Dunedin; was Gaelic for Edinburgh. It was proposed at first to call the new settlement New Edinburgh but the name did not give satisfaction. and Dunedin was accepted as a substitute.
Otago; alias Otakou means red earth or ochre used as paint by the maoris. It has been argued that Otakou was a mistake. The sound could be 'g' in Southern Maori
Water of Leith; Owheo of the Maori -- is Edinburgh's little river
Andersons Bay; Takes its name from James Anderson who settled there in Dec 1844 having come from Nelson
Port Chalmers; Koputai of the Maoris -- is named after the celebrated Dr Chalmers, the leader of the secession of 1843 that established the Free Church of Scotland
Blanket Bay; So named for the anchorage and shelter it provided.
Pelichet Bay ; is named after one of Mr Kettles surveyors, Charles L H Pelichet, a Londoner, who dwelt on its margin on the spot now below Hanover St railway crossing and he laid out the sections on both sides of the upper harbour.
Ravensbourne ; Was named by its first settler Thomas C de Lacy, after a stream near Blackheath London
Harrington Point ; Is named after Thomas Cudbert Harrington, secretary of the New Zealand Company
Dowling Bay; Was named by Mr Kettle after his friend, a nephew of George Rennie, the first projector of the Otago settlement
Hamilton Bay ; Was also named by Kettle, after the Rev J Vessey Hamilton, a clergyman of Kent whose services he attended
Deborah Bay ; Derives its name from Tucketts ship that was anchored there in 1844
Sawyers Bay ; Was given its name by the early whalers, who there procured excellent timber for boats and huts
Portobello ; Herewaka to the Maoris, was named in 1840 by Christie, a scotsman after his birth place
Abbotsford ; has not as it is commonly supposed, associations with Sir Walter Scott. It was originally Abbot's Ford. Abbot being an early Taieri surveyor who made a ford there.
Sprogg's Hill ; perpetuates the memory of Sprogg, another Taieri Surveyor.
Hayward Point ; bears the name of Captain Charles E Hayward. who arrived in the whaler Royal Sovereign in 1856, and was later prominent in coastal shipping and timber.
Acheron Head ; Derives its name from HMS Acheron, whose Captain Stokes made a survey of the harbour in 1850.
Kilgours Point ; Is named after David Kilgour, who settled there in 1856.
Pulling Point ; was given its name by David Carey, as a strong wind there gave hima stiff pull to reach port.
Forbury ; Was named by William Henry Valpy after his fathers school near Reading, in Berkshire. Walpy owned 150 acres of Forbury ( now St Clair) and the whole of Caversham Flat, Which he named after his Mothers birthplace, near Reading.
Cape Saunders ; was named in 1770 by Captain Cook after his friend and patron, Admiral Sir Charles Saunders. First Lord of the admiralty in 1766
Clutha River ; Waimatu of the Maoris--- was named by the Scottish Otago Association, the word being Gaelic for Glasgow's famous Clyde. Balclutha means town on the Clutha although it is actually on the Molyneux. This latter river, which is formed by the confluence of the Clutha and the Kawarau, was named by Captain Cook after his sailing Master.
Inch Clutha ; Means the island of the Clutha. Its native name in Tuahinui. The Maori Chief Tuhawaiki, who was nicnamed by the whaler " Bloody Jack" was born there and in earlier times it was known as Bloody Jacks Island.
Saddle Hill ; was another landmark to recieve its name from Captain Cook, This was during his first visit in 1770.
Milton ; Was first named Mill Town, from a mill around which the early houses clustered. When the streets were named after the poets. The name changed to Milton.
Mosgiel ; Is named after Mossgiel, a farm in Ayrshire where Dr Burns was born and where Robert Burns lived for 4 years.
Stewart Island ; Rakiura of the Maori -- was so called by Dugald Stewart, who discovered the strait in 1808.
Half Moon Bay ; Was originally called Horse Shoe Bay, and anothe bay about half a mile north was called half moon bay, both named after their shapes. By a mistake the first surveyor reversed the names on his map and so they remained.
Roslyn ; Named by Mr James Kilgour, on whose estate it was, after Roslyn Castle Scotland.
Tahuna ; The name means sandbank
Smith And Russell Streets were called after friends of Mr Kettle
Graham & Grant Streets after early settlers who had land on the town site.
Vire Street was so called after the french Man of War which helped the Surats passengers when the ship was wrecked at the Catlins River.
St Leonards ; Named after St Leonards - on - Sea England by an early Landowner.
Blueskin Bay ; at Waitati, was named according to T B Kennard ( the first white boy born in Otago) after a heavily tattoed Maori so called by the whalers.
Blueskin Beach ; atGoodwood, was named because of a plant with berries with blue skin.
Cherry Farm ; Waikouaiti, according to the same authority was named by Johnny Jones after his wife Sarah Charity Sizemore
Little Paisley ; a name that appears on various water colour paintings of the infant hamlet, was the name given to a site now occupied by the Southern Cemetery. In the earlier days it was occupied by half a dozen weavers from Paisley in Scotland and their families.
Opoho ; The Maoris gave the name Opoho after the chief Poho, to the creek on the east side of the Northern Cemetery and to the land where the rifle butts are, where the fish ponds used to be and some distance North.