Outram, New Zealand

The Taieri Plain (also referred to in the plural as the Taieri Plains) is an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plain covers an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of 30 kilometres. It is not to be confused with Strath Taieri, a second plain of the Taieri River, 40kms to the north beyond Mount Ross. The floodplain of the Taieri and Waipori Rivers, the plain is enclosed to the west by Maungatua and the Silverpeaks Range, and to the south and east by a low range of coastal hills.Dairy and sheep farming dominate the agriculture of the plain, although deer farming is starting to have an economic impact. The alluvial nature of the land means that floods are not uncommon, especially in the area around the confluence of the two rivers. Stopbanks protect farmland, houses and Dunedin International Airport at Momona. State Highway 1 crosses parts of the plain along some of the stopbanks, with the result that this stretch of road is known locally as The "Floodfree" Highway.New Zealand's lowest point, at 2m below sea level, is slightly north of the airport on Kirk's Drain Road, Momona. To the northeast, the city of Dunedin is separated from the Taieri Plain by a range of rugged hills which are part of the crater of an extinct volcano. At the northeastern limit of the plain lies the town of Mosgiel, officially part of the city of Dunedin. Other settlements and towns on the plain include Outram, Henley, Allanton, and Momona. To the southwest, a short stretch of rolling hill country separates the Taieri Plain from South Otago's other main lowland areas around the Tokomairaro River and Clutha River. The twin lakes of Waihola and Waipori sit within these hills, as does the Sinclair Wetlands Reserve.

The Silver Stream (Māori: Whakaehu) (sometimes written Silverstream) is a small river flowing close to the town of Mosgiel in Otago, New Zealand.The Silver Stream rises in the Silverpeaks hills north of Dunedin, on the southern slope of Silver Peak itself, and flows initially southwards through a steep-sided forested valley which widens to become Whare Flat, before turning west at the eastern edge of the Taieri Plains at the foot of Three Mile Hill, close to Invermay Research Station. It continues in a southwesterly direction past the northern edge of Mosgiel, reaching the Taieri River two kilometres north of Allanton. Its total length is about 30 kilometres (19 mi). Silver Stream is the site of a historic water race. The Silver Stream Water Race was built between 1877 and 1881, and consisted of nearly 30 kilometres (19 mi) of open races, sluices, tunnels, and weirs. The race began at a weir high on the river and traversed the sides of Swampy Summit and Flagstaff before emptying into a reservoir in Kaikorai Valley. Despite efforts to improve the race with the installation of a pump in 1920, it was not successful; problems with subsidence led to much of the race being enclosed in pipe, and the race was finally abandoned in the 1960s.The river's flow is generally small (at below one cumec), but it has a history of flooding. This has been largely remedied by the artificial raising of its banks, especially close to Mosgiel. In mid-2006, after heavy rain, the Silver Stream flooded at some points, but did not flood on the part of the bank running close to the town. Several walking routes are located close to or in the valley of the Silver Stream, most of which are aimed at more experienced trampers.Silverstream School and Silverstream Drive in Mosgiel are named for the river.

Allanton (Māori: Ōwhiro) is a small town in Otago, New Zealand, located some 20 kilometres southwest of Dunedin on State Highway 1. The settlement lies at the eastern edge of the Taieri Plains close to the Taieri River at the junction of the main road to Dunedin International Airport at Momona.Established near the junction of the Taieri River and Owhiro Stream the site was first known to Europeans as "Scroggs' Creek Landing" after Samuel Scroggs, a member of Charles Kettle's survey teams. The surrounding area was (and still is) known as Owhiro. In 1875, with the arrival of the railway south from Dunedin; and satisfying criteria for a "town", the community was renamed Greytown - after former Governor Sir George Grey. Among those who took up land in the growing community were immigrant Poles, from among the "Brogdenites" who had constructed the railway. Several Polish surnames survive in the local community. In 1895 a conflict of identity was recognised between the local community and another Greytown, well established in the Wairarapa. The Taieri County Council met and agreed to again rename the community. By a unanimous decision it was given the name "Allanton" - as a gesture of respect for the late James Allan of nearby "Hopehill", a former Otago Provincial Councillor, County Councillor and East Taieri Church Elder.Allanton's community has declined in recent years, with the local school closing in 2004 and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church closing the following year. The final shop to close was the 'Honey Shoppe', which closed in 2011.

