Port Chalmers

Port Chalmers is a deep water fishing and cargo port for Dunedin, one of the main ports for the South Island of New Zealand, in the Otago region. It is visited by several cruise ships each summer. In 2021, it was home to 1,500 people.

Understand
Port Chalmers, called "Port" for short by locals, is about 20 minutes by road from Dunedin and shares the same long, narrow, Otago Harbour. Only smaller ships can proceed past Port Chalmers to the wharves in the city centre.

The main streets of Port Chalmers and Dunedin are both called George St. The Port Chalmers one is numbered in the 5000s to avoid confusion, and all shops, cafes and services can be found along or near this street.



History
The original Māori name for Port Chalmers was “Potakere” or “Pou-takere” which may have indicated the hill where the tuahu, or altar, was sited. 'Kōpūtai' is a later name meaning ‘full tide’ and refers to an incident in which the tide rose and beached canoes were set adrift.

At first the European settlers intended to christen the town ‘New Leith’ or ‘New Musselburgh’, as they disliked retaining the Māori name of Kōpūtai; but eventually it was named after Dr. Thomas Chalmers, the leader of the Free Church movement in Scotland. The first organized European settlers arrived in Otago Harbour on the John Wickliffe, which moored off what was now Port Chalmers on 23 March 1848.

The arrival of organized European settlement led to the town superseding the earlier Ōtākou as the harbour's international port. By January 1854 the population had reached 80.

As Otago harbour was too shallow for large ships to reach Dunedin they were forced to dock at Port Chalmers, and goods were transported to and from Dunedin by road. A small community of workers sprang up on the hill overlooking the docks, and by the time the Otago Gold Rush hit in the early 1860s, Port Chalmers was the third largest port in Australasia. The dredging of the Victoria Ship Channel along the north-western side of the harbor lead to a large number of ships bypassing Port Chalmers in favour of Dunedin. Compensating to some degree ship servicing and building industries developed in Port Chalmers while the adjacent Carey's Bay became a fishing port.

In 1882 New Zealand's refrigerated meat trade began when the ship Dunedin left Port Chalmers with the first such cargo.

The selection of Port Chalmers as the South Island's first container terminal in 1971 re-established Port Chalmers as the South Island’s major commercial port.

From the 1970s an artists' colony grew up in Port Chalmers and Carey's Bay.

In 1989 the borough of Port Chalmers and the whole surrounding district were absorbed into an enlarged City of Dunedin.

From the 1990s onwards cruise ships began calling, a trend that continues to expand with 153,000 disembarking of the 229,000 passengers bought on 115 vessels during 2019. As modern cruise ships are so big that they must be nursed by tugs along the dredged channel up the harbor to Dunedin or often draw in excess of the depth of the channel Port Chalmers is their preferred port of call.

Orientation
Much of Port Chalmers is located on a small hilly peninsula, at the northern end of which is a large reclaimed area which is now the site of the container port. Close to the southeastern shore of this peninsula are Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua and Goat Island/ Rakiri which lie across the harbour between Port Chalmers and the Otago Peninsula.

When to visit
When a cruise ship is in port, the attractions will be crowded. Also to save money many passengers use the public bus to access Dunedin, so the buses will also be crowded. For the cruise ship schedule consult portotago.co.nz.

Get in
Port Chalmers is most easily reached from Dunedin, unless you arrive by sea.

By air
The closest airport is Dunedin Airport.

By car
State Highway 88 connects Port Chalmers to Dunedin; the turnoff is near the Dunedin Railway Station. Allow 20 minutes to follow a narrow, very busy trucking route past the huge indoor Forsyth Barr Stadium, through the factory suburb of Ravensbourne and around curved causeways to the Port. There is also a narrow, winding but scenic and enjoyable route from Blueskin Bay.

By bicycle
Port Chalmers is connected to Dunedin by the Harbour Cycleway, but this stops about halfway, at St Leonards. From here cyclists can either share the highway with heavy trucks or take the former highway which winds along terraces higher up the shoreline. You can also use the Port to Port ferry service to ride along Otago Peninsula from Dunedin, cross the harbour and return via Port Chalmers.

By bus
Orbus buses organized by the Otago Regional Council (Ph. 0800 672-8736, orc.govt.nz) depart in Dunedin from the Central City Bus Hub (on Great King Street between Moray Place and St Andrew St). In Port Chalmers the bus service starts from the corner of Harrington and Fox Streets. The journey takes 31 minutes. It operates on weekdays every 20 to 30 minutes between 6:10AM and 8:10PM with the final service at 9:10PM. On Fridays there are late services at 8:10PM and 11:10PM. On Saturdays the service operates every 60 minutes from 8:10AM to 23:10PM. On Sunday it operates every 60 minutes from 9:10AM to 6:10PM.

