Last updated October 2026
Vauxhall is a small harbourside suburb of Dunedin, set on a point above Andersons Bay Inlet and along a strip of Portobello Road at the city end of the Otago Peninsula.
The name comes from the Vauxhall Gardens, a gold-rush pleasure ground on the cliff above the inlet, itself named for the famous gardens at Vauxhall in London. Those gardens have gone, and the land is now a quiet residential pocket with harbour views, a yacht club and one of the city’s more unusual historic houses.
The coast road runs out to Burns Point, then becomes more sparsely settled toward The Cove. It is a short trip from central Dunedin, and a natural pause on the way out along the peninsula.
Official Suburb Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 590, down 1% since 2018
- Land area
- 0.41 km² (41 ha)
- Location
- 2.0 km east of central Dunedin
- Council
- Dunedin City Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Waverley, Andersons Bay, The Cove
- Getting there
- Portobello Road, reached from the city across the causeway over Andersons Bay Inlet. Orbus route 18 runs along Portobello Road between the city and Portobello, with some trips continuing to Harington Point, and stops near Doon Street. Route 19 serves Larnach Road on the hill above.
- Nearby landmarks
- Vauxhall Yacht Club, 153 Portobello Road; former Dandie Dinmont Hotel (the White House), 166 Portobello Road and Doon Street; Burns Point; Andersons Bay Inlet
Who Lives in Vauxhall
About 590 residents in 230 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
About Vauxhall
Vauxhall occupies two related pieces of ground at the entrance to the Otago Peninsula. One is the point that juts into Andersons Bay Inlet. The other is the harbourside strip of Portobello Road, which runs fairly straight as far as the yacht club, then curves around a small bay to Burns Point, the northern end of the suburb.
Above the road, Doon Street climbs the steep slope toward the higher streets. Houses sit between the harbour edge and that hillside, with the upper harbour opening out in front of them.
The suburb takes its name from a pleasure garden, not from a London street copied onto a survey plan. In the early years of Dunedin the cliff above the inlet held the Vauxhall Gardens, named for the London gardens of the same name.
After the gardens closed, the land was subdivided. What remains is a quiet residential area rather than a town centre: there is no shopping strip of its own, and daily life looks toward the harbour, the hill streets and the shops of the wider eastern city.
Burns Point remembers Arthur Burns, son of the Reverend Thomas Burns, an early Dunedin settler whose farm, Grant Braes, lay on the rise above.
Arthur lived in a house on the site of the building now known as the White House. That building, the former Dandie Dinmont Hotel, later became tied to William Larnach, who occupied it while Larnach Castle was under construction and had planned to run it as a hotel. The plan never went ahead.
Today the harbourside landmark most people use is the Vauxhall Yacht Club, at 153 Portobello Road. It sails small centreboard boats on the upper harbour and runs learn-to-sail sessions for children, with storage for other small craft. The rest of the suburb is housing, a walkable shore road and a view back across the harbour toward the city.
History and Heritage
The Vauxhall Gardens opened in 1862, at the height of the Otago gold rush. Wealthy local Henry Farley spent £10,000 on a 23-acre site that included a gymnasium, bandstands, dancing areas, a salt-water pool and a funicular railway. A menagerie held koalas, kangaroos, vultures and Tasmanian devils.
The gardens were popular, and they also became known for rowdy parties, drunkenness and prostitution. They did not outlast the rush. They closed in 1870, and no trace of them remains.
A Dunedin City Council history page includes an 1865 view across the harbour toward Tainui, Andersons Bay and Vauxhall, so the name was already in use while the gardens were open.
The former Dandie Dinmont Hotel is the surviving set piece. Heritage New Zealand lists it as a Category 2 historic place. It was built in 1880 to a design by the Dunedin practice Mason and Wales for William Larnach, and it was meant to be a hotel, with stables to the south. It was never used for that purpose. Larnach’s attention stayed on his castle and its grounds.
The list entry records the address as 166 Portobello Road and Doon Street. Suburb boundaries in Dunedin are not fixed in any single official sense, so older records sometimes place the house with the hill suburb above; on the ground it stands on the harbourside stretch, at the foot of Doon Street, in the small bay south of Burns Point. It is a private building.
