Dunbar Place

Dunbar Place runs off Heta Road in Highlands Park. The name was inspired by a castle in East Lothian, in keeping with the Scottish theme of the suburb which was decided upon in 1974.

Once one of the mightiest fortresses in Scotland, Dunbar Castle now lies in ruins. Its name comes from the Celtic words “dyn barr” meaning “fort of the point”. The earliest record of substantial fortifications on the site, built of timber and earthworks, dates to the 7^th century when the area was part of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia.

After William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 many nobles fled north to Scotland. Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, was one of them and he erected the first stone fortifications on the site of what was to become Dunbar Castle. Gospatric’s descendants held the fortress until it was captured by Edward I in 1297 and it was fought over by English and Scottish owners for the next 300 years.

Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Dunbar several times whilst rallying support for her claim to the English throne. After her abdication in 1567 the castle was ordered “cast down utterly to the ground” by the Scottish Parliament as it was deemed so important that its possession destabilised the country’s balance of power. The ruins were eventually blasted with explosives in 1844 to enlarge the town’s harbour – boats now pass directly through the former castle site.

In 1993 most of what remained of the castle collapsed into the sea. It was then closed to the public due to safety concerns and the few remaining masonry walls are being claimed by erosion. Visitors can enjoy views of Dunbar Castle, such as it is, from around the harbour but they are no longer allowed on the grounds. A colony of Kittiwakes still call the castle home during their breeding season, however, along with a ghost known as Black Aggie, said to be the spectre of Countess Agnes Randolph who held the castle against a five-month English siege in 1338 with the help of a gigantic catapult.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.