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Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai) is the southernmost and westernmost
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
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 ...
, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of 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 Re ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the
Southland Plains The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two pr ...
to the east of the Ōreti or New River some north of
Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...
, which is the southernmost town in 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 ...
. It sits amid rich farmland that is bordered by large areas of conservation land and marine reserves, including Fiordland National Park covering the south-west corner of the South Island and 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 ...
coastal region. Many streets in the city, especially in the centre and main shopping district, are named after rivers in Scotland. These include the main streets Dee and
Tay Tay may refer to: People and languages * Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname * Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam ** Tày language *Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...
, as well as those named after the
Tweed Tweed is a rough, woollen fabric, of a soft, open, flexible texture, resembling cheviot or homespun, but more closely woven. It is usually woven with a plain weave, twill or herringbone structure. Colour effects in the yarn may be obtained ...
,
Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...
, Tyne, Esk,
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
, Ness,
Yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...
, Spey, Eye and Ythan rivers, amongst others. The 2018 census showed the population was 54,204, up 2.7% on the 2006 census number and up 4.8% on the 2013 census number.


History

Southland was a scene of early extended contact between Europeans and Māori, notably whalers and missionaries – Wohlers at
Ruapuke Ruapuke is a small farming community (predominantly sheep and cattle farmers) in the Waikato region on the slopes of Karioi, between Raglan and Kawhia in New Zealand. History The introduction to 'Ruapuke' says, "The greater part of the R ...
.Wright (2009), p. 61 In 1853,
Walter Mantell Walter Baldock Durrant Mantell (11 March 1820 – 7 September 1895) was a 19th-century New Zealand naturalist, politician, and land purchase commissioner. He was a founder and first secretary of the New Zealand Institute, and a collector of moa ...
purchased Murihiku from local Māori
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...
, claiming the land for European settlement.Wright (2009), p. 140 Otago, of which Southland was itself part, was the subject of planned settlement by the Free Church of Scotland, an offshoot of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
.King (2003), p. 170 Settlement broadened with the discovery of gold in Central Otago in the 1860s. Traces of Scottish speech persist in Southland voices, with R often pronounced with a rolling burr. This is more noticeable among country people. In 1856, a petition was put forward to
Thomas Gore Browne Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne, (3 July 1807 – 17 April 1887) was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda. Early life Browne was born o ...
, the
Governor of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and l ...
, for a port at Bluff. Due to the Otago gold rush, the region's population grew during the 1860s with the settlement of
Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...
.Wright (2009), p. 148 Browne agreed to the petition and gave the name Invercargill to the settlement north of the port. ''
Inver Inver () is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on the N56 National secondary road midway between Killybegs to the west and Donegal Town to the east. It is also a civil parish in the historic barony of Banagh. History Inve ...
'' comes from the
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
word ''inbhir'' meaning ''a river's mouth'' and ''Cargill'' is in honour of Captain William Cargill, who was at the time the Superintendent of
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, of which Southland was then a part.Wright (2009), p. 224 The settlement's chief surveyor was
John Turnbull Thomson John Turnbull Thomson (10 August 1821 – 16 October 1884) was a British civil engineer and artist who played an instrumental role in the development of the early infrastructure of nineteenth-century Singapore and New Zealand. He lived the last 2 ...
, a British civil engineer. Under the influence of James Menzies, Southland Province (a small part of the present Region, centred on Invercargill) seceded from Otago in 1861 following the escalation of political tensions. However, rising debt forced Southland to rejoin Otago in 1870 and the provincial system, and with it the province of Otago, was abolished entirely in 1876.Wright (2009), p. 237 This debt was caused by a population decline stemming from poor returns from pastoral farming. In 1874, Invercargill's population was less than 2,500 which reflected the drift north to large centres. In the 1880s, the development of an export industry based on butter and cheese encouraged the growth of
dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...
in Southland.King (203), p. 238 On 6 August 1884 a group of women gathered together in the Don Street Primitive Methodist Church to form a local branch of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
. Eliza Ann Brown, wife of Charles W. Brown (who that same year co-founded the local
Independent Order of Rechabites The Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR), also known as the Sons and Daughters of Rechab, Alan Axelrod ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'' New York; Facts on File, inc 1997 p.206 is a fraternal organisation ...
), led the group to establish eight main objectives which included gathering signatures for a petition for women's suffrage. This was the first all-women's organisation established in New Zealand. After affiliating with the new national organisation, the Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand, under the guidance of world missionary Mary C. Leavitt, Roberta Annie Hinton, wife of the new Baptist minister, led the new club as it worked to strengthen the temperance movement in the area and support the needs of women and children across the nation. By 1897 a founding member of this first branch of the WCTU Invercargill, Mrs. Elizabeth Stephen Baird, led the establishment of the Victoria Home for Friendless Girls. In December 1905, Invercargill voted in local
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
of alcohol sales. This lasted for 40 years until voted out by returning servicemen in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Drinking continued meanwhile, thanks to hotels and liquor merchants in outlying districts, huge volumes of beer, often in kegs, brought to private homes, or sold by the glass by keggers at hiding spots round the City. When prohibition ended, a committee of citizens persuaded the Government to give the monopoly on liquor sales in Invercargill to the specially formed Invercargill Licensing Trust. Based on a scheme in
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
, England, it returns profits to city amenities. Even today, alcohol is not sold in supermarkets. Publicity has been brought to the city by the election of
Tim Shadbolt Sir Timothy Richard Shadbolt (born 19 February 1947) is a New Zealand politician. He was the Mayor of Invercargill and previously Mayor of Waitemata City. Early life Shadbolt was born in the Auckland suburb of Remuera in 1947. His father died ...
, a colourful and outspoken former student activist and former mayor of
Waitemata City Waitemata City was a New Zealand city in the greater Auckland area. It was formed in 1974 from the western part of the old Waitemata County, with both the County and City taking their names from Waitemata Harbour. In 1989, when New Zealand local ...
, as mayor. He once appeared on a cheese advertisement stating "I don't mind where, as long as I'm Mayor". His supporters like the colour he brings to the city. His opponents refer to his controversial mayoral career in the
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 ...
suburbs and to his attitude to veterans during his opposition to the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Publicity and students have also come to the city by the
Southern Institute of Technology , image = Southern Institute of Technology (New Zealand) logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , motto = , tagline = , established = 1971; years ago , faculty = 387 FTE 2005 , head_label = , students ...
's "Zero Fees" scheme, which allows New Zealand citizens and permanent residents to study while only paying for material costs of their study, and not tuition fees.


