[7] Dunedin required a station for a wide range of activities: it was a commercial and industrial centre, close to gold and coalfields, with a hinterland that was dependent on livestock and forestry for its economy.

A frieze of Royal Doulton porcelain runs around the balcony above it from which the floor's design, featuring a locomotive and related symbols, can be clearly seen.

The city's economic decline and the reduction in the prominence of rail transport means that only a handful of trains use the station today.

[15][16] On 12 February 2008, a container wagon struck and partially destroyed the historic footbridge at the southern end of the station, joining Anzac Square with the industrial zone close to the wharves.

[19] In 2020 the railway station was used for filming scenes for the movie The Power of the Dog, for which Jane Campion won the Academy Award for Best Director.

[20] Immediately outside the station is Anzac Square, which, despite its name, is roughly triangular in shape, and was extensively remodelled and extended in the 1990s to create a formal knot garden.

[14] Directly across the square is Lower Stuart Street, which leads to the city's centre, The Octagon, from where the station is clearly visible as a major landmark.

The square is at the southern end of Anzac Avenue, a kilometre-long tree-lined street running roughly parallel to the railway, which leads to Logan Park.

After the refurbishment of the square, a large plaque dedicated to New Zealand's Victoria Cross recipients was relocated to its northern end, close to the start of Anzac Avenue.

This has since been relocated again, and now stands close to the city's main war memorial, the Dunedin Cenotaph in Queen's Gardens, 400 metres to the south.