Day Twenty One (part one) Hyde

 Dunedin is the world's fifth largest city in geographical size and the largest in New Zealand.  Dunedin might be big in land size but it is not the largest in population with around 120,000 people.  Dunedin is sparsely populated with a lot of farmland.  Today I decided to go as far from urban Dunedin as I could which meant I started my walk in Hyde, 107 km from the central business district of Dunedin. Today I walked 2 street in Hyde

245. Eton Street
246. Newtown Road

Hyde was originally called Eight Mile and was a gold rush town in the 1860's with up to 16 pubs, now it is a small town with a handful of residents and is the stopping place for cyclists on the Otago Central Rail Trail.  Hyde only has one main street and it was an interesting walk as this is the first gravel foot path I have walked on.  There are also some interesting things to see, things that I would not have seen had I driven through including this old horse drawn plough on the side of the gravel footpath 

There was, reputably, up to 16 pubs in Hyde and there must also have been a number of churches as well.  Today I could find only 2 remaining churches with both looking like are not used for services anymore. 

There is also the old Hyde school, complete with school bell.  Hyde School dates back to 1869 and was closed in 1999. The school buildings and land have been turned into accommodation for those cycling the rail trail. 

A prominent feature of Hyde is the war memorial with one of original hotels, the Otago Central Hotel behind it.  It is a good place to stop, rest and remember. 
 

 After walking the main road of Hyde, I followed part of the rail trail for 2 km to the old Hyde Railway Station.  It is a well maintained building, built in1894,  with old rail wagons and working points.  This is where I walked the second street in Hyde - Newtown Street which goes from the railway station to the highway.

Inside the station itself, there are information panels and part of the station has been refurbished to resemble what the inside of the station would have looked like when it was a working station in the early 1900's.  The station was once very busy transporting Hyde clay to the pottery works in Christchurch and Auckland. 

 

 After walking back along the Otago Rail Trail I drove 27 km's down the road to Middlemarch where I continued my goal of walking every street in Dunedin - including all the streets of Middlemarch as it is also part of Dunedin City.   

Distance walked: 6.2 km  Walking time  1 hr 8 mins    

Total distance: 174 km       Total walking  32 hr 07 mins