Princes Street is a major street in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs south-southwest for two kilometres from The Octagon in the city centre to the Oval sports ground, close to the city's Southern Cemetery. North of The Octagon, George Street continues the line of Princes Street north-northeast for two and a half kilometres. Princes Street is straight and undulates as it skirts the edge of the City Rise to its northwest. The part of the street immediately below The Octagon is the steepest section, as the road traverses an old cutting through Bell Hill.Princes Street was developed during Dunedin's 1860s boom from the Central Otago gold rush, and consequently is one of New Zealand's most historic streets, with about 70 buildings in close proximity listed on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Register. Originally the site of the city's wharf, a substantial area of land to the east of the street was formerly part of Otago Harbour, much of it reclaimed via rock removed during the lowering of Bell Hill which separated Princes Street from northern Dunedin in the early years of settlement. In the years following the gold rush, Princes Street was the heart of Dunedin's central business district, but much of the city's main retail area has now shifted north to George Street.