Seacliff is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

located north 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 ...

in the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. The village lies roughly halfway between the estuary of

Blueskin Bay Blueskin Bay is an estuary in coastal Otago, about 25 km north of Dunedin, New Zealand. The name also unofficially describes the rural district which includes the northern slopes of Mount Cargill, the southern slopes of the Kilmog, and the ...

and the mouth of the

Waikouaiti River The Waikouaiti River is found to the north of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It flows to the Pacific Ocean at Karitane, close to the town of Waikouaiti Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Du ...

Karitane The small town of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre. Set in rolling country near the mouth of the Waikouaiti River, the town is a popular holiday retreat f ...

, on the eastern slopes of

Kilmog The Kilmog, occasionally called Kilmog Hill and known in Māori as Kirimoko,Place names'' on Kāti Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki website, viewed 2012-01-04 is a hilly area approximately 20 kilometres north of Dunedin, New Zealand, on State Highwa ...

hill. Coast Road, an old route north from

, and the South Island Main Trunk Railway pass through the village.

History

Seacliff is the site of the former Seacliff Lunatic Asylum a

mental institution A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

built in the late 19th century and, for many years, the nation's largest public building. The hospital was designed by architect Robert Lawson and managed for many years by Sir Frederic Truby King, who also founded New Zealand's Plunket, a post-natal health charity. Writer

Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She is internationally renowned for her work, which includes novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous award ...

was notable among the

many patients. A commemorative plaque on a

magnolia tree ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphology (biology), morphological research shows that former genera ''Talau ...

commemorates the years

spent at Seacliff Lunatic Asylum. In 1942, just prior to Frame's first admission, the

was the site of one of the nation's major disasters when a massive fire engulfed the fifth ward, resulting in the death of 37 of the 39 female residents who remained locked in their cells. Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was long affected by structural issues as a result of its poor foundation, which ultimately contributed to its relocation to

Cherry Farm Hawksbury, also known as Cherry Farm (and sometimes erroneously as "Evansdale"), is a small residential and industrial area in New Zealand, located beside State Highway 1 between Dunedin and Waikouaiti.Sea Container history. Seadog 1979. Place ...

. The remaining buildings were proposed to be a museum of transport and technology, but, after several years of acquiring items for display, the project was never realised. Several exhibits planned for the museum were subsequently relocated to the

Otago Settlers' Museum Otago (, ; ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government region. Its po ...

. The area is now a recreation reserve named, after Sir Frederic Truby King, the Truby King Reserve, although the remaining buildings are currently privately owned. The streets in Seacliff include Kilgour Street (the main street that runs through the village), Palmer Street, the Coast Road and Russell Road, which leads to the Truby King Reserve. One of Seacliff's claims to fame is the town's victory in the inaugural championship of New Zealand's annual knockout

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

competition, the 1923 Chatham Cup, wherein the locals beat

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

's YMCA four goals to nil.

Seacliff now

Seacliff is settled by several families, some of whom commute to

for work and school, and a handful of artists who keep studios in the village.

References

{{Dunedin suburbs Localities in the Dunedin City territory