Castle Street is a major street in the city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. The street runs in a north-north-east direction from Stuart Street outside Dunedin Railway Station to the southern end of the

Dunedin Botanic Garden The Dunedin Botanic Garden (often incorrectly referred to as the Botanic or Botanical Gardens) is located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. The garden is close to the University of Otago and one of the ci ...

, and is bisected into two distinct parts by the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

campus.

Southern section: State Highway

The southern part of Castle Street between Stuart Street and Frederick Street is part of

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

, and is a two-laned one-way street, carrying southbound traffic while the parallel Cumberland Street to the west carries northbound traffic. The NZ Transport Agency, in conjunction with

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council () is the Local government in New Zealand, local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since O ...

, is proposing to install

protected bike lane A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

s on the one-way pair, replacing the painted cycle lanes. The central part between Frederick Street and Saint David Street was mostly closed in the 1970s to allow expatiation of the University of Otago campus. A small cul-de-sac south of Albany Street that was formerly part of Castle Street was renamed Ethel Benjamin Place. At this point the State Highway moves one block to the west, initially carried by two short stretches of curved road.

Northern section: Student Quarter

The northern section of Castle Street, also known as Castle Street North, runs for from Saint David Street to Duke Street in

Dunedin North Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, ...

. South of Dundas Street, most of the buildings are owned by the University of Otago, being mainly offices and university-owned rental properties. It is also home to Selwyn College. North of Dundas Street, the street is dominated by rental properties occupied by students from the university and

Otago Polytechnic Otago Polytechnic is a public Education in New Zealand#Tertiary education, New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell, New Zealand, Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provides career-f ...

. Most houses along the street are of early 20th century construction, dotted by modern infill housing. This section is considered the main street of Dunedin's

student quarter A student quarter or a student ghetto is a residential area, usually in proximity to a college or university, that houses mostly students. Due to the youth and relative low income of the students, most of the housing is rented, with some cooperati ...

, and has been home to many student riots. Some of the founding members of New Zealand rock band

Six60 Six60 is a New Zealand pop rock band formed in Dunedin, Otago in 2008. The band consists of Matiu Walters (lead vocals, guitar), Ji Fraser (lead guitar), Chris Mac (drums, bass guitar), and Marlon Gerbes (guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser). Th ...

notably lived at 660 Castle St during their university years, and the house is now owned by the band members. The band named their fourth studio album '' Castle St'' after the location.

References

{{Reflist Streets in Dunedin State Highway 1 (New Zealand) Central Dunedin Odonyms referring to a building