Drift to the north is a term used 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 count ...

to refer to the

internal migration Internal migration or domestic migration is human migration within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full ...

of people from 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 ...

to the country's main metropolitan area,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. The term is especially common in the cities of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, university cities whose graduates frequently head either to Auckland or the country's capital,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, which is also in the North Island, after they complete their studies. Historically, the South Island's population has accounted for an increasingly small proportion of the country's population. In the late 19th century, especially after the

Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

, the majority of the country's population was in the South Island. Since then, the South's population has climbed more slowly than the North's, with the latter increasing at a greater rate at least in part from the influx of migrants from the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

, for many of whom Auckland is a port of entry. The South Island now accounts for only % of the country's population. The use of the term "drift to the north" for that phenomenon dates from at least 1916 and possibly much earlier. Recent censuses have shown a slowing of the rate of drift, with increasing numbers of North Islanders heading to the South Island's popular scenic regions such as

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

.Collins, Simon
Bye Auckland - South's appeal reverses the drift
, ''New Zealand Herald'', 25 June 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

References

External links

Numbers say we're looking north
, stuff.co.nz, 25 October 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Demographics of New Zealand South Island New Zealand English Society of New Zealand Internal migration {{NewZealand-stub