Mosgiel - Points of Interest

Points of Interest

R.A. Lawson's East Taieri Presbyterian Church (1870) stands near the Mosgiel turnoff to State Highway 1.

H.F. Hardy's 1870s and 1880s buildings for the Mosgiel Woollen Mill stand in Factory Road, Mosgiel.

In 1936, while still a schoolboy, the artist Colin McCahon took part in a family outing, driving from the seaboard over the coastal hills. Looking across the Taieri Plain towards Central Otago he had what he described as a "vision", seeing a pre-Biblical "landscape of splendour order and peace" — which, he said, it became his life's work to communicate. The same view, though seen from a greater distance, had inspired Charles Kettle in the 1840s.

In 1953 the young Ralph Hotere, later to become one of New Zealand's best-regarded artists, qualified as a pilot on Tiger Moths at the Taieri Aerodrome Training School, Mosgiel.

Mosgiel's sign forms an unusual feature. Modelled on the famous Hollywood Sign, the seven letters of the Mosgiel sign perch on a hillside close to State Highway 1. Because of this sign locals sometimes (though not very often) jokingly refer to Mosgiel as "Mollywood".

The distinctive outline of Saddle Hill forms the eastern border of the greater Mosgiel area.

In recent years Mosgiel has experienced increased urbanisation and a growth in population. The revival has come about in part due to people moving from Dunedin's inner suburbs. Mosgiel has recently seen the opening or refurbishment of cafés and bars aimed at a younger market, and workers have built stages one and two of a planned larger playground.

Mosgiel has recently become home to the first Warehouse Local store, and a McDonalds restaurant was planned to go next to New World, however due to strict restrictions that would be imposed on the restaurant the idea has been scrapped.