Taieri RiverThe Taieri River (a misspelling of the original Māori name Taiari) is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in Otago in the South Island. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Dunedin.
Middlemarch, New ZealandMiddlemarch is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range of hills in the broad Strath-Taieri valley, through which flows the middle reaches of the Taieri River. Since local government reorganisation in the late 1980s, Middlemarch and much of the Strath-Taieri has been administered as part of Dunedin city, the centre of which lies some 80 km to the southeast.
DunedinCity in Otago, New ZealandCity in Otago, New ZealandDunedin ( ; Māori: Ōtepoti) 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 Dùn Èideann ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. With an estimated population of 132,800 as of June 2025, Dunedin is New Zealand’s seventh most populous metropolitan and urban area.
South IslandOne of the two main New Zealand islandsThe South Island (official alternative name Te Waipounamu, from Māori) is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand by surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. With a population of 1,256,700 as of June 2025, the South Island is home to 24% of New Zealand's 5.3 million inhabitants. The most populous cities are Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill.
StrathA strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymologyAn anglicisation of the Gaelic word srath, it is one of many that have been absorbed into the English and Scots languages. It is commonly used in rural Scotland to describe a wide valley, even by non-Gaelic speakers. In Scottish place-names, Strath- is of Gaelic and Brittonic origin.
Otago HarbourOtago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. The peninsula joins the mainland at its southwest end, 21 km (13 mi) from the harbour mouth. The harbour is home to Dunedin's two port facilities, Port Chalmers (half way along the harbour) and at Dunedin's wharf (at the harbour's end).
PlateauIn geology and physical geography, a plateau (; French:; pl.: plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides have deep escarpments or hills. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanicmagma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.
Irish languageCeltic language indigenous to the island of IrelandThe first chapter of Mo Sgéal Féin, read by native Irish speaker Mairéad Uí Lionáird in the Muskerry Gaeltacht (Gaeltacht Mhúscraí)Problems playing this file?
New ZealandIsland country in the Pacific OceanNew Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa, pronounced) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
Māori languagePolynesian language spoken in New ZealandMāori (Māori:; endonym: te reo Māori, 'the Māori language', also shortened to te reo) is an Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost member of the Austronesian language family, it is related to Cook Islands Māori, Moriori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian.
Hybrid wordWord that etymologically derives from at least two languages A hybrid word or hybridism is a word that etymologically derives from at least two languages. Such words may be considered a type of macaronic language. Common hybrids The most common form of hybrid word in English combines Latin and Greek parts.
Scottish GaelicCeltic languageScottish Gaelic ( ; endonym: Gàidhlig), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongside both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.