Geography

Invercargill is the southernmost city in the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
. Invercargill is situated on the fertile and alluvial
Southland Plains The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two pr ...
, which is amongst some of New Zealand's most fertile farmland. Southern Invercargill lies on the shore of the
New River Estuary New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, while the northern parts lie on the banks of the Waihopai River. A tributary of the Waihopai is the Otepuni Stream or Creek, which flows from east to west through the city and under the railway yards. 10 kilometres west of the city centre lies
Oreti Beach Oreti Beach is the central bay of three lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Toetoes Bay. Twenty-six kilometres in length, the bay lies between the town of Riverton and the outflow of th ...
, a long expanse of sand stretching from the Sandy Point area to nearby Riverton. Invercargill has a
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
. The mean daily temperature ranges from in July to in January. The yearly mean temperature is . Rainfall averages annually, and measurable snowfall is occasionally seen during the winter months of June to September. It is tied with neighbouring
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 ...
as the cloudiest city in New Zealand with only 1,680 hours of sunshine per annum. Despite its cloudiness, and a relatively high frequency of rainy days, Invercargill receives less rain than either Auckland or Wellington. Invercargill is also New Zealand's second windiest city, after Wellington.


Suburbs

Inner Invercargill suburbs: * Invercargill C.B.D.1 * Appleby * Ascot *
Avenal Avenal (Spanish for "Oat field") is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Avenal is located southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford– Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 25260), which en ...
*
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
* Georgetown *
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
*
Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...
* Grasmere * Hargest * Hawthorndale *
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
*
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...
* Kingswell * Newfield * Prestonville *
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
* Rockdale * Rosedale * Strathern * Waihopai *
Waikiwi Waikiwi is a suburb of Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. Invercargill is the southernmost city of New Zealand. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of " kiwi waters" for . Waikiwi lies on the northern edge o ...
1 *
Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...
* West Invercargill *
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
Outer Invercargill localities: * Awarua * Awarua Plains *
Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...
1 * Greenhills * Greenpoint * Kennington * Lorneville1 * Mill Road * Motu Rimu * Myross Bush * Ocean Beach *
Omaui Omaui is a small coastal village in Southland region, New Zealand. It is located approximately 20 km southwest of Invercargill near a small estuary opposite Sandy Point between Invercargill and Bluff. The New Zealand Ministry for Cultur ...
*
Oreti Beach Oreti Beach is the central bay of three lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Toetoes Bay. Twenty-six kilometres in length, the bay lies between the town of Riverton and the outflow of th ...
*
Otatara Ōtātara is an outer suburb of New Zealand's southernmost city, Invercargill. It is surrounded by the Ōreti River to the west and south, and its estuary and Invercargill Airport to the east, and West Plains to the north. Historically, it was i ...
1 * Sandy Point *
Seaward Bush 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 Iris ...
* Taramoa * Tisbury *
Tiwai Point Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A spit which extends from the western end of the Awarua Plain, it lies between Awarua Bay to the north and Foveaux Strait to the sout ...
*
Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places United States * Underwood, Shelby County, Alabama * Underwood, Indiana * Underwood, Iowa * Underwood, Minnesota * Underwood, New York * Underwood, North Dakota * ...
* West Plains * Waimatua * Woodend 1 - major settlement