The bus fare in cash is $6 (adult) and $3.60 (child) and on the bus network electronic GoCard it is $4.44 (adults) and $2.66 (child). The bus is free for New Zealand Gold Card holders.

There is also the option of taking the bus to Port Chalmers and after exploring the town taking the ferry across to Portobello and from there take a bus back to Dunedin.

By cruise ship
Cruise ships are an increasingly popular way to visit Dunedin. There are now over 100 visits each year (mostly between October to March). The Dunedin City Council provides free Wi-Fi at the port and runs a web page for cruise visitors. The two major cruise companies Carnival (P&O, Princess) and Royal Caribbean both serve Dunedin.

Seasoned cruise ship travellers will be aware that tourism products marketed directly to cruise ship passengers are often more expensive, so arranging visits to Dunedin attractions and tours independently can save money.

Cruise ship transfers to and from Dunedin

 * Cruise ship shuttle bus: These travel direct (20 minutes) and drop off and pick up in the Octagon in the centre of Dunedin for $10 one-way/$15 return. They may depart from the ship gangway or up to five minutes walk away, depending on the day's arrangements.
 * Public bus: There is a public bus stop on George St about five minutes walk from ship side.
 * Taxis: Taxis depart ship-side and for the return to Port they are easily found on the side streets of most corners of George St, Dunedin's main shopping street.

By ferry
During the season there is ferry and water taxi services operated by Port to Port which can take you between Portobello, Port Chalmers, Carey's Bay and Quarantine Island.

By taxi
Taxis cost about $45 one-way between Dunedin and Port Chalmers.

By train
The Port Chalmers railway station is a trackside grassy patch in Ajax St above the centre of the town. The local scenic train 'The Seasider' operated by the Taieri Gorge Railway,, can be booked to stop here.

Get around
The bus service that connects with Dunedin is the only bus service in town. Otherwise the town is so small that walking is the best option.

You can hire a bike from Union Co in George St and cycle around the bays. It’s a flat 11 km to Aramoana.

Churches and historical sites




Active pursuits
Traditional rock climbing (non-bolted) is popular at Long Beach and the cliffs at Mihiwaka, both of which can be accessed via Blueskin Rd to the north of Port Chalmers.

Events
The biannual Seafood Festival which takes place in September is fun, marrying seafood, beer and musical entertainment.

The Dunedin Marathon which takes place in September finishes in Port Chalmers.

The monthly Community Market is held on the Village Green at 62 George St between 10AM and 2PM on the third Sunday of each month. For sale from the various stalls are locally grown produce, arts, crafts, plants and coffee. Buskers also perform.

Views
There are excellent view from the following locations:


 * Flagstaff Lookout at the end of Constitution St on top of Observatory Hill. This provides a close, birds-eye view of the port operations, with stored logs and woodchips directly below and stacks of containers on the far side. The flagstaff itself is the successor to the original mast from which the entry of ships into the harbour was signaled and a black time-ball was lowered at noon so that ships’ masters could set their chronometers.


 * Island Terrace. This suburban street on the southern side of Observatory Hill provides a view towards Portobello.
 * Lookout at the Lady Thorn Rhododendron Dell on Church Street.


 * The Scott Memorial.

Buy




Eat
Being NZ, fish and chips are the classic cheap eats. The chippy Port Fish Supply (Ph. +64 3 472-7444) is on the corner of Beach & Mount Sts opposite the main gate of the container terminal.





Drink
Sadly the number of drinking establishments has declined since the days when Port Chalmers had nine hotels in the late 19th century. Live music occurs at the Tunnel Hotel and The Galley Cafe & Bar.



Sleep
Most visitors stay in Dunedin itself, where there's a much better range of accommodation.

Stay safe
Due to the layout of the port, logging trucks regularly pass along the main street, so check before crossing the street. Don't kayak in the commercial port when ships are present.

Telephone
The area code for Port Chalmers is 03.

By land

 * Blueskin Bay, 30 min north.
 * Dunedin

By ship

 * Christchurch or Akaroa, overnight sail to the north via a cruise ship.
 * Invercargill, Stewart Island or Milford Sound, overnight sail to the south via a cruise ship.