dunedin

The city of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island has marked the 150th anniversary of its foundation by Scottish immigrants by mounting the country's largest ever promotion of science. With an attendance of around 25,000, the two-week festival was organized by the local community and museum with the University of Otago, which was established by Scottish settlers in 1869 as the country's first university.

A spectacular finale in the city centre saw 100 people walking unharmed on red hot charcoal after physicist John Campbell of Canterbury University had given them an explanation of the physics of thermal conductivity.

Expatriate New Zealander Sir Ian Axford, director of the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy in Germany, commented during the festival on the low proportion of national expenditure New Zealand devotes to research by international standards. He said New Zealanders must increase spending “pretty quick” if they want to become internationally competitive.