Burnside, Dunedin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Concord
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Suburb
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 Concord
Location in New Zealand
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| Country | New Zealand |
| Local authority | Dunedin |
| Area | |
| • Land | 192 ha (474 acre) |
| Population
(2018 Census)
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| • Total | 141 |
  Burnside, Dunedin  |
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Burnside is a suburb in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is mostly an industrial area, meaning it has many factories and businesses. Burnside is located at the end of a long valley called the Kaikorai Valley. A stream, the Kaikorai Stream, flows through this valley. This suburb is about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) southwest of Dunedin's city center. It is also close to Green Island, a much larger suburb.
Burnside is separated from central Dunedin by a big ridge. This ridge is actually part of an old, extinct volcano! The main path over this ridge is called Lookout Point. It is about 0.8 kilometers (half a mile) east of Burnside.
Contents
What Industries Are in Burnside?
Burnside has been an important place for many businesses over the years.
Meat Processing: New Zealand Refrigerating Company
Burnside was home to the first large-scale meat processing plant in New Zealand. This plant, called the Burnside Freezing Works, opened in 1881. It was operated by the New Zealand Refrigerating Company. An abattoir, which is a place where animals are prepared for meat, continued to operate here until 2008. There were plans to turn the site into a new industrial area, but these have not happened yet.
Metal Production: Otago Iron Rolling Mills
Another important industry was the Otago Iron Rolling Mills. This factory used to take old scrap iron and turn it into new metal products. They would heat the scrap iron until it was glowing white-hot. Then, they would use a powerful steam hammer to shape it. Finally, the metal was rolled into different shapes like squares, angles, and flat sheets. These products were sold to businesses all over the country.
Other Factories and Businesses
Over the years, Burnside has also had other types of factories. These included a tannery (where animal hides are made into leather), a flour mill, and several fellmongeries (where wool is removed from sheepskins).
The Burnside Cement Factory was another big business that operated until the 1980s. More recently, a warehouse for a fire equipment manufacturer was built on that site in 2018. Today, you can find many smaller manufacturing plants, wholesale businesses, and car sales yards in the lower Kaikorai Valley Road area of Burnside.
Nature and Water in Burnside
To the west and northwest of Burnside, you will find mostly rural hills. These hills are home to one of Dunedin's main water sources, the Southern Reservoir. This reservoir is also a popular spot for fishing, as it is stocked with rainbow trout.
How to Get Around Burnside
Burnside's location makes it a key area for transport. There is a large motorway interchange in Burnside. This is where different roads connect, including slip roads from the Dunedin Southern Motorway. These roads lead to Green Island and the Kaikorai Valley. There are also routes connecting the motorway and Kaikorai Valley to Concord and the nearby hill suburb of Corstorphine.
The main South Island Main Trunk railway line also passes through Burnside. While there are no longer passenger train stations in the suburb, the railway line continues into a tunnel. This tunnel runs underneath Lookout Point and comes out in Caversham, New Zealand.
Who Lives in Burnside?
Burnside covers an area of about 1.92 square kilometers (0.74 square miles). In 2018, the population of Burnside was 141 people. This was an increase from previous years, showing that more people are choosing to live there. There were 48 households in the suburb.
The median age of people living in Burnside was 33 years old. This means that half the people were younger than 33 and half were older. About 19% of the population was under 15 years old. Around 25% were aged 15 to 29, and about 45% were aged 30 to 64. Only a small number, about 8.5%, were aged 65 or older.
Most people in Burnside, about 63%, were employed full-time. The median income was $34,100.