East Taieri is a small township, located between Mosgiel and Allanton in New Zealand's Otago region. It lies on State Highway 1 en route between the city of Dunedin and its airport at Momona. It lies close to the southeastern edge of the Taieri Plain, hence its name.

Mosgiel (Māori: Te Konika o te Matamata ) is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area. Mosgiel has a population of approximately 14,800 as of June 2023. A nickname for Mosgiel is "The pearl of the plain". Its low-lying nature does pose problems, making it prone to flooding after heavy rains. Mosgiel takes its name from Mossgiel Farm, Ayrshire, the farm of the poet Robert Burns, the uncle of the co-founder in 1848 of the Otago settlement, the Reverend Thomas Burns.Mosgiel stands at the north-eastern extremity of the Taieri Plain. The Silver Stream, a tributary of the Taieri River, runs through its north end. Between Mosgiel and the centre of Dunedin stand the rugged Three Mile Hill and Scroggs Hill, which form part of the crater-wall of a long-extinct volcano, the crater being the Otago Harbour. To the south of the town lies one of the many peaks that formed part of the volcano: Saddle Hill, a prominent landmark, visible from a considerable distance and notable for its distinctive shape, lies south of State Highway One where Kinmont Park, a new housing subdivision is located at the foot of the hill. The Dunedin Southern Motorway, upgraded in 2003, links Mosgiel with the centre of Dunedin. State Highway 87 to Kyeburn starts at a junction with State Highway 1 at the southeastern edge of Mosgiel, the first part of the highway being the main street of Mosgiel, Gordon Road.

Taieri College, formerly called The Taieri High School and, prior to 1956, the Mosgiel District High School, is a co-educational state school in Mosgiel, Dunedin, New Zealand. In 2003 a review of the schools on the Taieri Plains by the New Zealand Ministry of Education proposed that the high school would merge with Mosgiel Intermediate School (est. 1973) to become Taieri College from 2004. Because of this merger, ready-made classrooms were built for the intermediate students, as well as a second technology block. The roll expanded to over 800 in its first year, compared with the former high school's number of under 650 students, and now has 1090 students in 2018.

The Mosgiel Woollen Mill is situated in Mosgiel, Dunedin, New Zealand, and was opened in 1871.The Mosgiel Woollen Mill was the second woollen mill to open in New Zealand. The mill was integral to the town and a significant employer from when it opened until the end of the 20th century when it closed. Frank W. Boreham described the mill in his 1916 book Faces in the Fire:During my twelve years at Mosgiel, I often went through the great woollen factory. The machines were marvellous—simply marvellous. As you watched the needles slip in and out, or stood beside the loom and saw the pattern grow, it really looked as though the things were bewitched. They seemed to be doing it all "of their own accord." But one day the manager said, "Would you care to see the power-house?" And he took me away from the busy looms to another building altogether, and there I saw the huge engines that drove everything. Neither looms nor needles really work "of their own accord."

Brighton is a small seaside town within the city limits of Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island. It is located 20 kilometres southwest from the city centre on the Southern Scenic Route. The town faces a small bay which includes a broad sheltered beach. Other beaches extend from here. They make the area popular for summer day trips from Dunedin. The town was named by an early resident, Hugh Williams, after Brighton in England.Brighton is connected by coastal road with the Dunedin commuter settlement of Waldronville to the northeast (and from there to Dunedin itself) and with Taieri Mouth to the southwest. The settlement of Ocean View lies immediately to the east of Brighton, separated from it by a large bluff (simply known as "Big Rock") which juts towards the ocean to the northeast of Brighton Beach. The coast road winds around this headland on its entry to Brighton from Dunedin. At the southern end of the beach is the mouth of the Otokia Creek, a small stream which has its sources 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the southwest in the coastal hills which separate the coast from the Taieri Plains.

