Dunedin Flat Names Project

About

the Dunedin Flat Names Project records, preserve and commemorate the sometimes ephemeral, sometimes enduring, phenomenon of the named Dunedin student flats

Story

My intention with this project is to collect and verify the existence of named flats in Dunedin in order to be able to explore why names are created, what they mean, and why the practice occurs. Some of these names will be offensive to some people. Sexual themes do occur both in the names and imagery of some flats. My intention when listing or discussing these names is not to validate, celebrate or glorify them. I record the practice. As a researcher I need to look at all the evidence in an unbiased way in order to be able to discuss the content within the wider contexts of time, place and social behaviour.

A first flat is a right of passage. It's a first home away from the parental home and that may be one of the reasons behind flat naming. Whatever the case, if you live or lived in a flat in Dunedin, New Zealand, and named your flat, record it here. Upload a photo. If you see photos of a flat you lived in on the group, add a comment if you can with details about when you lived there, and why you named it what you did.

Contact: Sarah Gallagher, [email protected], @sarahlibrarina @DNFlatnames