Getting Around
Portobello Road is the spine of the suburb. From central Dunedin the usual approach crosses the causeway over Andersons Bay Inlet and continues along the harbour edge. The same road is the scenic route out to Macandrew Bay, Broad Bay and Portobello, so Vauxhall is as much a place you pass through as a destination of its own.
Orbus, the Dunedin bus network run for Otago Regional Council, covers both the shore and the hill. Route 18 follows Portobello Road between the city and Portobello, and some services continue to Harington Point. A stop at Portobello Road near Doon Street serves the harbourside.
Route 19 runs via Larnach Road, a short but steep walk above the yacht club. Timetables change, so check the Orbus planner before you travel. Driving is straightforward, though the shore road is also the peninsula’s main road and can be busy on fine weekends.
Getting Outdoors
Vauxhall is not a beach suburb. Its outdoors is the harbour edge: a walk or a slow drive along Portobello Road, with the upper harbour on one side and the wooded slope on the other.
Burns Point is the natural turnaround if you are on foot from the yacht club. Doon Street is the steep link up the hill, useful if you want a climb rather than a flat shore walk.
On the water, Vauxhall Yacht Club is the local base. Yachting New Zealand describes it as a club for small centreboard yachts, including Lasers, Sunbursts, Starlings, Open Skiffs and Optimists, sailing on the upper Otago Harbour. It offers learn-to-sail for children and has room to store other small boats and canoes.
Racing runs through the year, including a winter series. The club is a membership organisation, not a public hire beach, so check with the club before you turn up expecting to sail.
Near Vauxhall
Just outside Vauxhall, within 5 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Heritage New Zealand: Dandie Dinmont Hotel (Former): Category 2 listing for the 1880 Mason and Wales building on Portobello Road, built for William Larnach and never run as a hotel.
Wikipedia: Waverley, Dunedin: The Vauxhall section covers the gardens, Burns Point and the White House, with citations to local histories.
Otago Regional Council: Dunedin bus timetables: Orbus route maps and timetables, including the peninsula service along Portobello Road.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Vauxhall?
Vauxhall is a harbourside suburb of Dunedin at the city end of the Otago Peninsula. It sits on the point above Andersons Bay Inlet and along Portobello Road out to Burns Point.
How do I get to Vauxhall without a car?
Take Orbus route 18 along Portobello Road and get off near Doon Street. Route 19 serves Larnach Road on the hill above. Check the Orbus timetable, because frequencies change.
Why is the suburb called Vauxhall?
It takes its name from the Vauxhall Gardens, a pleasure ground opened here in 1862 and named for the Vauxhall Gardens in London. The gardens closed in 1870 and the land was later subdivided for housing.
What were the Vauxhall Gardens?
They were a 23-acre gold-rush recreation ground built by Henry Farley, with a gymnasium, bandstands, dancing areas, a salt-water pool, a funicular and a menagerie. They were popular and also notorious for rowdy behaviour. Nothing of them survives.
What is the White House on Portobello Road?
It is the former Dandie Dinmont Hotel, a Category 2 historic place at 166 Portobello Road and Doon Street. Mason and Wales designed it in 1880 for William Larnach. It was never used as a hotel. It is private property.
Can I sail at Vauxhall Yacht Club?
The club, at 153 Portobello Road, sails small centreboard boats on the upper harbour and runs learn-to-sail for children. It is a club rather than a public hire centre, so contact the club before visiting to sail.
Does Vauxhall have its own shops and schools?
No shopping strip or school has been verified inside the suburb itself. Everyday shops are back toward Andersons Bay and South Dunedin. Grant’s Braes School, a state primary on Belford Street, is the closest primary school serving this part of the city.
Is Vauxhall a good place for a walk?
Yes, if you want a harbour-edge walk rather than a beach or a bush track. Portobello Road is the flat option out to Burns Point. Doon Street is the steep climb off the shore. The road is also a through route, so use the footpath.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Explore Dunedin only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Vauxhall is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.