page_title: Caversham, New Zealand
section_title: Lookout Point
hierarchical_section_title: Caversham, New Zealand / Geography / Lookout Point
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking down into the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, from Lookout Point. Photograph by James Dignan (User:Grutness), 22 March 2009.
context_page_description: Caversham is one of the older suburbs of the city of Dunedin, in New Zealand's South Island. It is sited at the western edge of the city's central plain at the mouth of the steep Caversham Valley, which rises to the saddle of Lookout Point. Major road and rail routes south lie nearby; the South Island Main Trunk railway runs through the suburb, and a bypass skirts its main retail area, connecting Dunedin's one-way street system with the Dunedin Southern Motorway. The suburb is linked by several bus routes to its neighbouring suburbs and central Dunedin.
  The suburb was founded by wealthy pioneer William Henry Valpy, and its name reflects his family connections with the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Caversham grew rapidly during the Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s because of its location on routes south to the Otago hinterland. By the end of the 19th century, Caversham was heavily industrialised, and its population included many skilled or semi-skilled tradespeople. This, combined with the community's strong Protestant roots, led to the area's generally left-leaning political stance.
context_section_description: At the top of Caversham Valley are a ridge and the saddle of Lookout Point. Lookout Point commands views to the southwest past the outer suburbs of Burnside and Green Island to Saddle Hill, as well as providing a view to the east across the southern part of the central city to Otago Harbour and the Otago Peninsula.
  The most prominent building in Lookout Point is the local fire station, which also serves both Caversham and Green Island. This 1956 structure is located immediately to the north of the saddle and is a prominent landmark upon entering or leaving Dunedin. Not far from the fire station to the north-east is Dunedin's tallest tree, a eucalyptus measuring an estimated 100 metres. The Dunedin Southern Motorway officially begins at the Lookout Point saddle, between Calton Hill and Maryhill, and sweeps down over broken hill country past Green Island to Mosgiel and the Taieri Plains.
  Lookout Point is also the home of the former Caversham Industrial School, located to the northeast of the fire station on Mornington Road. Established in 1869, the school was later a boys' home, and is now an adult training centre. Lookout Point's main streets include South Road, Caversham Valley Road, Riselaw Road, and Mornington Road.
  The Māori name for Lookout Point is Ko Raka-a-runga-te-raki. It was the burial site of chief Rangi-Ihia, a late 18th-century Kati Mamoe chief who was largely responsible for joining the Kai Tahu and Kati Mamoe iwi. He was buried here so that "his spirit might see thence his old haunts to the southward."
  A 3.4-hectare (8.4-acre) forest reserve is located on the upper slopes of Caversham Valley below Lookout Point. Purchased by the Dunedin City Council in 1994 with the assistance of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, it is home to various native bird and invertebrate species, including one species of velvet worm believed to be endemic to the Dunedin area.
caption: From Lookout Point, Caversham Valley Road descends rapidly. This image shows the view east across South Dunedin to Otago Harbour, with Otago Peninsula in the background.
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