Caversham, New Zealand

Caversham, New Zealand

Caversham is one of the older suburbs of Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island. The suburb was founded by wealthy pioneer William Henry Valpy, and its name reflects his family connections with the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Caversham grew rapidly during the Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s. It is now predominantly residential, with some industrial premises in the east and a retail district centred on South Road and Hillside Road.

About Caversham, New Zealand in brief

Summary Caversham, New ZealandCaversham is one of the older suburbs of Dunedin, in New Zealand’s South Island. The suburb was founded by wealthy pioneer William Henry Valpy, and its name reflects his family connections with the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Caversham grew rapidly during the Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s because of its location on routes south to the Otago hinterland. It is now predominantly residential, with some industrial premises in the east and a retail district centred on South Road and Hillside Road. Residents are generally of low socio-economic status. The suburbs of Balaclava and Maryhill lie to the north, close to the western end of the ridge that runs along the northern edge of central Dunedin. To the south lies Calton Hill, a spur of Forbury Hill, on which the suburbs of Corstorphine and Kew are located. These hills were all once part of the rim of the Dunedin volcano, the long-extinct crater of which now forms Otago Harbour. Other suburbs nearby include Forbury, South Dunedin,. Kensington, and Lookout Point. The railway provides the suburb’s most important industry, through the Hillside Railwayhops, which are located in the southeast of the suburb. There are no public railway stations or halts in the suburb, the last station having closed in 1962. The hill slopes to north of Cavers Ham are less densely populated, but still cover some tree cover and still retain some cover along the road.

At this end, the suburb draws easier access to the northeast, including a road known as Glen, which provides a natural barrier between the suburb and the suburb of Maryhill. At the eastern end, a few winding roads traverse the hill, most notably Glen Road, which is at the end of a hill spur. The area is home to the Southern Rugby Football Club, and gives its name to Caversam Football Club. Several notable sportspeople have associations with CaversHam, among them Test cricketer Clarrie Grimmett and father and son rugby union administrators “Old Vic” and “Young Vic” Cavanagh. It was a separate borough until 1904, when it was amalgamated with Dunedin city. At a national level, it is part of the Dunedin South electorate, and is located 4 kilometres southwest of the city centre, and 2 kilometres north of the Pacific coast at St Clair. The suburb is linked by several bus routes to its neighbouring suburbs and centralDunedin. It also contains a special-needs school, and the nearest secondary schools operate in St Clair, 1 kilometre to the south. The city’s one-way street system connects the suburb with the Dunedin Southern Motorway, the main thoroughfare through the city’s central plain. It has strong sporting connections and is the location of Carisbrook, until recently one ofDunedin’s main sports venues. The town of St Clair was once home to a rugby union club.