Climate

The average temperature high ranges from in January to in July, but temperatures do occasionally exceed in summer. Invercargill's hottest temperature on record was , recorded on 2 January 1948. Extended periods of heat are rare, however January 2018 was notable for the city recording three consecutive days above 30 for the first time in its recorded history, peaking with the city's second highest temperature on record of on 14 January 2018. Owing to its relatively high latitude (46° 42′), the city enjoys nearly 16 hours of daylight at the summer
solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...
in late December, with astronomical night lasting as little as 2.5 hours. Conversely, the city receives only around 8.5 hours of daylight at the winter solstice in late June. Invercargill is the "City of Water and Light". The "light" refers to the long summer twilights and the
aurora australis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...
(southern lights). The "water" reference, humorists suggest, comes from notorious horizontal, driving rain in high wind at the corner of the two main streets, Dee and Tay. A recent sign also states "Invercargill, where dreams can come true" with an image from the 2005 film ''
The World's Fastest Indian ''The World's Fastest Indian'' is a 2005 New Zealand biographical sports drama film based on the Invercargill, New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro and his highly modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle. Munro set numerous land speed records ...
''. In September 2010, Invercargill's heaviest snowfall in living memory heralded a run of unseasonably cold weather. A few buildings were damaged, notably Stadium Southland, the roof of which collapsed under the weight of the snow; and a decorating store. Many other stores were shut, and
Invercargill Airport Invercargill Airport is a fully secured controlled international designated airport located 1.6 km (one mile) west of the Central business district of Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southernmost co ...
was closed for a day.


Demographics

The Invercargill City territorial authority covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. This comprises people in the Invercargill urban area, people in the
Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...
urban area, and people in the surrounding settlements and rural area. Invercargill City had a population of 54,204 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 2,508 people (4.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,879 people (7.7%) 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 21,585 households. There were 26,517 males and 27,687 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 39.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 10,560 people (19.5%) aged under 15 years, 10,053 (18.5%) aged 15 to 29, 24,249 (44.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 9,345 (17.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 85.0% European/Pākehā, 17.4% Māori, 3.8% Pacific peoples, 5.7% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.0% had no religion, 37.5% were Christian, 0.8% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 6,633 (15.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 11,145 (25.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 5,991 people (13.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 21,885 (50.1%) people were employed full-time, 6,561 (15.0%) were part-time, and 1,650 (3.8%) were unemployed.


Government


Local

The Invercargill City Council governs the territorial authority of Invercargill. It is made up of an elected mayor and 12 additional councillors. They are elected under the
First Past the Post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
system in triennial elections, with the last election being held in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. The current mayor is Nobby Clark. As of 2022, the current council members are:


Coat of arms


National

The electorate 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 ...
in the
New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
is held by
Penny Simmonds Penelope Elsie Simmonds is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She previously served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology. Early life and career Si ...
, a member of parliament from the opposition National Party. Under the
Māori electorates In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...
system, Invercargill is part of the large
Te Tai Tonga Te Tai Tonga is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 general election, replacing Southern Maori. The current MP for Te T ...
electorate, which covers the entire South Island and the surrounding islands, and is currently held by the Labour Party MP
Rino Tirikatene Rino Tirikatene (born 1972) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Te Tai Tonga electorate since the . He is a member of the Labour Party. He comes from a family with a strong political histor ...
.


