Southland District is a territorial authority district in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

that covers the south of the

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 ...

as well as

Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

History

Southland District was formed through the

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels. Back ...

. Four local authorities were amalgamated at that time: Wallace County, Winton Borough,

Stewart Island County Stewart may refer to: People *Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histor ...

and most of Southland County. John Casey, who was first elected onto Southland County Council in 1977, oversaw the amalgamation and was elected Southland District's first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1989. Winton Wallacetown Ward was renamed Oreti Ward with effect from the Council election on 12 October 2019. The Oreti River flows through this ward.

Geography

Southland District covers the majority of the land area of

Southland Region Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The ...

, although the region also covers Gore District,

Invercargill City 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 ...

and adjacent territorial waters. It has a land area of 29,574.53 km², excluding inland waters such as Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, and Lake Hauroko. Southland District contains the islands south of

Foveaux Strait The Foveaux Strait, (, or , ) separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long (from Ruapuke Island to Little Solander Island), and it widens (from 14 km at Ruapuke ...

: * Solander Islands *

Ruapuke Island Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in New Zealand's main chain of islands. It lies to the southeast of Bluff and northeast of Oban on Stewart Island/Rakiura. It was named "Bench Island" upon its discovery by Captain James Coo ...

The seat of the District Council is

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 ...

, which, however, is not part of Southland District, but a territorial authority in its own right. Two of New Zealand's largest national parks are within the boundaries of Southland District:

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of , and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park ...

, and

Rakiura National Park Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island. History Rakiura National Pa ...

(which covers most of

Urban areas and settlements

The Southland District has three towns with a population over 1,000. Together they are home to % of the district's population. Other settlements and localities in the district include:

Mararoa Waimea Ward

* Five Rivers Area: ** Athol **

Castlerock Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is five miles west of Coleraine, and part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan ...

** Eyre Creek ** Fairlight ** Five Rivers ** Garston ** Josephville **

Lowther Lowther may refer to: Places *River Lowther, Cumbria, England *Lowther, Cumbria, civil parish in Cumbria, England *Lowther, New Zealand, township in Southland, New Zealand *Lowther, New South Wales, locality in Australia *CFS Lowther, military in ...

** Lumsden ** Mossburn ** Nokomai **

Parawa Parawa is a locality in Southland, New Zealand, on , 5 km southwest of Athol and immediately north of Mid Dome mountain. Its name is a corruption of ''Paiherewao'', what Maori called the mountain. In the 19th century, several versions of t ...

** Saint Patricks * Te Anau Area: ** Cascade Creek ** Knobs Flat ** Manapouri **

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top tr ...

Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill ...

** The Key * Waikaia Area: **

Ardlussa Ardlussa is a hamlet and estate on The Long Road, just north of the Lussa River, overlooking Ardlussa Bay on the east coast of the island of Jura, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Estate buildings line the road, and the area fea ...

** Balfour ** Kauhoe ** Riversdale **

Waikaia Waikaia, formerly known as Switzers, is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. From 1909 until 1959, it was the terminus of the Waikaia Branch railway. The population in the 2013 census was 99, unchanged from the previou ...

** Wendon ** Wendonside

Waiau Aparima Ward

* Riverton Area: **

Colac Bay Colac Bay / Ōraka is a small township situated on the bay of the same name facing Foveaux Strait, and located on the Southern Scenic Route, 10 minutes from Riverton, New Zealand. Surrounding areas include Longwood, Tihaka, Waipango, Round Hil ...

** Gummies Bush **

Orepuki Orepuki in Southland, New Zealand is a small country township on the coast of Te Waewae Bay some 20 minutes from Riverton, 15 minutes from Tuatapere and 50 minutes from Invercargill that sits at the foot of the Longwood Range. Once a thriving ...

Pahia Pahia is a small rural locality in coastal Southland, New Zealand, not to be confused with the North Island tourist resort of Paihia. Surrounding areas include Ruahine, Wakapatu, Round Hill, Colac Bay and Orepuki. The main road, Orepuki-Riverton ...

** Riverton/Aparima ** Thornbury **

Waipango Waipango is a farming locality in Southland, New Zealand, on the flat between the lower reaches of the Pourakino and Aparima Rivers. It is 8 km north-west of Riverton, 14 km south-west of Thornbury, and 14 km north-east of Colac B ...

* Tuatapere Area: ** Blackmount **

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capi ...

** Merrivale ** Monowai ** Papatotara **

Piko Piko Piko (stylized PIKO, pronounced "peek-oh") is a German model train brand in Europe that also exports to the United States and other parts of the world. History Founded in 1949, PIKO was once a state-owned enterprise in the German Democratic ...

** Pukemaori ** Te Tua ** Te Waewae **

Tuatapere Tuatapere is a small rural town in Southland, New Zealand. It is the self declared "Sausage Capital of New Zealand". Tuatapere is located eight kilometres from the southern coast. The Waiau River flows through the town before reaching Te Waew ...

* Wallace Area: ** Drummond ** Fairfax ** Isla Bank ** Nightcaps ** Ohai ** Otahuti ** Otautau ** Wairio **

Wreys Bush Wreys Bush (also known as Annandale) is a town near Winton, New Zealand and 8 minutes' drive from Nightcaps, New Zealand, Nightcaps, Southland, New Zealand. History Wreys Bush was named after Walter Wrey. It was formerly known as Run153 or descr ...

Waihopai Toetoe Ward

* Toetoes Area: **

Curio Bay Curio Bay is a coastal embayment in the Southland District of New Zealand, best known as the site of a petrified forest some 180 million years old. It also hosts a yellow-eyed penguin colony, arguably the rarest of penguin species, with approx ...

Fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere ...

Fortrose Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...

** Glenham ** Haldane ** Mokoreta ** Niagara ** Otara ** Pine Bush ** Pukewao ** Quarry Hills **

Redan Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material. The redan developed from the lunette, o ...

** Slope Point **

Titiroa Titiroa is a locality in the Southland 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 ...

** Te Peka ** Tokanui ** Waipapa Point ** Waikawa **

Waimahaka Waimahaka is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated in a rural area, inland from Toetoes Bay. Nearby settlements include Pine Bush and Titiroa to the northwest, Fortification and Te Peka to the east, ...

** Wyndham * Waihopai Area: ** Ashers **

Dacre Dacre may refer to: Places *Dacre, Cumbria, England ** Dacre Castle *Dacre, North Yorkshire, England *Dacre, New Zealand, in the Southland Region * Dacre, Ontario, Canada People *Baron Dacre, an English hereditary title *Charlotte Dacre (1782–18 ...

Gorge Road Gorge Road is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the Southern Scenic Route and is situated on the western bank of the Mataura River. Nearby settlements include Ashers to the west, and across the Mataura ...

** Grove Bush ** Kapuka **

Kapuka South Kapuka South is a locality in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on Toetoes Bay and Waituna Lagoon. Kapuka and Ashers are to the north on the Southern Scenic Route. Economy Agriculture figures prominently in K ...

** Longbush ** Mabel Bush ** Mokotua ** Oteramika ** Rakahouka **

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 ...

Roslyn Bush Roslyn Bush is a lightly populated locality on the northeastern outskirts of the city of Invercargill in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. Other nearby settlements include Makarewa to the west, Myross Bush to the southwest, Kenn ...

** Timpanys ** Woodlands * Te Tipua Area: ** Brydone ** Edendale ** Glencoe **

Menzies Ferry Menzies Ferry is a farming locality on the west side of the Mataura River in the east of Southland District, in the south of New Zealand. It gained its name from Dr. James Alexander Robertson Menzies, who supplied a boat to ferry passengers acr ...

Morton Mains Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the '' Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horto ...

** Ota Creek **

Seaward Downs Seaward may refer to: People: *Carolyn Seaward (born 1960), former beauty queen who appeared in the 1983 Bond film ''Octopussy'' *John Seaward (1786–1858), British civil engineer and mechanical engineer *Kevin Seaward (born 1983), Northern Irish ...

** Te Tipua ** Waitane

Oreti Ward

* Wallacetown Area: **

Branxholme Branxholme is a hamlet in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, overlooking the River Teviot, three miles southwest of Hawick, on the A7 road to Langholm. Nearby are Ale Water, Alemoor Loch, Burnfoot, Borthwick Water, Colterscleugh Monu ...

** Lochiel **

Makarewa Makarewa is a small community north of Invercargill (the southernmost city in the South Island within Southland of New Zealand). History Makarewa was formerly the junction of two branch line railways, where the Tuatapere Branch diverged from t ...

Ryal Bush __NOTOC__ Ryal or Ryals may refer to: Places * Ryal, Northumberland, England Currency * Rose Ryal, an English gold coin equal to 30 shillings * Spur ryal, an English gold coin equal to 15 shillings * Zanzibari ryal, the currency of Zanzibar be ...

Spar Bush SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

** Tussock Creek **

Waianiwa Waianiwa is a town and statistical area in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Demographics Waianiwa statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Wai ...

Wallacetown Wallacetown is a small town in Southland, in the South Island of New Zealand. Wallacetown is to the west of Invercargill, on high ground between the Makarewa and Ōreti rivers, near the Ōreti's estuary. Both rivers are popular for trout and ...

** Waimatuku * Winton Area: ** Benmore ** Browns **

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

** Centre Bush ** Dipton ** Dipton West ** Hedgehope ** Kauana ** Lady Barkly ** Limehills ** Oreti Plains ** Otapiri ** South Hillend ** Springhills ** Winton

Stewart Island-Rakiura Ward

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, ...

Port Pegasus Port Pegasus, officially Port Pegasus / Pikihatiti, (formerly South Port) is at the southern end of Stewart Island in New Zealand. From the 1890s to the 1950s, Port Pegasus was the site of a small fishing community. There was also a small tin- ...

(uninhabited) * Port William (uninhabited)

Demographics

Southland District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Southland District had a population of 30,864 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 short ...

, an increase of 1,251 people (4.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 2,427 people (8.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 11,982 households. There were 16,029 males and 14,835 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 39.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6,534 people (21.2%) aged under 15 years, 5,262 (17.0%) aged 15 to 29, 14,436 (46.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 4,635 (15.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 88.1% European/Pākehā, 11.1% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 6.2% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.6, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.7% had no religion, 38.4% were Christian, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,363 (13.8%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 5,739 (23.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 3,732 people (15.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 13,956 (57.4%) people were employed full-time, 4,053 (16.7%) were part-time, and 519 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Government

Mayor

The current district mayor is Rob Scott. He has held this position since 2022.

Council

The district council is made up of twelve elected members, from various ward areas, and like any other local authority is elected every three years.

Sister cities

Current sister city

Cinque Terre The Cinque Terre (; lij, Çinque Tære, meaning "Five Lands") is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarol ...

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest cit ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

Former sister city

Wyong Shire Wyong Shire was a local government area located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The incorporation of the Wyong area dates back to 7 March 1906 when the entire area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of the ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Southland District was a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

until 2010.

References

External links

Southland District Council official website
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand