Otago
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2008-06-23T08:17:25Z
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{{This|the region in New Zealand known as Otago}}
{| class="infobox bordered" align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=275 style="clear:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; font-size: 95%;"
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|colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#BFDFFF"|<big>'''Otago Regional Council'''</big>
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|[[List of countries|Country]]: || [[New Zealand]]
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|colspan=2 align=center|[[Image:Position of Otago.png|220px]]
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!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#BFDFFF"|[[List of regions in New Zealand|Regional Council]]
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|Name:||Otago Regional Council
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|Chair:||[[Stephen Cairns]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Councillors|url=http://www.orc.govt.nz/portal.asp?categoryid=30|work=ORC website|accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref>
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|Population:||201,700<br><small>June 2007 estimate<ref>{{cite web|title=Subnational Population Estimates|date=[[2007-10-23]]|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/hot-off-the-press/subnational-population-estimates/subnational-population-estimates-at-30-june07-hotp.htm|work=Statistics New Zealand|accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref></small>
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|Land Area:||31,241 km²
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|Website:||[http://www.orc.govt.nz/ www.orc.govt.nz]
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!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#BFDFFF"|Cities and Towns
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|Cities:||[[Dunedin]]
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|Towns:||[[Alexandra, New Zealand|Alexandra]], [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], [[Brighton, New Zealand|Brighton]], [[Cromwell, New Zealand|Cromwell]], [[Ettrick, New Zealand|Ettrick]],[[Frankton, Otago|Frankton]], [[Kaitangata, New Zealand|Kaitangata]], [[Lawrence, New Zealand|Lawrence]], [[Middlemarch, New Zealand|Middlemarch]], [[Milton, New Zealand|Milton]], [[Moeraki]], [[Mosgiel]], [[Oamaru]], [[Palmerston, New Zealand|Palmerston]], [[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]], [[Ranfurly, New Zealand|Ranfurly]], [[Roxburgh, New Zealand|Roxburgh]], [[Waikouaiti]], [[Wanaka]]
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!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#BFDFFF"|Constituent Territorial Authorities
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|Names:||[[Dunedin|Dunedin City]]<br>[[Central Otago District]]<br>[[Clutha District]]<br>[[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown Lakes District]]<br>[[Waitaki District]] (part)
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|Websites:||[http://www.otago.co.nz/ www.otago.co.nz]<br>[http://www.cityofdunedin.com/ www.cityofdunedin.com]<br> [http://www.qldc.govt.nz/ www.qldc.govt.nz]
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{{coor title dm|45|26|S|169|50|E|region:NZ_type:adm1st}}
'''Otago''' ({{audio|en-nz-otago.ogg|pronunciation}}) is a [[regions of New Zealand|region of New Zealand]] in the south of the [[South Island]]. It has an area of approximately {{convert|32000|km2}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orc.govt.nz/Portal.asp?nextscreenid=201.102.101.101&categoryid=29&sessionx=40992E79-04DA-4C7C-AD3E-898B26E6F896#size|title=About the Otago region|publisher=Otago Regional Council}}</ref> making it the country's second largest region. In the [[As of 2006|2006]] [[census]], it had a population of 193,800.<ref>{{cite web|title=2006 Census of Population and Dwellings|date=[[2006-07-03]]|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/regional-summary-tables.htm|work=Statistics New Zealand|accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref>
The name "Otago" is an old southern Maori word whose North Island dialect equivalent is "Otakou", introduced to the south by Europeans in the 1840s.<ref>Peter Entwisle, ''Behold the Moon: The European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770-1848'', Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 1998 (ISBN: 0-473-05591-0), appendix 1 pp.136-139.</ref> "Otago" is also the old name of the European settlement on the [[Otago Harbour]], established by the [[Weller Brothers]] in 1831.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 should choose their ministers, not the landowner.
Major centres of what is now the Otago Region of the old province, [include [[Dunedin, New Zealand|Dunedin]] (the principal city of the region), [[Oamaru]] (made famous by [[Janet Frame]]), [[Balclutha, New Zealand|Balclutha]], [[Alexandra, New Zealand|Alexandra]], and the major tourist centres [[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]] and [[Wanaka]]. [[Kaitangata, New Zealand|Kaitangata]] in [[South Otago]] provides a prominent [[coal]] source. The [[Waitaki River|Waitaki]] and [[Clutha River|Clutha]] rivers also provide for much of the country's [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] power. Some parts of the area originally covered by Otago Province are now administered as part of [[Southland, New Zealand|Southland Region]] (qv).
New Zealand's first university, The [[University of Otago]], was founded in 1869 as the provincial university in [[Dunedin]].
The [[Central Otago]] area produces award winning [[wine]]s made from varieties such as the [[Pinot Noir]], [[Chardonnay]], [[Sauvignon Blanc]], [[Merlot]], and [[Riesling]] grapes. Central Otago has an increasing reputation as New Zealand’s leading pinot noir region.<ref>{{cite web|title=Central Otago Wine Success At Home And Abroad|date=[[2006-11-11]]|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0611/S00117.htm|accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref>
The region is administered by the [[Otago Regional Council]].
==History==
{{main|History of Otago}}
The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)|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 (ship)|John Wickliffe]]'' and the ''Philip Laing''. 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.
Initial settlement concentrated on port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, where the fertile [[Taieri Plains]] offered good farmland.
The [[1860s]] saw rapid commercial expansion after [[Gabriel Read]] discovered gold at [[Gabriel's Gully]] near [[Lawrence, New Zealand|Lawrence]], and the [[Central Otago goldrush]] ensued. Veterans of goldfields in California and Australia, plus many other fortune-seekers from Europe, North America and China poured into the then [[Provinces of New Zealand|Province]] of Otago, swamping its Scottish [[Presbyterian]] character. Further gold discoveries at [[Clyde, New Zealand|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. New Zealand's first daily [[newspaper]], the ''[[Otago Daily Times]]'', originally edited by [[Julius Vogel]], dates from this period.
The [[Provinces of New Zealand|Province]] of [[Southland Province|Southland]] separated from [[Otago Province]] and set up its own Provincial Council at [[Invercargill]] in [[1861]]. After difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in [[1870]], but for local government purposes Southland is a separate [[Regions of New Zealand|region]].
Provincial government in New Zealand ceased in [[1876]], and the national limelight gradually shifted northwards. The colony divided itself into counties in [[1876]], two in Otago being named after the Scottish independence heroes [[William Wallace|Wallace]] and [[Robert I of Scotland|Bruce]].
==Geography==
[[Image:OtagoRegionPopulationDensity.png|thumb|right|220px| A map showing population density in the Otago Region at the 2006 census.]]
[[Image:Flag of Otago.svg|thumb|250px|left|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. 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]].
Travelling east from the mountains, the Central Otago drylands predominate. These are dominated by the block mountains; upthrust [[schist]] mountains. 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'west arch|Nor'wester]].
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]]. 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==
{{reflist|1}}
==External links==
*[http://www.odt.co.nz/ Otago Daily Times Newspaper]
*[http://www.orc.govt.nz Otago Regional Council]
*[http://www.otago-peninsula.co.nz/ Otago Peninsula]
*[http://www.orfu.co.nz/ Otago Rugby Football Union]
*[http://www.otago.co.nz/ Otago New Zealand, Everything about Otago]
*[http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/ Otago Polytechnic]
*[http://www.otago.ac.nz/ The University of Otago]
{{Regions of New Zealand}}
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