Chris Morris

Hamish O'Malley-King could, just possibly, be the next Russell Coutts.

A torrential downpour that struck Dunedin kept firefighters busy dealing with reports of flooding around the city this afternoon.

Dunedin businesses were left mopping up yesterday after a sudden downpour brought torrential rain to the city and caused floodwaters to lap at the front doors of Mosgiel shops for the second time in weeks.

Changes are planned - but not a closure - as Dunedin's Marbecks store seeks to avoid the fate set to befall one of New Zealand's music institutions.

Dunedin city councillors are entering election year promising to push for more disciplined spending, debt reduction and even a merger with the Otago Regional Council, before turning their attention to the ballot box.

Not everyone was smiling when New Year's Eve revellers in Dunedin celebrated the start of 2013 with a bang.

Dunedin woman Marie Burn says the secret of her longevity, after a century of hard work, travel and mishaps during a ''very varied life'', is simple.

Dunedin's population has received an early boost for 2013 thanks to the arrival of five babies in the first few hours of New Year's Day.

Neville Colley has a very small kitchen with a very large crane in it.

A burning classroom at Kavanagh College and a fire at the Green Island landfill - initially feared to involve dangerous chemicals - had Dunedin firefighters scrambling to respond over the weekend.

Swiss solo sailor Bernard Stamm was still in Dunedin coastal waters yesterday, having anchored again, this time off Allan's Beach on Otago Peninsula, to complete repairs to a damaged hydro-generator.

The University of Otago is auditing the safety of architectural glass sheets in some of its more than 200 buildings as it faces problems with spontaneously shattering glass, including an incident in the week before Christmas.

The footsteps of history echo under Dunedin's streets, in tunnels, sewers and bunkers with hidden tales to tell. Reporter Chris Morris goes digging.

Dunedin's relationship with Chinese sister city Shanghai has entered a ''new era'' and potentially lucrative trade deals could be just months away, it is claimed.

A solo round-the-world sailor is off and racing again after completing repairs off the Dunedin coast.

Outspoken city councillor Lee Vandervis has been given an early Christmas present - permission to talk to Dunedin City Council staff again.

The company bidding to build a 28-storey hotel on Dunedin's waterfront may have to launch a helicopter or a helium balloon to demonstrate how tall it would be.

Dunedin deserves better than the design of a 28-storey, $100 million hotel being suggested for the city's waterfront, a heritage building owner says.