Woodlands is a small town in the

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 Reg ...

region of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

on the banks of the Waihopai River. It is northeast of

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

between Dacre and Longbush. Other nearby settlements are

Rakahouka Rakahouka is a community in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a fertile farming area on the Southland Plains just south of the Makarewa River. The nearest major city, Invercargill, is approximately 15 k ...

to the northwest and

Rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

and

Waituna A waituna is a freshwater coastal lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed where a braided river meets a coastline affected by longshore drift. This type of waterbody is neither a true lake, lagoon nor estuary. This classification di ...

to the south.

Demographics

Woodlands is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Edendale-Woodlands statistical area. Woodlands had a population of 273 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 12 people (4.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 18 people (7.1%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 111 households. There were 141 males and 135 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female, with 51 people (18.7%) aged under 15 years, 39 (14.3%) aged 15 to 29, 144 (52.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 42 (15.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.9% European/Pākehā, 12.1% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, and 7.7% Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 46.2% had no religion, 45.1% were Christian and 3.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (12.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 54 (24.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 132 (59.5%) people were employed full-time, 33 (14.9%) were part-time, and 12 (5.4%) were unemployed.

Transport

The town is located on

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 ...

and the

Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Inverca ...

portion of the

South Island Main Trunk Railway 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 Isla ...

. The railway has been freight-only since the cancellation of the Southerner passenger express on 10 February 2002. During the construction of the Main South Line, Woodlands was briefly a railway terminus. The first section of the line out of Invercargill was opened to Woodlands on 11 February 1874. On 7 June 1875, the next section beyond Woodlands was opened to

Mataura Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill. Geography Mataura is situated on and the Main South Line railwa ...

via Edendale.

War memorial

A number of Woodlands residents fought overseas in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A memorial to those who died stands in the town.

Education

Woodlands Full Primary School caters for years 1 to 8 with a roll of students as of The school opened in 1871.

References

{{Southland District Populated places in Southland, New Zealand