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Story: Sewage, water and waste

Dunedin renamed ‘Stinkapool’

This 1889 cartoon plays on the stench of Dunedin. At the time, the city’s sewage was discharged into the upper harbour, which did not get much flushing by tides. Rubbish such as dead fish and offal was also dumped on the mudflats, which – unsurprisingly – stank in warm weather. Other New Zealand cities were no better.

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Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: S05-137a

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Christine Dann, Sewage, water and waste – Stinking cities, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/24431/dunedin-renamed-stinkapool (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Christine Dann, published 12 April 2010.