The Octagon, Dunedin

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The Octagon, looking towards St. Paul's Cathedral (left) and the Municipal Chambers (right). The Robert Burns statue is visible in front of the cathedral.

The Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand.

It consists of a circular thoroughfare bisected by the city's main street, which is called George Street to the north-east of the Octagon and Princes Street to the south-west of it. Two other main thoroughfares meet with the Octagon: Upper and Lower Stuart Street. Lower Stuart Street is the shorter of the two, leading 600 metres to Dunedin Railway Station. Upper Stuart Street climbs steeply from the Octagon as a major arterial route to Dunedin's inner hill suburbs. Surrounding the Octagon is a larger octagonal street, Moray Place.

The area within the circular road - with the exception of the central link between George and Princes Streets - is a pedestrian area, grassed and terraced in the upper half, and paved in the lower half. A street market occupies much of the paved area once a week. The terraced area is surmounted by a statue of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, whose nephew, Thomas Burns was one of the founders of the city.

St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin, August 2006

Many of Dunedin's more important buildings face this circular road along the eight sides which give rise to its name. These include the Dunedin Municipal Chambers, Civic Centre and Public Library, the Regent Theatre (Dunedin's largest live theatre), Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and St. Paul's Cathedral. Other buildings in the Octagon include restaurants and a multiplex cinema.