Economy

Invercargill is home to the
Southern Institute of Technology , image = Southern Institute of Technology (New Zealand) logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , motto = , tagline = , established = 1971; years ago , faculty = 387 FTE 2005 , head_label = , students ...
,Russell Kirkpatrick (2005), plate 48 which has introduced a zero-fees scheme. The scheme was partly responsible for rejuvenating the city when it was in a steady state of population decline. However the major factor in Invercargill's regrowth is the dairy industrial boom of the 2000s (decade) due to an increased demand for New Zealand milk, cheese and butter. New dairy factories have opened around the Southland Region, as well as more efficient
meat processing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...
works and research and development facilities. Invercargill is on the
Southern Scenic Route The Southern Scenic Route is a tourist highway in New Zealand linking Queenstown, Fiordland, Te Anau and the iconic Milford Road to Dunedin via, Riverton, Invercargill and The Catlins. An Australian travel magazine labelled it "one of the ...
(tourist road), allowing day trips to Queenstown,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...
.


Liquor licensing trusts

The
Invercargill Licensing Trust The Invercargill Licensing Trust, (ILT), is a licensing trust in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand. It has a monopoly on the development of premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and associated accommodation in the city; and u ...
is one of several trusts in the city of Invercargill. The Invercargill Licensing Trust and the ILT Foundation are major funders of community projects in Invercargill. The ILT Foundation provides donations and grants totalling around $10 million a year to over 500 organisations. The trust has also been influential in the development of city facilities such as the
ILT Stadium Southland ILT Stadium Southland is a multi-purpose venue located in Surrey Park, Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand. It was originally the home venue of the Southern Sting netball team. It currently serves as the main home venue of both the Southern ...
and Invercargill Velodrome. The trust are also big-time backers of local sporting franchises the
Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...
,
Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank S ...
and
Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...
. The Community Trust of Southland was established after
Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, known simply as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, ...
bought out the Trust Bank Southland in the late 1990s. It was sold for approximately $150 million, with those funds now being set aside for the people of the Southland regions, including Queenstown,
Arrowtown Arrowtown (Māori: ''Haehaenui'') is a historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Arrowtown is located on the banks of the Arrow River approximately 7.5 km from State Highway 6. Arrowtown is located ...
and Tapanui. It is widely recognised as one of New Zealand's leading community trusts, with the benefit of a large capital base for a relatively small population. Consequently, the Trust provides significant funding to a wide range of projects and programmes. Each year, it distributes between $7 and $10 million in the region, not including the large sums given to sports franchises and building projects and since its inception has distributed close to $140 million in grants.


Brewing

Invercargill was home to Invercargill Brewery, the southernmost manufacturer of
beer in New Zealand Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in New Zealand, accounting for 63% of available alcohol for sale. At around 64.7 litres per person per annum, New Zealand is ranked 27th in global beer consumption per capita. The vast majority of beer p ...
. Established in 1999, it was an internationally award-winning production brewery which also contract brews for other iconic New Zealand breweries, including Yeastie Boys. The company went into receivership in 2018.


Tourism

Invercargill has a growing tourism sector. Attractions such as E Hayes, Bill Richardson Transport World, Dig This and Classic Motorcycle Mecca attract people to the area.


Culture

Murihiku Marae is located in Invercargill. It is a ''
marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
'' (meeting ground) of the Waihōpai Rūnanga branch of
Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...
, and includes Te Rakitauneke ''
wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''whare'' ( ...
'' (meeting house). During the late 1880s a small periodical called ''Literary Southland'' contained stories as well as memoirs of the pioneering days of the region. The publication was distributed from a store in the northern end of Invercargill. While largely forgotten today, it was considered relatively popular at the time, if at times controversial.


Sport

The
Southern Sting The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in the National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca-Cola Cup. The Southern Sting team won the National Bank Cup seven times and are the only te ...
(Netball- Now Southern Steel) won seven National titles from 1999–2004, 2007, while the local rugby team the Southland Stags held the
Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...
from 22 October 2009 to 9 October 2010 and have made the NPC Semi-finals for the past three years. Southland also has one of the highest percentages of sports participants in the country, with codes such as
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
,
netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
, basketball,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, and
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
being popular. Many professional sportsmen too, have come out of Southland as well. Invercargill also has some high quality sporting facilities, including an indoor velodrome, an Olympic sized swimming centre, a 20,000 capacity rugby stadium and also international playing arenas for both hockey and cricket. The city's 4500 capacity indoor stadium was severely damaged in 2010, its roof collapsing following a heavy snowfall. Southland also has four professional sporting sides that are based in Invercargill: *
Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...
(Rugby) * Spirit FC (Association Football) *
Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...
(Netball) *
Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank S ...
(Basketball) Invercargill is home to the only indoor cycling
velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
in the South Island. The indoor 250 metres wooden velodrome is home to
Track Cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...
in Southland. The
Invercargill Licensing Trust The Invercargill Licensing Trust, (ILT), is a licensing trust in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand. It has a monopoly on the development of premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and associated accommodation in the city; and u ...
supports the velodrome which is situated at Stadium Southland, a large indoor sports complex located at
Surrey Park Surrey Park is a major sports venue, located in the Invercargill, New Zealand suburb of Glengarry, 2km to the east of the city centre. Surrey Park's facilities include three rugby grounds, three football grounds, four softball pitches, an athleti ...
. For horse racing aficionados there is a racecourse in the aptly named Racecourse Road, on the east side of the city.


