Warehouse Stationery provided me with prints of 45 birthday photos for just 19 cents each – good quality and excellent service.
Down Stuart Street I passed the Grand Star Chinese Restaurant with a notice that said it had been closed because of poor (D grade) food hygiene. I browsed the wonderful selection at the nearby Potters’ Co-operative, then on to the magnificent Dunedin Railway Station. Built in 1904 the Victorian mosaics and other decorations have to be seen to be believed. The knot garden in front provided a good spot to sit and eat my lunch.
Visiting First Church was important for me because my Great Grand-parents, George William Gardner and Alicia Eleanor Kng were married in February 1866 in the Manse of the Rev. Thomas Burns. Nephew of Robbie, he was the first Minister of the Otago Settlement.
First Church, Dunedin
The First Church was not built until 1873, but the displays include interesting information about Thomas.
Effigy of Rev. Thomas Burns in First Church History Centre
Down the hill (despite protesting feet), and over to the new Chinese Garden. This has as much water and rocks as plants, and everywhere you turn there is a different vista, or a peephole to give you another beautiful and contemplative perspective.
Chinese Garden in Dunedin
Inner and outer are juxtaposed, as are natural rocks with mosaic pathways. The colours are all earthy except for one bed of azaleas and a lone viola that looked out of place. Beautiful reeds and maples abound, but there are no fish in the many pools. The garden was designed and prefabricated in Shanghai, then dismantled and transported to Dunedin where it is the only authentic Chinese garden in the Southern hemisphere. Curiously there are no postcards available. The volunteer in the souvenir shop told me they had been ordered but not yet arrived which seems strange when the garden’s been open for months.
A small subterfuge enabled me to obtain a bus timetable from the Information Centre. They don’t usually give them to visitors because they’re expensive to print. I shall salve my conscience by leaving it in my motel unit with the other tourist brochures.
“Buildings historic, gardens new
I found there’s such a lot to do.”
