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Story: Landscapes – overview

‘A waterfall in the Otira Gorge’

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‘A waterfall in the Otira Gorge’

Artist Petrus van der Velden emigrated from the Netherlands to New Zealand in 1890. He was fascinated by the changing weather and torrential rainstorms of the Ōtira district, on the western side of the Southern Alps. This 1891 painting is one of the earliest in his ‘Ōtira series’ of more than 20 pictures.

Using this item

Dunedin Public Art Gallery

by Petrus van der Velden

Permission of the Dunedin Public Art Gallery must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney, Landscapes – overview – Formation of landscapes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/12973/a-waterfall-in-the-otira-gorge (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 1 March 2009, updated 1 July 2015.