Save the date Our next Market Day will be on Sunday 7 December 2025 from 10am–2pm at Coronation Hall, Portobello. Rain or shine! (Note that we have moved the date back 2 weeks from 23 November to avoid conflict with the big Edgar Centre Christmas market.)
Are you a food truck? A vendor with something to sell? We’d love to have you. $25 per table (or per food truck space).
Feel free forward the registration link to anyone who might be interested. We’ll also be promoting the event widely on Facebook and other social media channels, so look for those soon as well.
On behalf of Te Rūnaka Ōtākou, Otago Peninsula Trust and the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Trust, we would like to introduce you to the concept of a “Sustainable Otago Peninsula.” You may have received this invitation directly from one of the above organisations, your local school or another entity associated with the Otago Peninsula, so I apologise if you are reading this more than once.
The footprint for the Sustainable Otago Peninsula reflects what the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Trust refer to as the whole Peninsula, from the headland to the coast, through to the guardians (Tomahawk, Vauxhall, Waverley, Musselburgh and Tainui) capturing the nine Otago Peninsula cluster of Schools. The boundary runs from Rongo Rock to the BP service station, down Queens Drive to the St Kilda Surf Club, the approximate location of the river that historically drained the Otago Harbour.
In the initial position paper, we have focused on the history and status of the Otago Peninsula. We have intentionally made no suggestions on what individuals or community may want from a sustainable peninsula, that is the purpose of the survey and community meetings.
Each of the Otago Peninsula Schools from Musselburgh to Portobello will be hosting a community meeting:
Tainui School–17 February Macandrew Bay School–18 February Andersons Bay School–19 February Otakou Marae (Wharekai)–20 February St Bridgid’s School–24 February Grant’s Braes School–25 February Musselburgh School–26 February Tomahawk (Grants Braes AFC Clubrooms)–10 March Tahuna Normal Intermediate–11 March Portobello School–12 March Pukehiki Hall–17 March Broad Bay School–18 March Bayfield High School–19 March
To assist us with our planning, please advise us via the survey which of the meeting venues you will be attending.
Your interests and welfare may span areas such as geography, communities, forests, farming, healthy environments, wildlife, or resilience within economics and food systems. The Sustainable Peninsula project would greatly appreciate 5-10 minutes of your time to complete this survey.
If you complete the survey you will be in the draw for a weekend of treats on the Peninsula including a night at Blimeys @ Roselle, dinner at Toroa Cafe, breakfast at Augustines of Portobello and wildlife tours at OPERA, Royal Albatross Centre and Blue Penguins Pukekura. An amazing weekend for two! I look forward to meeting with you and exploring how we can collaborate to create a sustainable Otago Peninsula
The MV Sootychaser ready to go in its Nelson shipyard.
The weekend of 22-23 September will find Otago Harbour full of celebration as scheduled ferry service returns between Portobello and Port Chalmers. Skipper Rachel McGregor of Sawyers Bay will be launching a new harbour ferry and scenic cruise service, Port To Port Cruises and Wildlife Tours, that will be running twice-daily ferry crossings as well as scenic cruises from September to March, with a special slate of activities planned for the inaugural weekend.
McGregor, a veteran of both the wildlife cruise business and commercial maritime vessels, is starting the new venture to bring together her passions for skippering boats and showing people the wonderful sights the Harbour has on offer. While she enjoys the commercial work she’s been doing, she notes,”Personal skills go to waste on a dredge. It doesn’t care if you’re friendly or not.”
McGregor’s beautiful new metallic purple-blue ferry, christened the MV Sootychaser, was custom built to her specifications and made its way down the South Island this week from the Nelson shipyard (Osprey Boats) where it was built. The craft is designed with a wide beam for stability and comfort and both inside (heated) and outside seating areas for excellent views and comfort. The vessel is expected to be able to carry 24 passengers for ferry crossings, or 14 for scenic harbour cruises.
Skipper Rachel McGregor with the team of shipwrights that built her new ferry.
