Dream South D plans to display a series of "Did You Know" dots showcasing interesting stories from the suburb.
Project lead Rosie Hill said the aim was to celebrate the area’s unique identity.
"The idea of the project is to build on that pride of place and connect."
About 20 dots will soon appear near the main shopping precinct of King Edward St.
"We have tried to do it in a fairly concentrated area of South Dunedin to get a bit of impact."
Each circle carries a nugget of local lore: the invention of the chop-suey pattie at Nanking Palace Restaurant; the suburb’s claim to patenting Hokey Pokey ice cream in 1896; the first New Zealand hot-air balloon ascent and parachute jump at the former Caledonian Ground by United States showman Thomas Baldwin in 1889.
The dots also highlight landmarks such as the Donaghys Industries 320m long rope-walk building and the Dunedin Gasworks site.
"We have tried to keep it quite light with some fun facts, but then also highlighting places of significant heritage in South Dunedin," Mrs Hill said.
Volunteer "history buff" Patricia McLean helped research information and check facts.
"She was very happy to help."
The first panels focus on post-settlement facts but the aim is to broaden them to include earlier history.
"We would love to get a deep dive more into prior to settlement as well.
"We know that this was a big food-gathering area."
The project has been designed in two stages.
The first stage is the temporary trial of the dots that have been created on corflute and not permanently fixed.
Stage two will invite the local community such as residents, businesses and mana whenua to share their own stories.
"I feel like we have only just got the tip of the iceberg."
Other possible developments include adding QR codes that link to further information about particular sites.
Another idea is to create a walking trail or digital trail so people can visit each location.
"If it is very well-received by the community, we would certainly like to investigate some lovely permanent signs in the future."
Dream South D is a five-year project funded by Department of Internal Affairs — Te Tari Taiwhenua as part of its community-led development programme.
"We have got two years left, so now it is kind of ‘go time’ for us.
"It is really time to run and push out a lot of things, we have got a lot of stuff in the pipeline," Mrs Hill said.
• To contribute to future ‘dots’, email hello@dreamsouthd.org.nz
