Last updated October 2026
Concord is a small residential suburb in southwest Dunedin, set on gentle hills just beyond the ridge at Lookout Point. It once carried the main road south, but through traffic now uses the Dunedin Southern Motorway, so Main South Road works as a local street rather than a highway.
Most of the suburb is housing, including a planned subdivision around Mulford Road built in the mid-1970s, much of it for state housing. Shops sit on Main South Road, and Concord School is the local primary. For people looking at Dunedin’s western suburbs, Concord is a compact, practical neighbourhood with everyday services close at hand.
Official Suburb Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 1,490, down 2% since 2018
- Land area
- 1.79 km²
- Location
- 4.5 km south-west of central Dunedin
- Council
- Dunedin City Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Corstorphine, Blackhead, Green Island, Burnside, Calton Hill
- Getting there
- Main South Road (two-way through Concord, continuing as Stevenson Road). The old road from Lookout Point is largely a one-way slip off the Dunedin Southern Motorway. Orbus buses stop near the shops and school.
- Main shopping
- Concord shops on Main South Road
- Schools
- Concord School (state contributing primary, Years 1 to 6); a Sara Cohen School satellite classroom is also on the site
- Nearby landmarks
- Lookout Point; Dunedin Southern Motorway; Concord shops on Main South Road
Who Lives in Concord
About 1,490 residents in 560 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
About Concord
Concord sits on the southern side of the ridge that separates central Dunedin from the Kaikorai Valley and the lower land beyond. In the southeast of the suburb, around Mulford Road, Dunedin City Council character work describes a gentle hilltop lying across the 150 metre contour, with slopes falling to the west, east and north.
Scrubby gullies lie off the edges of the built streets. The feel is suburban: houses face the road, sections are modest, and the motorway is close without dominating the quieter cul-de-sacs.
The Mulford Road area was laid out as a Housing Corporation subdivision in the mid-1970s. Council assessment describes a consistent pattern of generally one house per site, set a little further back on the uphill side of the street and closer to the footpath on the downhill side.
Some houses were built privately, but most appear to have been state houses. That part of Concord takes in Mulford Road and the cul-de-sacs of Morris Street, Davies Street and Craig Hendry Street, running toward Orr Street and Stevenson Road.
The rest of the suburb is also mainly housing, spread between Main South Road and the streets climbing toward Middleton Road.
Day-to-day life centres on Main South Road. Dunedin City Council planning documents refer to the Concord shops there, and to the primary school and a high-frequency bus stop nearby.
Concord School is a state contributing primary school for Years 1 to 6. It also hosts a satellite classroom of Sara Cohen School, so some pupils who need specialist support learn on the same site.
No separate Māori name for Concord was found in council or standard references. The wider city, Ōtepoti, lies in the rohe of Kāi Tahu (also known as Ngāi Tahu).
Concord is not a visitor destination in the way a beach or a heritage precinct is. Its interest is as a place to live: quiet residential streets, a small local centre, and a short drive into central Dunedin or onward once you join the motorway.
The bypass has left the old main road quieter than its highway past, which is part of why the suburb feels settled rather than busy.
Getting Around
Main South Road is the spine of Concord. It runs two-way through the suburb and continues as Stevenson Road, a local link over the southern hills. From central Dunedin, the old highway drops from Lookout Point as a narrow one-way street, effectively a long slip road off the start of the motorway, before becoming two-way again in Concord.
The Dunedin Southern Motorway now carries State Highway 1 past the suburb. A motorway interchange just to the north connects the motorway with local roads.
Orbus buses stop near the shops and school, and council planning reports for land beside Concord note a high-frequency stop in this area. Routes and timetables change, so use the Orbus journey planner before you travel.
History and Heritage
Concord’s modern shape follows the old south road. Until the Dunedin Southern Motorway opened in the 1990s, State Highway 1 ran through the suburb. Bypassing it cut through-traffic and left Main South Road as a local link, which is why the street feels quieter than a former highway might suggest.
Much of the housing people see today is later than that road history. The Mulford Road subdivision dates from the mid-1970s and reflects the Housing Corporation era: simple, consistent houses on similar sites, built mainly as state housing, with some private homes among them.
Concord School is the clearest community landmark. The suburb’s story is the highway, the motorway bypass and later state housing, rather than a cluster of grand historic buildings.
Near Concord
Just outside Concord, within 5 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Concord, New Zealand (Wikipedia): short overview of the suburb, its position on the former main south road, and Concord School.
Dunedin City Council street map: official map of roads and locality names across Dunedin, including Concord.
Orbus: Dunedin bus timetables and the journey planner for current services to Concord.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Concord?
Concord is a residential suburb in southwest Dunedin, on the city side of the Dunedin Southern Motorway and just beyond Lookout Point.
How do I get to Concord?
Use Main South Road, which runs two-way through the suburb and continues as Stevenson Road. From central Dunedin the old road drops from Lookout Point as a one-way slip before joining the two-way section. The motorway bypasses Concord, with an interchange to the north.
Does Concord have shops?
Yes. Local shops sit on Main South Road, which council planning documents call the Concord shops.
What school is in Concord?
Concord School is a state contributing primary school for Years 1 to 6. A satellite classroom of Sara Cohen School, a specialist school, also operates on the site.
Is Concord still on State Highway 1?
No. State Highway 1 now uses the Dunedin Southern Motorway, which bypasses Concord. Main South Road is a local road through the suburb.
Are there buses to Concord?
Yes. Orbus stops serve the area near the shops and school, and council planning documents refer to a high-frequency stop nearby. Check the Orbus journey planner for the current route and times.
What is Concord like to live in?
It is a small, mainly residential suburb of modest houses and quiet streets, with a local shop strip and a primary school. The motorway is close, but most housing sits off the old main road on gentle hills.
Does Concord have a Māori name?
No separate Māori name for Concord was found in council or standard reference sources. The city is known in te reo as Ōtepoti, and the local iwi is Kāi Tahu.
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Explore Dunedin only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Concord is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.