Brighton, New Zealand
Brighton is a small seaside town within the city limits of Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island. It is located 20 kilometres southwest from the city centre on the Southern Scenic Route. The town faces a small bay which includes a broad sheltered beach. Other beaches extend from here. They make the area popular for summer day trips from Dunedin.
The town was named by an early resident, Hugh Williams, after Brighton in England.[1]
Brighton is connected by coastal road with the Dunedin commuter settlement of Waldronville to the northeast (and from there to Dunedin itself) and with Taieri Mouth to the southwest. The settlement of Ocean View lies immediately to the east of Brighton, separated from it by a large bluff (simply known as "Big Rock") which juts towards the ocean to the northeast of Brighton Beach. The coast road winds around this headland on its entry to Brighton from Dunedin. At the southern end of the beach is the mouth of the Otokia Creek, a small stream which has its sources 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the southwest in the coastal hills which separate the coast from the Taieri Plains.
Notable residents
- James K. Baxter (1926–1972), a poet, grew up here.
- Jeff Wilson, a former New Zealand internal rugby union player and husband of Adine Wilson lived here.
- Adine Wilson is a New Zealand international netball player and wife of Jeff Wilson.
Notes
- Reed, A.W. (2002) The Reed dictionary of New Zealand place names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-790-00761-4.