Donald has been offering up his thoughts about his current New Zealand writing fellowship in an exclusive piece for The Shetland Times.
The Isle of Lewis-born writer has swapped his adopted home in Shetland for Dunedin, the Edinburgh of the South, while on his extended trip exploring Gaelic and Māori cultural connections through literature and storytelling.
And thanks to the University of Otago opportunity, Donald is finding out firsthand about the eerie similarities to his native Scotland.
Writes Donald: “One of the most striking aspects of being in Dunedin at the southern end of New Zealand is that there are moments when you can be easily deceived and fooled, mind and soul persuading individuals they have never left Scotland or indeed the surroundings of Shetland.
“Sometimes it is the height and slope of hills that convince you in coming to that conclusion. Sometimes it is the swirl of seas around shores. Sometimes it can be the structure of harbours, the boats and vessels that encroach our vision.”
Dunedin earned the nickname “Edinburgh of the South” because it is the "most Scottish city outside Scotland".
The city was founded in 1848 by Free Church of Scotland settlers, who arrived aboard the John Wickliffe and Philip Laing. Their intention was to recreate a Scottish community in the South Pacific.
“Dunedin” is the phonetic Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dùn Èideann. The founders chose the Gaelic form to preserve cultural identity.
The settlers built stone churches, civic buildings, and—within 21 years—the University of Otago, New Zealand’s first university, mirroring Scottish educational priorities.
Even the street names recall those of Edinburgh. You can sit in a cafe on Dunedin’s Princes Street and spot a bus heading to Corstorphine. Among the other Scottish capital district name checks are Dalry, Craigentinny and the Braid Hills, among others.
Read Donald’s full article for The Shetland Times.
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