Seacliff, New Zealand

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Seacliff is a small village in the northern rural area of the City of Dunedin in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It lies roughly half way between the estuary of Blueskin Bay and the river mouth of the Waikouaiti River at Karitane, on the eastern slopes of the Kilmog hill. Coast Road, an old route north from Dunedin, and the South Island Main Trunk Railway pass through the village.

[edit] History

Seacliff is the site of the former Seacliff Hospital a [[mental institution originally termed "Seacliff Asylum". This was designed by Robert Lawson and managed for many years by Sir Frederic Truby King, who also founded New Zealand's Plunket post-natal health charity. New Zealand writer Janet Frame was notable among the hospital's patients. The hospital was the site of one of New Zealand's major disasters when a fire in 1942 resulted in the loss of 41 residents, many still locked in their cells.

The hospital was always affected by land instability, which ultimately contributed to its closure, partial demolition and relocation to a new site at Cherry Farm to the north. Remaining buildings were proposed for a museum of transport and technology: after several years of acquiring relics for display the project never eventuated. Several exhibits were relocated to the Otago Settlers' Museum in Dunedin, but some bodies of old Dunedin Trams and Cable Cars still remain in the area.

[edit] Seacliff now

Seacliff is settled by several families of workers who commute to Dunedin and has a couple of local artists with studios in the village. The ruins of the mental hospital and its extensive grounds form the Truby King Reserve. The remainder of the hospital buildings form a privately owned accommodation business.