Saddle Hill is a prominent landmark overlooking the northeastern end of the Taieri Plains in Otago, New Zealand. Within the limits of Dunedin city, it is located 18 kilometres to the west of the city centre, between Mosgiel and Green Island, and is clearly visible from many of the city's southern hill suburbs. A lookout on the northern slopes of the hill commands a good view across the plains, with Lake Waihola visible 25 kilometres to the west in clear weather. The hill has two peaks with the eastern peak rising to 473 metres, and the western peak – Jeffray's Hill – rising to 431 metres. Of largely volcanic origin, the hill is part of the extinct Dunedin Volcano complex, with a base of Cretaceous breccia overlaid with Miocene igneous rocks, these in turn overlaid with Cenozoic sediments. Erosion has revealed a volcanic plug on the western peak, giving the hill its distinct breast-like shape. The hill was – along with Cape Saunders on the Otago Peninsula – one of just two places in Otago to have been named by Captain James Cook on his 1769 voyage of discovery. Cook described the hill in his journal as "a remarkable saddle". According to pre-European Māori tradition, the hill is the remains of a taniwha called Meremere and the northern and southern peaks of hill were known by Māori by the names Makamaka and Pikiwara respectively. Early settlers' maps occasionally record the hill as "Saddleback Hill".A small coal seam on the hill was exploited by early European settlers, and was mined from as early as 1849, the first coal mine in the country. Jaffray's Hill (often wrongly called Jeffrey's Hill, and named for the Jaffray family who owned the land from 1849 until 1937), was extensively mined for basalt gravel until the mid-1980s. A DCC landscape architect reviewed the visual effects of quarrying in 2008 after concerns from local residents, and found the hill to be "relatively unchanged". This finding, however, has been successfully challenged in court with much public opinion against the continued quarrying.

Wingatui is a small settlement almost 15 kilometres west of Dunedin, and two kilometres east of Mosgiel. It has become a suburb of Mosgiel, but continues to maintain its own unique identity and heritage. Known primarily for the historic Wingatui railway station and for the Wingatui Racecourse, Wingatui is home to a population of 990 as of June 2022.Wingatui is one of the principal stops on the Taieri Gorge Railway, and is also the entrance point to the currently defunct Chain Hills Tunnel single track rail tunnel, which links Wingatui with the Dunedin suburb of Abbotsford to the east. Construction of the railway at Wingatui began in 1879. Local action groups are working with the Dunedin City Council in assessing the possibility of refurbishing and re-opening the disused tunnel to cycle and pedestrian traffic.Wingatui is home to several lifestyle blocks, the owners of many of which keep horses and are associated with the horse racing industry. On race days, trains from Dunedin are known to carry several hundred racegoers through to Wingatui railway station for races.

The Waipori River is in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it flows southeast for 50 kilometres (31 mi) before joining the Taieri River near Henley, 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Dunedin of which it is officially the southernmost border. Google Maps erroneously shows the stretch of Taieri river from the confluence to the mouth as Waipori River. The correct name is shown on the New Zealand government's official NZ Topo Map.The upper reaches of the Waipori flow through rough hill country, much of it covered by the Berwick Forest. An artificial lake, Lake Mahinerangi is formed on the river behind a small hydroelectric station at Waipori Falls, which was built in 1880 to provide power for the city of Dunedin. Much of this area is within the Waipori Falls Scenic Reserve.The lower reaches of the river pass through an area of wetlands around Lakes Waihola and Waipori, both of which drain into the river. This area is a habitat for many species of wading birds. The Sinclair Wetlands reserve is located in this area.The name Waipori comes from Māori words meaning "dark water".

Lake Waipori is the smaller and shallower of the pair of lakes located in the wetlands to the south west of Dunedin in New Zealand on the Waipori River. The Waipori River is a major tributary of the Taieri River, and these wetlands form the southern edge of the Taieri Plains.The lake is inhabited by various waterfowl and wetland birds. It is however too shallow and inaccessible (due to being surrounded with wetlands) to allow for recreation other than fishing and duck hunting in season.It is possible to travel from the Waipori River at Berwick through the lake and through to Lake Waihola in a flat bottomed dinghy or jetboat. The lake is too shallow for other forms of motorboat.The lake is bordered to the southwest by the Sinclair Wetlands.