Music

The "
Invercargill March The Invercargill March is a march composed by Alex Lithgow and named after his home town of Invercargill, on the South Island of New Zealand. The Invercargill rates alongside John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever", Kenneth Alford's ...
," an internationally famous tune, was written by
Alex Lithgow Alexander Frame Lithgow (1 December 1870 in Glasgow – 12 July 1929 in Launceston, Tasmania) was a Scottish-born, New Zealand and Australian based composer and bandleader known as the " Sousa of the Antipodes". His name is pronounced "Alek" ...
, who attended Invercargill Grammar School (now Middle School). In his book ''Invercargill – 150 Years'', Lloyd Esler's opening sentence reads, "Invercargill was done a fine favour by Alex Lithgow who named his famous march after his boyhood home. The Invercargill March is possibly the best advertisement the town has ever had as the work is a brass-band favourite and the word 'Invercargill' is whispered amongst audiences worldwide. There is only one Invercargill in the world – this one". When Invercargill hosted the national brass band contest in 1909, Alex's brother Tom asked for a test piece for the contest and Alex offered this piece to the city. On the music he wrote,


Education


Colleges

* The University of Otago College of Education has its southern most campus in Invercargill. * Invercargill is home to the
Southern Institute of Technology , image = Southern Institute of Technology (New Zealand) logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , motto = , tagline = , established = 1971; years ago , faculty = 387 FTE 2005 , head_label = , students ...
, a polytechnic which provides undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. * The
Southern Wings Aviation College Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
which operates out of Invercargill airport provides aviation licence training and the New Zealand Diploma in Aviation.


High schools

All high schools in Invercargill are Year 7–13, following a
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
review in 2004 that made most of Invercargill's primary schools Year 1–6, while also closing the Year 7–8 schools Rosedale Intermediate, Collingwood Intermediate and Tweedsmuir Junior High. * James Hargest College is in northern Invercargill with about 1,800 pupils. *
Aurora College Aurora College, formerly Arctic College, is a college located in the Northwest Territories, Canada with campuses in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. They have learning centres in 23 communities in the NWT. The head office for Aurora Colleg ...
was established in 2005, after Mount Anglem College was closed in 2004. * Southland Girls' High School In 2005 became the first state Year 7–13 single-sex female school in New Zealand. *
Southland Boys' High School Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in Invercargill, New Zealand, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form Verdon College in 1982. History SBHS was founded in 1881 an ...
In 2005 became the first state Year 7–13 single-sex male school in New Zealand. *
Verdon College Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 15 (ages 11–18). The college is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of ...
is a co-educational Catholic school with about 700 pupils. *
Te Wharekura o Arowhenua Te Wharekura o Arowhenua is a Māori high school (wharekura) located in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 1–15 (aged around 5 to 18 years old). The school has pupils, all of whom are Māori people, Māori. Information ...
A Māori school on Tweed street. Teaches years from 1–15.


Primary schools

Most primary schools are Year 1–6. * New River Primary School, co-ed school for Years 1–6 in South Invercargill area. Formerly Kew, South, Clarendon and Clifton Schools. * St Joseph's, a small co-ed school for Years 1–6, a Catholic school near St Mary's Basilica. * St Theresa's, North Invercargill, a co-ed Catholic primary school. * St Patrick's, Georgetown, a co-ed Catholic primary school. * Ascot Community School, the only public co-ed school in Hawthorndale area. * Fernworth Primary – co-ed school in Heidelberg area. Formerly St George and Elston Lea. * Windsor North School, co-ed school in Rosedale area. Previously Invercargill North School. * Waverley Park School, co-ed school in Waverley Park area. * Waihopai School, co-ed school in Waihopai area. * Salford School, co-ed school in Rosedale area. * St John's Girls' School, small school. Invercargill's only private school. Christian character. * Sacred Heart Primary School, North Road, Waikiwi, co-ed Special Character Catholic family school serving the northern suburbs of Waikiwi, Grasmere and Makarewa. * Donovan Primary School, co-ed school Grasmere area. Formerly Grasmere, Waikiwi, West Plains. Current Principal is Peter Hopwood. * Otatara Primary School, co-ed school in Otatara area. * Myross Bush Primary School, co-ed school in Myross Bush area. * Newfield Park School, co-ed school in Newfield * Southland Adventist Christian School. A small co-ed school in the Waikiwi area. Formerly Seventh Day Adventist School. Christian Character. * Middle School, co-ed school located in the middle of Invercargill * Westmount School. A private (Brethren) school located in the Clarendon area.


