Calton Hill, New Zealand

Calton Hill
Calton Hill, as seen from above the Dunedin Southern Motorway.
Location of Calton Hill (shown by red dot) within Dunedin
Basic information
Local authority	Dunedin
Date established	1900s
Land area	80 ha (0.31 sq mi)
Population	1583 (2013 NZ Census)
Surrounds
North	Balaclava
Northeast	Maryhill
East	Caversham,
Southeast	Kew
South	Corstorphine
Southwest	Concord
West	Burnside
Northwest	Lookout Point

Calton Hill is an elevated southern residential suburb of the City of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island. The suburb is named after Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland, and some of its street names carry similar etymological roots. It covers an area of approximately 80 hectares (200 acres) and has 627 households comprising 1583 residents. It is one of the poorest suburb in Dunedin with high levels of deprivation.

The suburb was established in the 1900s, as part of the second wave of suburban development in Dunedin. The parent suburb is Caversham, one of Dunedin's (and New Zealand's) oldest suburbs, established two generations prior as part of the first wave of settlement of the area. During the first wave of settlement before Calton Hill was established it unclear what modern day Calton Hill was called; possibilities include Caversham Hills or more colloquially John Sidey's farm.

Calton Hill is the geographical area bounded by the Dunedin Southern Motorway to the north and the Caversham Valley Forest Reserve beyond; farmland in the south and west that borders Concord and the Burnside industrial area; and an arbitrary eastern border of Corstorphine Road, Sidey Street, Cole Street and South Road (where it terminates near the Dunedin Southern Motorway). The South Island Main Trunk railway and the motorway (part of State Highway 1) further distinguish its northern border.

For many of those on the northern and eastern slopes, Calton Hill has views to Mt Cargill (Kapukataumahaka) and Flagstaff (Te Whanaupaki) in the north and the Pacific Ocean in the south-east. To the east, Calton Hill looks over the central plains of Dunedin city with Signal Hill (Te Pahuri o te Rangipohika), the Otago Harbour and Otago Peninsula in the distance. For those on the western slopes, the Kaikorai Valley and Green Island are in immediate view with Saddle Hill and the Taieri Plains beyond.