Clyde Hill, Dunedin: Suburb Guide to Quiet Hillside Streets

Last updated October 2026

Clyde Hill is a small residential suburb on the steep southern slopes of inner Dunedin, a short distance from the city centre. It is a pocket of hillside streets rather than a shopping or park destination, with houses along roads such as Forfar Street, Kirriemuir Street and Barnes Drive.

The name is used in addresses and in the national locality record, although Dunedin City Council notes that central suburb boundaries are not fixed in any single authoritative sense. There is no local retail strip, so everyday errands mean a trip down the hill or over the ridge. It is not the Central Otago town of Clyde, which lies far inland on the Clutha River.

Practical Information

Ward or local board

Dunedin City Council. City councillors are elected at large, and Clyde Hill is not in a community board area.

Getting there

Forfar Street meets Glenpark Avenue on the ridge. Barnes Drive and Bridge Street drop toward the valley. No train station. Use the Orbus journey planner for the nearest bus; city services run to the Bus Hub on Great King Street.

Main shopping

None in the suburb. Nearest shops are on South Road in Caversham. South Dunedin is the larger southern retail centre.

Nearby landmarks

Southern Cemetery on South Road; The Glen; the South Road shops in Caversham.

About Clyde Hill

Clyde Hill sits on the steep southern side of Dunedin’s inner hills, above the valley that carries South Road out of the city. The streets are residential and sloping. Forfar Street runs through the pocket and joins Glenpark Avenue and Mitchell Avenue at its upper end.

Kirriemuir Street and Dacre Court branch off that network, while Barnes Drive and Bridge Street fall away toward the valley floor. This is ordinary hillside housing, not a visitor precinct.

No separate Māori name for Clyde Hill has been confirmed. The city is Ōtepoti. Dunedin City Council records a lengthy Māori occupation of the wider area, with known history from about 1100 AD, and notes that the Otago region takes its name from the Ngāi Tahu village of Ōtākou at the harbour mouth. Nothing in council or heritage records ties a particular pā, marae or traditional name to this small hill pocket.

European Dunedin was established in 1848 by settlers of the Free Church of Scotland, and the city’s name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh. Street names in Clyde Hill follow that habit: Forfar and Kirriemuir are Scottish town names.

The origin of the suburb name itself has not been confirmed in council or heritage sources, so it should not be confused with the Central Otago town renamed Clyde during the gold rush.

The hill suburbs filled in as Dunedin grew after the 1860s gold rush. On the ridge above, Maryhill was linked to the city by a cable tram extension along Glenpark Avenue from 1855 until 1955. That line, sometimes called the Big Dipper because of its undulating course, was the historic public transport on the road that Clyde Hill’s upper streets still join. It was a Maryhill service, not a tram through Clyde Hill itself.

Today the suburb is a quiet residential hillside. Local reporting in the Otago Daily Times has treated Clyde Hill as one of Dunedin’s lesser-known pockets, familiar mainly to people who live there. There is no school, shopping centre or railway station in the suburb. Day-to-day life looks down toward South Road, or up the ridge toward the inner city.

Getting Around

Access is by local hill streets, not a main highway. From the ridge, Glenpark Avenue is the link at the top of Forfar Street. From the valley, Barnes Drive and Bridge Street climb into the suburb. The roads are steep and winding, so allow extra time on foot or in a car, especially in wet or icy weather.

There is no train station. Caversham’s own station, in the valley below, closed in 1962, and the South Island Main Trunk passes through a tunnel under Lookout Point rather than through these streets. Public buses are run by Orbus, the Otago Regional Council network.

Clyde Hill’s residential streets are not a main bus corridor. Services on the surrounding main roads connect with the Dunedin Bus Hub on Great King Street. The Orbus journey planner is the reliable way to find the nearest stop and the current timetable.

Shopping and Dining

Clyde Hill has no shopping centre and no retail strip of its own. The nearest everyday shops are on South Road in Caversham, the old valley route below the hill, with further shops along Hillside Road. South Dunedin, a short distance across the flat, is the city’s second retail district and the place for a wider range of stores.

Central Dunedin, around George Street and the Octagon, is a short trip over the ridge or out via South Road and Princes Street. Cafés and restaurants are not a feature of Clyde Hill itself. People eat and shop in those neighbouring centres rather than on the hill streets.

History and Heritage

The nearest major historic place is the Southern Cemetery, on South Road at the southern end of the Town Belt. Heritage New Zealand lists it as a Category 1 historic place.

The cemetery was established in 1857 by the Municipal Corporation of Dunedin, in what was known as Little Paisley, and the earliest recorded burial was in 1858. It covers about 5.7 hectares and holds approximately 23,000 burials, divided into denominational sections, including Presbyterian, Anglican, Catholic, Jewish and Chinese portions.

The cemetery is one of the most significant nineteenth-century burial grounds in New Zealand, and it holds the graves of founding figures including Captain William Cargill and the Reverend Thomas Burns. It is managed by Dunedin City Council. It is not inside Clyde Hill, but it sits on the same southern spur, toward Princes Street, and is the landmark most visitors will recognise near these streets.

Below the hill, Caversham grew quickly in the 1860s because the valley was a main route south to the goldfields. It was a borough from 1877 until amalgamation with Dunedin in 1904. That history belongs to the valley, but it explains why the flat land under Clyde Hill still has the older churches, workshops and shops, while the hill itself remained a thinner scatter of houses on steep sections.

Where to Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Clyde Hill in Dunedin?
It is a small hillside suburb on the steep southern slopes of the inner city, a short distance from central Dunedin. Forfar Street, Kirriemuir Street, Dacre Court, Barnes Drive and Bridge Street are among the roads recorded there.

Is Clyde Hill the same place as Clyde in Central Otago?
No. Clyde in Central Otago is a small town on the Clutha River between Cromwell and Alexandra. Clyde Hill is a residential hillside suburb of Dunedin.

How do you get to Clyde Hill?
By local hill streets. Forfar Street meets Glenpark Avenue at the top of the ridge, and Barnes Drive and Bridge Street run down toward the valley. There is no train station in the suburb.

Does a bus go through Clyde Hill?
The residential streets are not a main bus route. Orbus services on the surrounding main roads connect with the Dunedin Bus Hub on Great King Street. Use the Orbus journey planner for the nearest stop.

Are there shops in Clyde Hill?
No retail centre has been identified in the suburb. The nearest everyday shops are on South Road in Caversham. South Dunedin is the larger southern shopping district, and central Dunedin is a short trip away.

Which schools serve Clyde Hill?
No school sits inside Clyde Hill. Nearby primary schools include Balaclava School and Caversham School. Enrolment zones and year levels should be confirmed with each school.

Does Clyde Hill have a Māori name?
No separate Māori name for Clyde Hill has been confirmed. The city is known as Ōtepoti, and the wider region takes its name from Ōtākou.

Who represents Clyde Hill on the council?
Dunedin City Council. City councillors are elected at large, not by ward, and Clyde Hill is not covered by one of the outer community boards.

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