Wikipedia
Mosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin City Council area, but was physically separate from the contiguous suburbs until developments in the neighbouring suburb of Fairfield joined it to the city. Mosgiel has a population of approximately 10,000.
Mosgiel stands at the north-eastern extremity of the Taieri Plains. The Silver Stream, a tributary of the Taieri River, runs through its north end. The town celebrates its location, calling itself "The pearl of the plain". Its low-lying nature does pose problems, making it prone to flooding after heavy rains.
The place takes its name from Mossgiel in Ayrshire, the farm of the poet Robert Burns, the uncle of the co-founder in 1848 of the Otago settlement, the Reverend Thomas Burns.
Between Mosgiel and the centre of Dunedin stand the rugged Three Mile Hill and Scroggs Hill, which form part of the crater-wall of a long-extinct volcano, the crater being the Otago Harbour. To the south of the town lies one of the many peaks that formed part of the volcano: Saddle Hill, a prominent landmark, visible from a considerable distance and notable for its distinctive shape, lies east of State Highway One where Kinmont Park, a new housing subdivision is located at the foot of the hill.
The Dunedin Southern Motorway, upgraded in 2003, links Mosgiel with the centre of Dunedin. State Highway 87 to Kyeburn starts at a junction with State Highway 1 at the southeastern edge of Mosgiel, the first part of the highway being the main street of Mosgiel, Gordon Road.