ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNERS CONFERENCE 1998
DUNEDIN
BUILDINGS
The splendour of many of its public buildings reflects Dunedin's economic
and cultural pre-eminence in Victorian New Zealand. Today Dunedin has a
reputation as one of the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities
in the Southern Hemisphere. 
Architecturally
outstanding is the massive stone Railway Station, A Flemish-style building
that is currently being restored.
The University of Otago's clocktower building, Otago Boys' High School,
are examples of 'Gothic revival'. First Church, (the seat of Presbyterianism
in Otago), is also a masterpiece of 'Gothic Revival'. Dedicated in 1873,
the church took six years to build, its 56metre high spire contains a ring
of 12 Whitechapel bells. St Dominic's Priory is also an outstanding example
of the 'Gothic Revival' style. The magnificent entrance steps to St Pauls
Cathedral in the Octagon are reminicent of the old cathedrals of Europe,
as are the imposing elevetions of St Joseph's Cathedral. Olveston, a fine
35-room Edwardian mansion near the city centre built for the family of
a wealthy merchant, offers a fascinating glimpse of the city's prosperous
past. The house is as it was in its heyday. At the very heart of
the city, the bard Robbie Burns ponders the sights from his pedistal outside
the Municipal Chambers in the Octagon.