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Cargill's Castle

The ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the sea. This Italianate mansion was built for Edward Cargill, eighth child of city founder William Cargill. Called The Cliffs by its owner it was designed by the young architect Francis Petre. While designing the house, Petre fell in love with Cargill's daughter Margaret. After a difficult courtship (due to Petre's staunch Catholicism and the Cargill family's equally staunch Presbyterianism) the couple were eventually permitted to marry. It now lies in ruins and while plans have been made on several occasions to restore the building to its former glory, but none have yet borne fruit. There is no public access to the site and it cannot be accessed until stabilization of the site has been completed.

Address: Isadore street, St Clair
Website: cargillscastle.co.nz (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Dunedin, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool
This heated outdoor pool sits on the western headland of St Clair Beach. The water is heated to 28°C and contains a mixture of salt and chlorinated water.
1 Oct-31 Mar: Mon-Fri 6AM-7PM, Sat Sun 7AM-7PMadult $6.70, child $3
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Tunnel beach
Often called the most romantic spot in Dunedin. In the 1870s local politician John Cargill excavated a tunnel down to a secluded beach so that the extended Cargill families could bathe in privacy away from the prying eyes of St Clair. The beach is sheltered by fossil filled cliffs, with massive sandstone boulders, mysterious graffiti carved into the cliffs and a dangerous rip that sadly drowned Cargill's youngest daughter. The 72 concrete steps through the tunnel is dimly naturally lit, while the path down to the tunnel is steep and can be very slippery following wet weather. The best time to visit is at low tide. To get there by private vehicle proceed to the car park at the end of Tunnel Beach Road, which is signposted off Blackhead Road in the south of Dunedin. From the car park it is easy 20-minute walk via a track through private farm land to the tunnel and beach. The track is open year-round except during the spring lambing season. Otherwise take the No 33 bus in the direction of Corstorphine and get off at the corner of Middleton Road and Stenhope Crescent. It is approximately 30 minutes’ walk from there to the start of the track.
Closed for lambing 1 Aug – 31 Oct
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Gasworks Museum
This old coal gasworks operated from 1863 until 1987. At its peak in the 1970s coal gas was provided to over 18,000 customers in the city. Much of the facility was pulled down during the 1980s, though many of the Edwardian buildings of the complex were saved by a trust and it is one of only a handful of preserved gasworks museums in the world. The main part of the museum is housed in the engine house. Other buildings which are included in the museum include the boiler room, boiler house, chimney stack, fitting shop, and blacksmith's shop. The museum includes five stationary steam engines, some of which are in working full order. There are also displays of domestic and industrial gas appliances.
every Sun of the month from noon until 4PM
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Ocho Chocolate
Ocho import their fermented and dried cacao beans from farmers in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. They then make the chocolate from scratch, roasting, grinding, conching and tempering the chocolate before molding it into bars. The beans are roasted and processed in small batches so some variations are possible from batch to batch. Unlike big industrial chocolate makers they use simple equipment and their processes are very hands-on because none of their equipment is automated. One hour guided tours are available of the factory during which visitors taste 15 different chocolates or compounds.
Guided tours Mon-Sat at 11AM and 2PMGuided tours cost $25 for adults, $15 for children and $70 for a family