of Moray Place", though it was colloquially known as the Octagon even then. Despite the reserve status, the Anglican Church sought to build in the centre of the Octagon, applying directly to Governor Sir George Grey. It was not until construction was about to begin that the local (predominantly Presbyterian) community became aware of what was happening. This resulted in a major furore. Otago Superintendent William Cargill was put in charge of resolving the dispute, which resulted in the Anglicans being forced to withdraw their plans for The Octagon. (The Anglican St. Paul's Cathedral stands today at its northern edge.) For many years, the site was somewhat derelict, with little done to improve the condition of the reserve. Early central Dunedin was divided by the body of Bell Hill, which rose immediately to the south of The Octagon. It was only with the making of a cutting through the hill and the later removal of most of it to allow traffic to move easily between the northern and southern parts of the central city along Princes Street that The Octagon began to gain any prominence. Even so, it remained unsightly until the 1890s. The first major structure of any kind in The Octagon's reserve area was a monument erected in 1864 to the memory of Cargill. This was moved several hundred metres to The Exchange in 1872 to allow for the construction of a central roadway connecting Princes Street and George Street. In 1887 a statue of the poet Robert Burns, the uncle of one of the city's founding fathers, was unveiled. It still stands at the western edge of The Octagon close to the junction with Stuart Street. On 8 September 1879, fire broke out in the Cafe Chantant in the lower Octagon. The cafe had a bad reputation and the proprietor William Waters was under threat of arrest. The building was full at the time of the fire, and escape from the building was difficult. In all, a dozen people died in the blaze, including Robert Wilson, editor of the Otago Witness and his family. Waters was later charged with setting fire to the building for insurance purposes. The disaster was the biggest single loss of life in New Zealand due to fire until the destruction of Seacliff Mental Hospital some 63 years later. In the early 1890s several improvements were proposed to The Octagon, including fencing, and