Waiwera South is a small settlement in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the boundary between the Otago and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

regions. The settlement is located between Balclutha and Clinton, immediately to the south of

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

, between branches of the

Waiwera River Waiwera River may refer to: * Waiwera River (Auckland) * Waiwera River (Otago) {{disambiguation ...

and Kaihiku Stream, two minor tributaries of the

Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the P ...

. The

South Island Main Trunk The Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch and the Main South Line between Lyttelton and Invercargill, running down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, are sometimes together referred to collectively as the South Isl ...

railway also runs through the township. The settlement's population is around 100. The land to the north of Waiwera South is flat, part of the floodplain of the Clutha; to the south, the land rises to form the Kaihiku Hills, the northernmost edge of the hilly ranges which form much of

The Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southla ...

. The settlement's name is thought to have originally been ''Waiwhero''. This name, though seeming to come from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

words meaning "red water", is more likely the name of a local Waitaha chief., p.458 A local

shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwo ...

is the occasional use of the non-standard pronunciation "wy-vra" to refer to the town, as opposed to the usual Māori pronunciation "wy-weh-rah".

Education

Waiwera South School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

Populated places in Otago {{Otago-geo-stub