Transport


Road

Invercargill is the southernmost city on New Zealand's state highway network and is linked to
Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...
and 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 ...
by the
Southern Scenic Route The Southern Scenic Route is a tourist highway in New Zealand linking Queenstown, Fiordland, Te Anau and the iconic Milford Road to Dunedin via, Riverton, Invercargill and The Catlins. An Australian travel magazine labelled it "one of the ...
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 ...
and
Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...
by SH 1. It is also the southern end of coming from Queenstown and the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
. The main streets of Invercargill: Dee (SH 6) and Tay (SH 1) measure over 40 metres wide. Numerous roads in the city are dual-carriageway but there are no expressways/motorways proposed for the city.


Rail links

Invercargill was the first town in New Zealand to have a steam locomotive and was once the centre of a much larger rail network than at present. It is at the southern end of 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 ...
railway, which extends up the east coast to
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 Lyttelton via
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 ...
. Until the cancellation of The Southerner in 2002, Invercargill had the southernmost passenger railway station in the world. Passenger trains no longer call at Invercargill, except for occasional excursions. The
Bluff Branch The Bluff Branch, officially the Bluff Line since 2011, is a railway line in Southland, New Zealand that links Invercargill with the port of Bluff. One of the first railways in New Zealand, it opened in 1867 and is still operating. Presently, it ...
extends south from Invercargill and has been freight-only since 1967. The
Wairio Branch The Ohai Line, formerly known as the Ohai Industrial Line and previously the Wairio Branch and the Ohai Railway Board's line, is a 54.5 km branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. It opened in 1882 and is one of two remaining branch ...
extends northwest from Invercargill to the
Solid Energy Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government. The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state ow ...
coalfields near
Ohai Ohai is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island, 65 kilometres northwest of Invercargill and 25 kilometres west of Winton. History Origins of name The literal meaning of ''Ohai'' is unclear, but a mural in the town centr ...
and continues to carry freight even after the closing of the Ohai coal mine.


Airport

During the mid-1950s,
Invercargill Airport Invercargill Airport is a fully secured controlled international designated airport located 1.6 km (one mile) west of the Central business district of Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southernmost co ...
was used for fuel top-up and final take off by
Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There w ...
. Twin-engine propeller-driven aircraft destined for
McMurdo Sound McMurdo Sound is a sound in Antarctica. It is the southernmost navigable body of water in the world, and is about from the South Pole. Captain James Clark Ross discovered the sound in February 1841, and named it after Lt. Archibald McMurdo ...
in the
Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
used the airport, assisted in takeoff by
JATO JATO (acronym for jet-assisted take-off) is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term ''JATO'' is used interchangeably with the (more specifi ...
rockets. Larger aircraft flew from
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 / ...
when a permanent Deep Freeze base was established there.
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
operates daily flights to Christchurch and to Wellington plus five weekly flights to Auckland. Stewart Island Flights make regular flights to and from
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 ...
.
Mount Cook Airline Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...
and
Air Nelson Air Nelson was a regional airline based in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded as an independent airline in 1979. Air New Zealand took a 50% shareholding in 1988 and 100% ownership in 1995. Air Nelson operated services on provincial routes under ...
, wholly owned subsidiaries of Air New Zealand, also operate out of the airport flying
ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...
s and
Bombardier Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...
s.
Mainland Air Mainland Air is a general aviation, flight training and air charter company operating out of Dunedin International Airport in New Zealand. History Mainland Air was established in 1991 by Queenstown businessman Christopher Kelliher. From 1995 t ...
of Dunedin operates a Piper Navajo and is contracted to fly doctors to Southland Hospital several times per week from Dunedin Hospital. Southern Wings is the only aeroclub based at the airport and runs charter flights as well as a flight school. Invercargill Airport has the fourth longest runway in New Zealand at 2210 metres, after
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 ...
,
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
Ohakea RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu. It is also a diversion landing point for civilian aircraft. The bas ...
.


