Lawyer's Head

Lawyer's Head is a prominent landmark on the coast of Otago, New Zealand. Located within the city of Dunedin, this rocky headland juts into the Pacific Ocean at the eastern end of the city's main beach, Saint Kilda Beach. It is named for the likeness of the cliff face to the profile of a lawyer in traditional legal wig.

Lawyer's Head, which reaches a height of 60 m , can be reached by a road which runs parallel to the beach, and the head itself commands a view across the city's southern suburbs and along the Otago Coast for over 80 kilometres to the southwest.

On a clear day Nugget Point in The Catlins can be discerned, and the Nugget Point lighthouse's beam can be seen at night. To the east, the suburb of Ocean Grove and the nearby Tomahawk Lagoon lie beneath the headland.

One of a series of headlands which punctuate much of this section of the Otago coast, it is its proximity to the centre of the city and its distinctive shape which make it particularly well known. Other nearby headlands nearby include the slightly higher 75 m Maori Head, one kilometre to the east, the cliffs along the coast of Forbury Hill three kilometres to the west, the natural arch of Tunnel Beach three kilometres beyond Forbury Hill, and Blackhead, two kilometres to the southwest of Tunnel Beach.

These basalt outcrops were all formed during the eruption of the Dunedin Volcano some 12-15 million years ago. The crater of this long-extinct volcano now forms Otago Harbour, and its rim is the ring of hills which circle Dunedin and form the ridge of the Otago Peninsula.

Further reading

*Bishop, D.G., and Turnbull, I.M. (compilers) (1996). "Geology of the Dunedin Area". Lower Hutt, NZ: Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences. ISBN 0-478-09521-X.
*Dann, C., and Peat, N. (1989). "Dunedin, North and South Otago". Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 978-0-477-01438-0.