The Roxburgh Dam is the earliest of the large hydroelectric projects in the southern South Island of New Zealand. It lies across the Clutha River / Mata-Au, some 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Dunedin, some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the north of the town of Roxburgh. The settlement of Roxburgh Hydro lies close to the western edge of the dam.
The dam was constructed by Holland, Hannen & Cubitts between 1949 and 1956, and the power station was commissioned over the period 1956-1962. The generating capacity was increased during the early 1960s, and today the eight-unit power station has a capacity of 320 megawatts operated by Contact Energy.
Lake Roxburgh, the lake formed behind the dam, extends for nearly 30 kilometres (19 mi) towards the town of Alexandra.