Last updated October 2026
The Glen is a small residential suburb in a natural valley on the southern side of central Dunedin. The name describes the landform: a glen that gives an easier climb from the flat up toward the hill ridge.
Glen Road winds through the valley, while South Road curves around the foot of the hills and continues to the southern end of Princes Street. Houses occupy sloping streets, and some of the steeper ground still carries trees. For a neighbourhood this close to the Octagon, it feels tucked in, more a hillside pocket than part of the flat.
Official Suburb Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 640, about the same as 2018
- Land area
- 0.27 km² (27 ha)
- Location
- 1.6 km south-west of central Dunedin
- Council
- Dunedin City Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Mornington, Kensington, Clyde Hill, Dunedin Central, Maryhill
- Ward or local board
- None. Dunedin City councillors are elected at large, and The Glen is outside the city’s community board areas.
- Getting there
- Glen Road and South Road. South Road joins the southern end of Princes Street. Public buses on the South Road corridor link the wider area with central Dunedin.
- Main shopping
- No shopping centre in the suburb. Everyday shops are on South Road and Hillside Road, with a larger retail district in South Dunedin.
- Nearby landmarks
- Montecillo Ridge, the former Carisbrook ground, Dunedin Southern Cemetery, Hillside Railway Workshops
Who Lives in The Glen
About 640 residents in 250 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
In The Glen
Places and businesses inside the official The Glen boundary.
Businesses
About The Glen
The Glen takes its name from a Scots and English word for a narrow valley. Locally, the name has long been used for the break in the hills at the eastern end of the Caversham Valley, where the land drops from the ridge toward the flat. That gap is one of the few easier routes between the hill suburbs and the plain. Glen Road is the street that uses it.
The valley sits against a hill spur known as Montecillo Ridge, named for the mansion of early settler W. H. Reynolds.
The spur is sometimes called Hillside, after the house of Captain William Cargill, one of the city’s founding figures. A cliff of about 20 metres marks part of the spur, and South Road winds around it rather than over it.
The hills here are part of the old rim of the Dunedin volcano, the long-extinct crater that now holds Otago Harbour. No separate Māori name for this suburb is recorded in the council and heritage sources used for this guide. The wider city is known as Ōtepoti.
In the early years of the settlement, a dray could not reliably reach the Caversham Valley in wet weather without a long detour. Wealthy settler William Henry Valpy paid for a crude road from the southern end of Princes Street toward his farm at Forbury. That road curved around the hills at the Glen to avoid a large swamp.
The swamp site later held Carisbrook, Dunedin’s former main rugby ground and a former Test cricket venue, until the ground was demolished in 2011. Carisbrook stood at the eastern end of Caversham, between The Glen and the Hillside Railway Workshops.
Today The Glen is a quiet residential pocket rather than a centre in its own right. Streets such as Glen Road climb away from South Road, and much of the housing is older timber on sections that step up the slope. There is no retail strip or school inside the suburb.
Daily needs are met a short distance away, on South Road and Hillside Road, in South Dunedin, or up on the ridge. The setting is the draw: a small valley, close to the Octagon, with the ridge above and the flat below.
Getting Around
South Road is the practical way in. It runs around the foot of the hills and connects with Princes Street on the city side, so the Octagon is a short drive or bus ride rather than a cross-town trip.
Glen Road is the local climb. It is winding and steep, built to thread the valley rather than to take fast traffic. Walkers and drivers should expect tight bends, limited visibility on some corners, and footpaths that come and go.
Public buses serve the South Road corridor and link this part of the city with central Dunedin and neighbouring flats. There is no railway station in the suburb.
The South Island Main Trunk passes through the wider Caversham area, but the local station closed long ago. For most residents, the car, a bike on the quieter streets, or a bus from South Road is the usual mix.
History and the Valley
The Glen’s story is really the story of a route. Before the southern roads were formed, the swamp at the edge of the hills blocked a direct line from Princes Street to the farms and tracks beyond.
Valpy’s road around the Glen became the basis of later routes south. During the Otago gold rush, that southern road carried heavy traffic between the city and the hinterland, and settlement along the valley mouth grew with it.
Carisbrook kept the old swamp site in the city’s sporting life for generations. The ground sat between The Glen and the Hillside Railway Workshops and was a national rugby venue as well as a cricket ground. Its demolition in 2011 removed the grandstand skyline, but the name still marks this corner of the city.
Above the valley, Montecillo Ridge recalls both Reynolds and Cargill. On the city side of that spur is Dunedin Southern Cemetery, one of Dunedin’s older burial grounds and part of the Town Belt reserve.
Getting Outdoors
The Glen is not a park suburb, but the landform does the work. The valley slopes still hold some tree cover, and the streets themselves are the local walk: short, steep, and often quiet. Views open toward the flat and, from higher sections, back toward the ridge.
Two nearby places are worth knowing. Dunedin Southern Cemetery lies on the inner-city side of Montecillo Ridge, with historic graves set in Town Belt greenery.
The Town Belt, planned with the 1848 settlement, is the bush and park strip that wraps the central city. It is not inside The Glen, but it is the nearest large green space for a longer walk. There is no formed waterfall track or beach in the suburb. Ocean Beach, at St Clair and St Kilda, is the nearest coast.
Near The Glen
Just outside The Glen, within 5 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Caversham, New Zealand (Wikipedia): geography of the Glen, Glen Road, Montecillo Ridge, and the Carisbrook site, with cited sources.
Mornington, Dunedin (Wikipedia): how the name The Glen is used for the valley between the ridge and Caversham, plus nearby schools and parks.
Dunedin City Council elections: confirms councillors are elected at large and lists the community boards, none of which cover The Glen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is The Glen in Dunedin?
It is a small valley suburb on the southern side of central Dunedin, around Glen Road and the South Road curve at the foot of the hills. It is not Glenleith, in the Leith Valley, and it is not the Nelson settlement also nicknamed The Glen.
What does the name The Glen mean?
Glen is a Scots and English word for a narrow valley. Here it refers to the natural gap that gives easier road access from the flat up toward the hill ridge. No separate Māori name for the suburb was confirmed for this guide.
How do I get to The Glen?
Use South Road, which connects with the southern end of Princes Street, then turn into Glen Road for the valley itself. Buses run on the South Road corridor into central Dunedin. Glen Road is steep and winding.
Is there a school in The Glen?
No school was confirmed inside the suburb. The nearest state primaries are Mornington School, on Elgin Road, and Caversham School. The nearest secondary schools are in the St Clair area, including the single-sex King’s and Queen’s high schools.
Where do residents shop?
The Glen has no shopping centre of its own. Day-to-day shops are on South Road and Hillside Road. South Dunedin, centred on King Edward Street, is the larger nearby retail district.
What is Carisbrook’s link to The Glen?
Carisbrook occupied the old swamp at the edge of the hills, between The Glen and the Hillside Railway Workshops. The early road around the Glen was built to avoid that swamp. The ground was demolished in 2011.
Is The Glen an easy place to walk?
The valley floor near South Road is the flattest part. Glen Road and the side streets climb, with bends and uneven footpaths. It suits a short neighbourhood walk more than a pram-friendly circuit. Dunedin Southern Cemetery and the Town Belt are better for a longer stroll.
Who looks after the suburb?
Dunedin City Council. City councillors are elected at large, not by a local ward, and The Glen is not in one of the outer community board areas. Day-to-day services such as roads, rubbish and parks are council responsibilities.
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Explore Dunedin only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and The Glen is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.