Otago

Otago, the most southern provincial district of New Zealand, in the South Island. It was one of the original six provinces in the colony, but since 1876 these have been abolished and the county system has been adopted. The name is said to be derived from the Maori Otakou, 'red earth.' It was colonised in 1848 by the Otago Association connected with the Free Church of Scotland. It is bounded on the N. by Canterbury and Westland, and on the E. and W. by the sea. It has a coastline of 400 miles, is 160 miles long by 195 broad, the estimated area comprising 15,038,300 acres, of which 9 millions, chiefly in the centre and in the east, are fit for agriculture. Pop. (1880) 138,219; (1891) 153,005. Gold was discovered here in 1861, and now the goldfields comprise an area of 2½ millions of acres, from which gold to the value of £20,000,000 had been exported up till 1895. Dunedin (q.v.) is the capital. See NEW ZEALAND.