 1930s.

George St., Dunedin, New Zealand.

George Street shopping.

Along the shopping streets, George Street and Princes Street, colorful façades abound with cast- or wrought-iron work. We walked down one street and back on the other.

Former Crown Clothing Company building,
392 George St., Dunedin, NZ. This is now
the CJ Asian Supermarket.

As we continued walking on George Street, the Knox Church came into view. The foundation stone was laid in 1872. The church was opened four years later in 1876. The church is named after the Scottish Church reformer John Knox. 

This 13th-century, Gothic-style church is constructed of bluestone from quarries close to the Water of Leith, and with Oamaru stone dressings and spire. It has a slate roof. 

Uncharacteristically for a New Zealand Church, it contains two pipe organs, a large Hill, Norman, & Beard one installed in 1931, refurbished in 1974; and a smaller, oak-case instrument originally installed in a church in Christchurch.

Knox Church (Presbyterian).

A bust of Reverend Dr. Donald M.
Stuart, the first minister of Knox
Church in Dunedin from 1860-1894.

Knox Church, different angle.

George Street is flat; a nice change from the hilly areas. We enjoyed the murals along the way. 

In real life, the two lions (in the street art below) were shot when they escaped from a circus in Lawrence in 1978. Their bodies were taxidermized and are now on display in the Animal Attic at Otago Museum.

"The Lawrence Lions," by Bruce Mahalski.

This seems to be an ad for a 
travel company.

Next, we arrived at Tuhura Otago Museum which we didn't have time to explore. Most of the exhibits are free. 

This museum hosts one of the most extensive collections of New Zealand curiosities. The 1.5 million items the museum owns include European paintings, insects, antiquities, Maori treasures, and more. 

New Zealand's biggest science center is found here with 45 hands-on exhibits. In the third floor's Forster Hall Nature Gallery, the hallway features dioramas that beautifully combine nature and art. My heart breaks that we didn't have hours to spend here!

We needed to use the loo at this museum. One thing about walking 7.5 miles in a Central Business District, the washrooms aren't evident! When I walked into the washroom stall here, I was greeted by a monkeyloo toilet lid. Other stalls had other critters on the lids. (I took a peek in the empty stalls. LOL.)

I was surprised when I walked
into the stall! This lid is cute.

On the way out of the museum, I left a monetary donation in the moa (bird) - a big piggy birdy bank.

Across the street from the Tuhura Museum is the University of Otago. At one time, the University of Otago owned the Museum. The University is our last major tourist destination for the day.

Life imitating art. 

The water of Leith (river) flows
through the University of Otago.

We are surrounded by the spectacular University of Otago buildings. They have so much detail, including gargoyles, grotesques, coats of arms, towers, turrets, geology displays, fancy windows, and quiet garden areas.

Archway West - heading from the 
courtyard toward the Water of Leith.

The Archway West Building houses Food Services and Agricultural Innovation.

Look closely at the details in the corners
under the windows. These are grotesques.

Grotesques differ from gargoyles in that gargoyles drain water from the roof. Grotesques are decorative and usually portray scoundrels, monsters, and villains with grotesque facial features.

Old posters are on display for the New 
Zealand Railways and Cook Strait Ferries.

Archway West looking back through the 
passageway we just traversed.

Marama Hall - School of Performing Arts.

University of Otago - Geology Block, 
parallel to the Registry/Clocktower Building.
The University Bell is to the right of Bob.

University Bell history.

The University of Otago Clocktower complex is a group of architecturally and historically significant buildings in the center of the campus. Founded in Dunedin in 1869, the University of Otago expressed the province's Scottish founders' commitment to higher education. 

An architectural competition was held and was won by Maxwell Bury. His plans to build in brick in the Classical style were changed to build in the Gothic style in stone. Construction began in 1878. The north part of the Geology Block was completed that year; while the north part of the Clocktower Building and Professorial Houses were completed in 1879.

In 1883 Bury was brought back to oversee a southward extension of the Geology Block. With this, his work on the complex ended.

The resulting two large ranges (a continuous course of masonry of the same height from end to end) were of bluestone with Oamaru stone facings and slate roofs on the foundations of Port Chalmers Breccia. Port Chalmers Breccia contains fragments of a wide range of rock types, from volcanic to plutonic rocks, as well as sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The breccia was used extensively as a building stone during early settlers' times because it was relatively easy to cut and could be mined locally. 

The long, large buildings were intended to look like the ancient university buildings of England and Scotland, representing a domestic type of church architecture. Some contemporaries called the buildings "Domestic Gothic." The use of corbels, turrets, and undressed masonry give the buildings a specifically Scottish Baronial air.

Registry Building (AKA Clocktower Building).

Registry Building (a coat of arms).

Registry Building (a different coat of arms).

After an amazing hour on campus oohing and aahing over the architecture, we started walking back on Princes Street to catch our shuttle back to the ship.

A brief description of the mural below: Filipa Fairy is a local artist who painted a site-specific mural on the side of The Playhouse Theatre. Because it's a Heritage Building, it has been painted in sepia tones. 

Look carefully to find the characters in the mural. We found Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Geppetto and Pinocchio, Wizard of Oz players, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother, the March Hare, Mother Goose, Jack & the Beanstalk, the Cheshire Cat, Little Bo Peep with a sheep, and a castle with a dragon. We saw the mushroom from Alice in Wonderland but did not find a hookah-smoking caterpillar!

Street art: Untitled, by Filipa Fairy. 
Dunedin, New Zealand.

Our goal was to catch the 2:30 pm shuttle back to the ship. The last shuttle was scheduled at 3 pm. We walked to The Octagon so fast that we had time to spend 1/2-hour in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery (contemporary art AND free of charge). 

Neither of us is a fan of contemporary art, so we saw the whole museum in 20 minutes! I spent my time in the street art exhibit titled "Bloodline." All the art in this room is by Xoë Hall. The vivid colors and creative designs drew me in.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

"Bloodline" exhibit by Xoë Hall, Dunedin 
Public Art Gallery, New Zealand.

Earlier in today's blog (Part 1), I mentioned that in 7-1/2 miles with five hours of walking, we did not eat. From Knox Church on, I was hungry, tired, and getting angry (AKA hangry). Just get me back to that ship so I can have a meal!

We hopped on the 2:30 pm shuttle. It got us back to the ship in 15 minutes, but due to a SNAFU (only one entry open), it took us 45 minutes to get on the ship. 

A long wait to get on the ship!
[Photo by Bob Alton.]

We finally had a great meal in Windows Main Dining. Ahh, plenty of delicious food, refreshing drinks, and great company.

After dinner, we napped. That gave us the energy to do more stuff. 

At 8 pm, we watched the "Speed Trivia and Eliminator Game Show" in The Atrium. Then, at 9 pm, we saw "Comedy with Keith Scott" in the Stardust Theater. They billed him as "the man of 1,000 voices." His voice has been heard in movies like George of the Jungle and Rocky & Bullwinkle. On stage, he imitated everyone from cartoon characters to movie stars to statesmen. 

Bob decided he'd had enough excitement for one day and opted to go to the room and relax, watch TV, or sleep. I went to the Social Club and watched Adult Karaoke Madness. Some singers were excellent, but a couple of them were awful. 

It was time to call it a night and it's time to end today's FOUR-PART blog. Yowsers! Thanks for sticking with me through it all. 

Tomorrow, we're scheduled for Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We're looking forward to that. Again, we don't have any shore excursions booked, so it'll be another walk-about day.

Nighty-night.