Otago Regional Council
Country:	New Zealand
Regional Council
Name:	Otago Regional Council
Chair:	Stephen Cairns[1]
Population:	198,300 June 2006 estimate[2]
Land Area:	31,241 km²
Website:	www.orc.govt.nz
Cities and Towns
Cities:	Dunedin
Towns:	Alexandra, Balclutha, Brighton, Cromwell, Ettrick,Frankton, Kaitangata, Lawrence, Middlemarch, Milton, Moeraki, Mosgiel, Oamaru, Palmerston, Queenstown, Ranfurly, Roxburgh, Waikouaiti, Wanaka
Constituent Territorial Authorities
Names:	Dunedin City Central Otago District Clutha District Queenstown Lakes District Waitaki District (part)
Websites:	www.otago.co.nz www.cityofdunedin.com www.qldc.govt.nz

Otago (pronunciation (help·info)) is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The region is the top tier of Local government in New Zealand. Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of History The town was founded during the Central Otago goldrush in the 1860s and was named after Alexandra of Denmark Balclutha is a town in Otago, it lies towards the end of the Clutha River on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Brighton is a small seaside town within the city limits of Dunedin, in New Zealand 's South Island. Ettrick is a small town in inland Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Frankton is a settlement close to the town of Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. Kaitangata is a town near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, on the left bank of the Clutha River ten kilometres south east of Balclutha. Lawrence is a small town of 474 inhabitants (as per the 2001 census) in Otago, in New Zealand 's South Island. Middlemarch is a small town (population 300 within the limits of Dunedin city Milton is a town of some 2000 people located on State Highway 1, 50 kilometres to the south of Dunedin in Otago. Moeraki is a small fishing village on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Mosgiel (pronounced \MOZZ-geel\ population 10000 a suburb of the city of Dunedin in Otago ( New Zealand) lies 15 kilometres southwest History The vicinity of Oamaru features some important archaeological sites for the North Island city see Palmerston North Queenstown is a Resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand 's South Island. History An 1826 sketch of the coast north of Otago (made in May 1826 shows the 'Karitane' and 'Waikouaiti' coast History The lake was first seen by a European in 1853 Nathanial Chalmers but he was guided by a sketchmap from Chief Te Huruhuru at Waimate Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Administration The Central Otago District Council based in Alexandra controls territorial authority matters while the Otago The Clutha District is an administrative district of southern New Zealand, with its headquarters in the Otago town of Balclutha. Queenstown is a Resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand 's South Island. The Waitaki district in the Canterbury and Otago regions of New Zealand, straddles the traditional border between the two regions the Waitaki River The region is the top tier of Local government in New Zealand. The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi)^[3] making it the country's largest region. In the 2006 census, it had a population of 193,800. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population ^[4]

The name "Otago" is the old Maori pronunciation of "Otakou", often now used in replacement for the original name. "Otago" is also the old name of the European settlement on the Otago Harbour, established by the Weller Brothers in 1831. Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating Otago The Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a Whaling station on Otago Harbour and New The place later became the focus of the Otago Association, an offshoot of the Free Church of Scotland, notable for its high-minded adoption of the principle that ordinary people shouild choose their ministers, not the landowner.

Major centres of what is now the Otago Region of the old province, [include Dunedin (the Central City of the Region), Oamaru (made famous by Janet Frame), Balclutha, Alexandra, and the major tourist centres Queenstown and Wanaka. Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of History The vicinity of Oamaru features some important archaeological sites The New Zealand author Janet Paterson Frame, ONZ, CBE ( August 28, 1924 - January 29, 2004) published eleven Balclutha is a town in Otago, it lies towards the end of the Clutha River on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. History The town was founded during the Central Otago goldrush in the 1860s and was named after Alexandra of Denmark Queenstown is a Resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand 's South Island. History The lake was first seen by a European in 1853 Nathanial Chalmers but he was guided by a sketchmap from Chief Te Huruhuru at Waimate Kaitangata in South Otago provides a prominent coal source. Kaitangata is a town near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, on the left bank of the Clutha River ten kilometres south east of Balclutha. South Otago lies in the south east of the South Island of New Zealand. The Waitaki and Clutha rivers also provide for much of the country's hydroelectric power. The Waitaki River is a large River in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long The Clutha River is the second longest River in New Zealand and flows south-southeast for 340 kilometres through Central and South Otago to Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water Gore and Invercargill are also part of old Otago.

New Zealand's first university, The University of Otago, was founded in 1869 as the provincial university in Dunedin. The University of Otago ( Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo) in Dunedin is New Zealand 's oldest university with over 20000 students enrolled during Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of

The Central Otago area produces award winning wines made from varieties such as the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Riesling grapes. Administration The Central Otago District Council based in Alexandra controls territorial authority matters while the Otago Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Pinot noir ('pino nwar is a red Wine Grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Chardonnay is a green-skinned Grape variety used to make white Wine. Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned Grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. Merlot ('MERL-oh' in British English mer-LOH in American English and standard French is a red Wine Grape that is used as both a blending grape and for Riesling is a white Grape variety which originates in the Rhine region of Germany. Central Otago has an increasing reputation as New Zealand’s leading pinot noir region. ^[5]