McGregor is renovating the original ferry ticket shed next to the Portobello jetty as Port To Port’s base of operations on land. Tickets can be purchased in person or booked online (preferable) on the Port To Port Cruises and Wildlife Tours web site. Harbour residents should be on the lookout for half-price cruise and ferry crossing offers for locals during service’s first month starting 13 September, and McGregor hopes to soon add a ten-trip discount card to the mix. Interested passengers should ring 020 416 24250 to confirm dates for these discounted trips.
While she’s excited about showing the sights to thousands of tourists expected this season, she seems even more enthusiastic about getting Dunedin residents out on the Harbour. “Every time I take locals out, they’re amazed at what we have right here. There are ship graveyards that are visible right in the water, and shipwrecks on either side of the mouth of the harbour. Many people don’t know that they are there.”
In the meantime, the launch weekend is expected to be fun for all ages, with day passes available on Saturday 22 September for trips between Portobello, Carey’s Bay, and Quarantine Island Kamau Taurua, with family friendly entertainment at each destination. On Sunday 23 September, half-price discounts will be available for guided harbour cruises. From then until 31 March, there will be two ferry crossings daily (at 12:45-12:55 and 3:15-3:25) as well as multiple harbour cruises. Visit portotoport.co.nz for timetables, prices and other details.
Construction is well underway on the section of the Peninsula Connection between Turnbulls Bay and Portobello. The project includes road widening and construction of a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. In some areas, the road will be raised to protect it during high tides. The slip next to the Turnbulls Bay wall will also be repaired.
The stone wall has been built from Turnbulls Bay to Edwards Bay and is progressing towards Seaton Road. Sheet piling for a pump station is underway at Oyster Bay. At times, the bus shelters will be out of use as they are being raised to the level of the new road. Buses will continue to stop at all existing bus stops. Work on power and telecommunications services will start soon, but disruption to services is not anticipated.
Short sections of Portobello Road are down to one lane with stop/go signs or lights to manage traffic. If you are travelling along this route, please be patient and allow a bit more time. Please slow down for your safety and the safety of the workers.
Smaller numbers of trucks will be carting from the Clearwater Quarry until the end of the year, using a single direction loop around Weir, Papanui Inlet and Allans Beach Roads. Signs are put up when this carting is taking place. Residents will continue to have two-way access along these roads to their properties. All other traffic (such as tourists and the public) will be required to follow the single direction loop when signs are up.
The official opening of the Portobello Heritage Trail took place on Saturday 14th of October with around 70 people from the Peninsula and city taking place. The opening was part of the 2017 Dunedin Heritage Festival “Harbour City” celebrating the Otago Harbour and its environs. Portobello Community Incorporated created the Portobello Heritage Trail as a legacy project for the festival.
Seven signs depicting the history of places within the township were researched and developed by Paul Pope with the assistance and generosity of the Otago Peninsula Museum who provided the images from its collection. A special thanks must go to the building owners, Athene Stewart, Jack Clearwater, Tony & Sarah Reid, Virginia Marriott, Coronation Hall and the Portobello Yacht Club for allowing the signs to be attached to their buildings. The walk around the trail was finished by the traditional “tea and scones” at the Coronation Hall. A brochure map has been developed to guide visitors around the sites and it is hoped that further signs can be added in the future.
Portobello Community Incorporated are excited to be having the official opening of their new Portobello Heritage Trail on Saturday 14th October as part of the 2017 Dunedin Heritage Festival. The new traill consist of seven interpretative signs giving the history of the main buildings in the township. The opening of the trail will start at the Portobello Jetty at 12.00pm and will be followed by afternoon tea at the Coronation Hall. Below is a sneak preview of the signs. Click on the image to view in a bigger format.
The Coronation Hall in Portobello has had a major spruce up by the Dunedin City Council Contractors. The painting has now been completed along with some additional outside lighting. The contractors have just completed pulling down the scaffold and tidying up the hall site. What a great job!
Portobello Community 