The incident followed a disagreement in 1883, in Manor Pl, on the edge of the "den of debauchery" which also covered Stafford, Carroll (formerly known as Walker), Hope and Melville Sts.
Dunedin historian and storyteller Gregor Campbell said prostitution, drugs and violent crime were commonplace, and if you had "the money and the courage" in the late 1800s, you could buy anything you wanted there — legal or not.
"It was originally an empty section that people built shanties and huts on, and it was a centre of vice and disorder," Mr Campbell said.
"It was run up quite cheaply during the population boom of the gold rush, and quite quickly became dilapidated.
"It housed the outliers of society and marginalised people.
"Driving in the area these days, you wouldn’t know it existed."
Mr Campbell will be sharing stories from the Devil’s Half-Acre as part of the month-long Dunedin Heritage Festival, which begins on Sunday.
It is one of many Dunedin heritage sites which will have a spotlight shone on them during the festival.
Festival co-ordinator Alison Breese said the festival would celebrate all aspects of Dunedin’s heritage, and the transformations that had shaped the city over time.
Heritage sites included in the tours, events, exhibitions and open days were the historic toilets, the Hocken Collections, heritage roses at the Northern Cemetery, historic Quarantine Island, the Dominican Priory and the Dunedin Club.
Other activities include a historic homes tour, rapid-fire storytelling presented by local historians and experts, a vintage garden dress-up party family picnic to celebrate the Dunedin Botanic Garden’s 160th birthday and a Tweed Ride.
For the first time, people are also encouraged to visit the city’s heritage building cafes, including the Perc Exchange, in the Exchange; Heritage Coffee, in Vogel St; The Standard Kitchen, in Princes St; Governor’s cafe, in George St; and the Perc in Lower Stuart St.
"You can enjoy a coffee, soaking up the ambience of some of our finest restored built gems, and learn about how much of our heritage has been preserved, restored and repurposed," Ms Breese said.
The events are run by the Southern Heritage Trust, which was set up in 2006 to promote the protection of Dunedin’s heritage.
