The bullseye of Dunedin’s central business district (downtown) is The Octagon. These are two, eight-sided wedges defined by a ring called Moray Place. Many of the city’s historic landmarks – such as St. Paul’s Cathedral – are within or along the outer boundaries of this core. Accenting the inner plaza since 1897 is this bronze statue of Robert Burns by sculptor Sir John Steell. Burns became the National Poet of Scotland during the late 18th century and is best remembered for penning “Auld Lang Syne.” His brother, Reverend Thomas Burns, co-founded the Otago settlement and the First Church of Otago in 1848. He was part of the Otago Association. These members of the Free Church of Scotland called their new colony Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh. To this day, Dunedin is still called Edinburgh of the South.
