World Footy News

Dunedin, the capital of the Otago Province in the South Island of New Zealand has seen a lot. Maori settlement was followed by the arrival of the Scots, who saw the hills which reminded themselves so much of home that they named their new town the "Edinburgh of the South" through to the goldrush years during the 1800's that brought many prospecting Aussies to their goldfields. Australian rules is now being reborn here, hoping to capitalise on a large student population from all over NZ, including former juniors from leagues further north.

Footy has been played in NZ during different periods for over 100 years and you can read a little more of the history which is slowly being rediscovered in the article "100 Years Ago".

Dunedin is a student town in a country where it is common for university age students to leave their home towns for their varsity studies. Dunedin has a huge reputation for this, and many young Aussie Rules footballers who have been developed in the Wellington and Christchurch competitions over the past decade have been lost to the game when they have moved for their studies to Otago.

In the past decade at least one attempt was made to establish a competition there, which lead to a season or two of Australian Football and a couple of representative games against Canterbury. As can happen, when the key movers, who were two Australians, were relocated in their jobs, the competition folded.

Nathan Rose, a former Junior Falcon and Wellington NPC player, has now moved to Otago and he is keen to get things properly established there. To find out more about his intentions, read Otago - the Last Frontier at the NZAFL website.