History

Main article: History of Otago

The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland, materialised in March 1848 with the arrival of the first two immigrant ships from Greenock on the Firth of Clyde -- the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing. The history of Otago in New Zealand tells the story of human settlement of one of the more isolated outliers of the inhabited earth Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Greenock ( Gaelic Grianaig g̊ɾʲiənɛg̊ʲ is a large town and former Burgh of barony in the Inverclyde Council area of western The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer Firth in The John Wickliffe was the first ship to arrive carrying settlers for the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the Peninsular War, served as the colony's first leader: Otago citizens subsequently elected him to the office of Superintendent. William Walter Cargill (27 August 1784 &ndash 6 August 1860 was the founder of the Otago settlement in New Zealand, after serving as a officer in the British The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence pitted an alliance of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal against France

Initial settlement concentrated on port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, where the fertile Taieri Plains offered good farmland. The Taieri Plains are an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The 1860s saw rapid commercial expansion after Gabriel Read discovered gold at Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, and the Central Otago goldrush ensued. Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA was completed in 1869 Gabriel Read (1824 - 1894 was an Australian Gold prospector who after working on the goldfields of California and Victoria Australia Gabriel's Gully is a locality in Otago, New Zealand, three kilometres from Lawrence township and close to the Tuapeka River. Lawrence is a small town of 474 inhabitants (as per the 2001 census) in Otago, in New Zealand 's South Island. The Central Otago Gold Rush (often simply called the Otago gold rush) was a Gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand Veterans of goldfields in California and Australia, plus many other fortune-seekers from Europe, North America and China poured into the then Province of Otago, swamping its Scottish Presbyterian character. Provinces in New Zealand were used from 1841 until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on November 1, 1876. Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity Further gold discoveries at Clyde and on the Arrow River round Arrowtown led to a boom, and Otago became for a period the cultural and economic centre of New Zealand. Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. New Zealand's first daily newspaper, the Otago Daily Times, originally edited by Julius Vogel, dates from this period. A newspaper is a written Publication containing News, information and Advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called Newsprint. The Otago Daily Times, known as the ODT or - less kindly - the oddity is a Newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin New Zealand Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG ( February 24, 1835 - March 12, 1899) was New Zealand 's only practicing Jewish

The Province of Southland separated from Otago Province and set up its own Provincial Council at Invercargill in 1861. Provinces in New Zealand were used from 1841 until the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on November 1, 1876. (For the current top-level subdivision of Southland in New Zealand see Southland Region) The Southland Province was a province of New (For the current top-level subdivision of Otago in New Zealand see Otago) The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until Invercargill ( Waihōpai in Māori) is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common After difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in 1870, but for local government purposes Southland is a separate region. Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The region is the top tier of Local government in New Zealand.

Provincial government in New Zealand ceased in 1876, and the national limelight gradually shifted northwards. Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The colony divided itself into counties in 1876, two in Otago being named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce. Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Sir William Wallace ( Scottish Gaelic: Uilleam Uallas; c 1272 – 23 August 1305 was a Scottish Knight, Landowner, and Patriot Robert I King of Scots ( 11 July, 1274 &ndash 7 June, 1329) usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce (

Geography

A map showing population density in the Otago Region at the 2006 census.

Flag of the Otago Regional Council.

Beginning in the west, the geography of Otago consists of high alpine mountains. The highest peak in Otago is Mount Aspiring, which is on the Main Divide. Mount Aspiring/Tititea is New Zealand 's highest mountain outside the Aoraki/Mount Cook region From the high mountains the rivers discharge into large glacial lakes. In this part of Otago glacial activity - both recent and very old - dominates landscapes, with large 'U' shaped valleys and rivers which have high sediment loads. River flows also vary dramatically, with large flood flows occurring after heavy rain. Lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka and Hawea form the sources of the Clutha, the largest river (by discharge) in New Zealand. The Clutha flows through Otago and discharges near Balclutha.

As you travel east from the mountains, the Central Otago drylands predominate. These are dominated by the block mountains; upthrust schist mountains. The schists form a group of medium-grade Metamorphic rocks chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar Minerals such as Micas chlorite Compared to Canterbury, where the Northwest winds blow across the plains without interruption, in Otago the block mountains impede and dilute the effects of the Nor'wester. The Nor'west arch is a weather pattern peculiar to the east coast of New Zealand 's South Island.

The main Central Otago Centres, such as Alexandra and Cromwell, are found in the intermontane basins between the block mountains. The schist bedrock influence extends to the eastern part of Otago where remnant volcanics mark its edge. The remains of the most spectacular of these are the Miocene volcanics centred on Otago Harbour. Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating Otago Elsewhere, basalt outcrops can be found along the coast and at other sites.

Climate

In Central Otago cold frosty winters are succeeded by hot dry summers. Central Otago's climate is the closest approximation to a continental climate anywhere in New Zealand. This climate is part of the reason why Otago is a successful wine-growing region.

References

External links

• Otago Daily Times Newspaper
• Otago Regional Council
• Otago Peninsula
• Otago Rugby Football Union
• Otago New Zealand, Everything about Otago
• Otago Polytechnic
• The University of Otago