Waikouaiti                                                                                    

Waikouaiti, 40 km north of Dunedin city centre on State Highway 1, is known as "birthplace of Otago."  Although Waikouaiti is a small community far from the city, it is governed by the Dunedin City Council.  Pre-European times, Māori made use of abundant natural resources in the area.  A whaling station was established at nearby Karitane in 1837 and acquired by whaler and entrepreneur Johnny Jones in 1838.  Jones bought up a lot of land in the area and led development of the European settlement in Waikouaiti.  Waikouaiti thrived during the gold rush.  With construction of a road to Dunedin, the centre of the town shifted from Beach Street, and Dunedin, which had a deeper port, became dominant.  See: Waikouaiti Coast Heritage Centre.
Monument on Beach Street.
Beano's sells a mango crunch sort of thing that is...!
Waikouaiti is one of several small communities north of Dunedin, and is reachable via Orbus Route 1 to Palmerston.  There is a long-term project to build a Coastal Communities Cycle Connection that will link the north of Dunedin communities (Port Chalmers, Orokonui, Waitati, Evansdale, Warrington, Karitane and Waikouaiti); Stage 1 from Orokonui to Waitati is under way.  See: Dunedin Tracks & Trails.
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