Infrastructure and services

The main hospital in Invercargill is Southland Hospital, located in Kew. It is a public hospital operated by the Southern District Health Board. The electricity distribution network in the majority of the Invercargill urban area is owned by Electricity Invercargill. The network in the suburbs of Waikiwi, Grasmere, Kew and Kingswell, as well as the surrounding rural area, is owned by The Power Company. Both networks are operated and maintained by Powernet. Electricity is supplied from Transpower's national grid at two substations: Invercargill (Racecourse Road) and North Makarewa.


Notable residents

*
Bruce Aitken Bruce Aitken (born 1953 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a rock and world jazz drummer. Later in his career he also became a singer and songwriter. Aitken began his career in New Zealand, performing with the band Rogers Dodgers and later Heathe ...
– drummer *
Peter Arnett Peter Gregg Arnett (born 13 November 1934) is a New Zealand-born American journalist. He is known for his coverage of the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. He was awarded the 1966 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his work in Vietn ...
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
war correspondent *
Peter Beck Peter Joseph Beck is a New Zealand entrepreneur and founder of Rocket Lab, an aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider. Before founding the company, Beck worked in various occupations and built rocket-powered contraptions. Early lif ...
Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is a public American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, with a New Zealand subsidiary. The company operates lightweight Electron orbital rockets, which provide dedicated launches for small satellites. Rocket Lab also ...
, founder and CEO * Eliza Ann Brown - first president of the first WCTU organisation in New Zealand (1884) *
Oliver Bulleid Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid CBE (19 September 1882 – 25 April 1970) was a British railway and mechanical engineer best known as the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Southern Railway between 1937 and the 1948 nationalisation, d ...
– Railway locomotive designer and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway, born in Invercargill in 1882 * John Burke – Mayor of Porirua *
Johnnie Checketts John Milne Checketts, (20 February 1912 – 21 April 2006) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War, who was credited with the destruction of enemy aircraft, three probably destroyed and 11 damaged. Born in Invercargill, Checketts ...
– Silver Star, Wingco and Spitfire Ace * Nathan Cohen – Olympic and two-time world champion rower * Bill Crawford-Crompton – Silver Star, Air Vice Marshal and WW2 Commander and Ace * Geoffrey Cox – Rhodes Scholar, Chief Intelligence Officer to General Freyberg in WWII, founded Britain's pioneering News at Ten on ITN. *
Marton Csokas Marton Paul Csokas (, hu, Csókás Márton Pál; born 30 June 1966) is a Hungarian-New Zealand actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Toi Whakaari drama school, he has worked extensively in Australia and Hollywood, along with ...
– actor *
Dave Cull David Charles Cull (1 April 1950 – 27 April 2021) was the mayor of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. He became the 57th Mayor of Dunedin in October 2010 and was re-elected in both the 2013 mayoralty race and 2016 mayoral election. Before ...
- former TV host and mayor of
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 ...
*
Dan Davin Daniel Marcus Davin (1 September 1913 – 28 September 1990), generally known as Dan Davin, was an author who wrote about New Zealand, although for most of his career he lived in Oxford, England, working for Oxford University Press. The themes o ...
– author, editor *
Corey Flynn Corey Robert Flynn (born 5 January 1981) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays for West Coast in the Heartland Championship. He plays in the position of hooker. Career Club career Flynn previously played provincial for Sou ...
Hooker for
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
*
Ernest Godward Ernest Robert Godward (7 April 1869 – 2 December 1936) was an English born inventor and engineer who lived in New Zealand, England, and the United States. He created the spiral hairpin and a type of carburettor called a petrol economizer, which ...
– inventor of the spiral hairpin and the petrol economiser *
Dene Halatau Dene Halatau (born 27 January 1983) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who previously played for the Wests Tigers and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the National Rugby League. Halatau was part of the Wests Tigers ...
Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
Utility in the
NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
*
Joseph Hatch Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
– businessman, oil factor * Brigadier
James Hargest Brigadier James Hargest, (4 September 1891 – 12 August 1944) was an officer of the New Zealand Military Forces, serving in both the First and Second World Wars. He was a Member of New Zealand's Parliament from 1931 to 1944, representi ...
; CBE, DSO & 2 bars, MC, ED, MP – New Zealand chief military officer for Southland and politician *
Rowena Jackson Rowena Othlie Jackson (also known as Chatfield; born 24 March 1926) is a New Zealand former prima ballerina. Early life Jackson was born in Invercargill on 24 March 1926 to William Ernest Jackson and Lilian Jane, née Solomon. As a young chil ...
Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
* Jason KerrisonOpshop singer/songwriter *
Chris Knox Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the g ...
– musician, cartoonist, filmmaker * Brendon Leitch – racing driver *
Alex Lithgow Alexander Frame Lithgow (1 December 1870 in Glasgow – 12 July 1929 in Launceston, Tasmania) was a Scottish-born, New Zealand and Australian based composer and bandleader known as the " Sousa of the Antipodes". His name is pronounced "Alek" ...
– composer, musician, conductor *
Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Well ...
– inaugural NZ poet laureate * Khan Manuel – Guitarist/Composer * Herbert James "Burt" Munro – inventor, motorcycle enthusiast, racer and under-1000 cc land speed record holder *
Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...
– All Black *
Harry Norris Harry Norris (12 June 1888 – 15 December 1966) was an Australian architect, one of the more prolific and successful in Melbourne in the interwar period, best known for his 1930s Art Deco commercial work in the Melbourne CBD. His designs were ...
– music director of the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...
* Anton Oliver – All Black *
Warren Parry Warren "Wazza" Parry (born 9 January 1964) is a New Zealand professional darts player who played in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Parry is widely considered the greatest New Zealand player of all time. Career Parry reached the final o ...
– darts player * Herbert Pither – aviation legend of Southland *
Suzanne Prentice Suzanne Lena Prentice (born 19 September 1958 in Invercargill) is a New Zealand politician and country singer. Her most successful single "When I Dream" peaked at number 11 in New Zealand during 1982. In the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours, Prent ...
– musician *
Boyce Richardson Boyce Richardson, (March 21, 1928—March 7, 2020) was a journalist, author and filmmaker. Biography Richardson was born in Wyndham, New Zealand to Robert and Letitia Richardson, and grew up in Invercargill where, at age 17, he began his caree ...
– journalist, author, filmmaker *
Lesley Rumball Lesley Marie Rumball (née Nicol, born 9 May 1973) is a former New Zealand netball player. Rumball played with the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, from 1993 to 2005. She represented New Zealand in 109 tests to become the se ...
– former
Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...
Captain *
Tom Scully Tom Scully (born 15 May 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played for the Melbourne Football Club, Greater Western Sydney Giants, and Hawthorn Football Club. A star midfielder at junior level, Scully was originally s ...
– cyclist, 2014 Commonwealth Gold Medallist * Glen Thomson – cyclist, 1998 Commonwealth Gold Medallist, 1994 Commonwealth Bronze Medallist *
Victor Spencer Victor Manson Spencer (1 November 1896 – 24 February 1918) was a volunteer from Invercargill, New Zealand who fought in the Otago Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Division in World War I. Spencer was executed for desertion on 24 February 19 ...
– last soldier to be executed 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 ...
, pardoned in 2005 * David Strang – inventor of instant coffee in 1890 *
Garfield Todd Sir Reginald Stephen Garfield Todd (13 July 1908 – 13 October 2002) was a liberal Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia from 1953 to 1958 and later became an opponent of white minority rule in Rhodesia. Background Todd was born in Invercargil ...
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
*
Jeremy Waldron Jeremy Waldron (; born 13 October 1953) is a New Zealand professor of law and philosophy. He holds a University Professorship at the New York University School of Law, is affiliated with the New York University Department of Philosophy, and was ...
– legal and political philosopher *
Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...
Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...
* Jeff Wilson – All Black and Black Cap (" Double All Black") * Bob Yule – WWII fighter pilot


Sister cities


Current sister cities

*
Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the larges ...
(since 1993) * Suqian (since 2013)


Former sister city

*
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...


See also

*
Invercargill Golf Club The Invercargill Golf Club is a golf club in Southland, New Zealand, located on Dunns Road in Otatara, near Invercargill. In 1960 Invercargill Golf Club hosted the New Zealand Open which was won by Peter Thomson. It is also the permanent hosts of ...
*
Invercargill Rowing Club The Invercargill Rowing Club is a New Zealand rowing club. History The club was established on 26 August 1875, with clubrooms on the New River Estuary. In 1904, Mr. G.O. Joyce was its captain. The club relocated to the Ōreti River in 1958. ...
*
Invercargill Rugby Club (Blues) Blues RFC (Invercargill) is an amateur rugby team that plays in the Premier Division of Southland Club Rugby. Founded in 1874, the club has a prestigious history, and it boasts 31 Galbraith Shield titles including a record period of 8 in a row. B ...


Notes


References

* * * * A Complete Guide To Heraldry by A.C. Fox-Davies 1909.


External links


Invercargill City Council official website

Invercargill i-SITE visitor information
{{Authority control Populated places in Southland, New Zealand Southern Scenic Route Former provincial capitals of New Zealand