Dunedin Botanic Gardens

The Dunedin Botanical Gardens are located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. They are close to the University of Otago and one of the city's most historic cemeteries, the Northern Cemetery, on a spur of Signal Hill and on the river plain immediately below it. These two parts of the gardens are known simply as the upper gardens and the lower gardens. The location of the gardens makes them popular with University students, as they lie between the University and the mouth of North East Valley, which houses a substantial proportion of the city's tertiary students.

The Gardens - New Zealand's oldest - were established in 1863 on a site surrounding the Water of Leith now occupied by the University of Otago. After extensive flooding in 1868, the gardens were moved to their current site in 1869. The name of the former site is still recorded in corrupted form in the now little-used name of Tanna (i.e., Botanic) Hill for the small but steep rise located close to the university's registry building).

The gardens were extensively enlarged during the early years of the 20th century under the stewardship of David Tannock. The gardens form part of Dunedin's Town Belt, a green belt surrounding the inner city.

The lower gardens' features include the Winter Garden, a heated Edwardian glass house, rose and herb gardens, a duck pond, band rotunda, and Japanese garden, the latter commemorating links with Dunedin's Japanese sister city, Otaru. The lower gardens are also noted for their sculptures and statues, among them an ornate fountain, a gift of Wolf Harris, and a pair of statues by Cecil Thomas depicting Peter Pan and the Darling children from the novel Peter Pan. A more modern sculpture, based on Māori koru designs, decorates the northern entrance to the gardens at The Gardens Corner.

A small tributary of the Leith, the Lindsay Creek, flows through the lower gardens. A cafe and visitors' centre are located to the west of this creek, next to a large duck pond and tropical greenhouse.

The upper gardens are split by a winding public road, Lovelock Avenue (named for former Dunedin resident, Olympic gold medallist Jack Lovelock). Along each side of this road are bush walks. The upper garden also features an African garden, a wetlands garden, a small aviary, and an extensive rhododendron dell. A rhododendron festival is held in the gardens every October.

In July 2010, the Dunedin Botanic Gardens were awarded a rank of "Garden of International Significance" by the New Zealand Gardens Trust, becoming one of only five gardens nationwide to be awarded this honour. The only other garden in the South Island with this ranking is also in Dunedin, at Larnach Castle.