Author's Notes:

The SOUTHERN CEMETERY in Dunedin, New Zealand, was the first major cemetery to be opened in the city, in 1858, ten years after the founding of the city. Covering an area of fourteen acres (5.7 hectares), it is one of the most important nineteenth-century cemeteries in New Zealand and is listed on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Register as a Historic Place, Category 1. The steeply sloping site is divided into separate sections for Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics, as well as having a Jewish and a Chinese section.

Dunedin was founded by the Scottish Free Church in 1848, unlike the English settlement of the rest of New Zealand. Known as 'The Edinburgh of the South', Dunedin has strong Scottish cultural links, with Edinburgh as a Sister City.

A large proportion of New Zealand's early Jewish immigrants are buried in the cemetery's Jewish section, with members of many of New Zealand's more notable Jewish families - including the Hallensteins, Theomins, Joels, and De Beers - among those interred.

The 1860s Central Otago Gold Rush brought a major influx of people to Dunedin, including many Chinese from Guangdong. Some parts of the Chinese section have been designed to feng shui principles.

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.