Everything about The South Island totally explained
The
South Island is the larger of the two major
islands of
New Zealand, the other being the more populous
North Island. The
Māori name for the South Island,
Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" (
greenstone being
jade), possibly evolved from
Te Wāhi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone". The island is also known as
Te Waka a Māui which means "Māui's Canoe".
The South Island is often called "the Mainland". Today this expression is used humorously, although still with pride by "Mainlanders", since while it's a somewhat larger landmass than the
North Island, only about a quarter of New Zealand's four million inhabitants live in the South Island. However, in the early stages of European (
Pākehā) settlement of the country, the South Island was pre-eminent, with the majority of the European population and wealth focussed there due to gold rushes. It wasn't until the early 20th century that the North Island population overtook the South, with 56% of the population living in the North in 1911. In
Māori legend, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Maui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught. However, the South Island has never been the main site of Māori population.
History
Early inhabitants of the South Island were the
Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the
Kāti Mamoe in the 1500s.
Ngāti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the
Ngāi Tahu who migrated south in the seventeenth century. While today there's no distinct Ngati Mamoe organisation, many Ngai Tahu have Ngati Mamoe links in their
whakapapa and, especially in the far south of the island.
Around the same time a group of Māori migrated to
Rekohu (the
Chatham Islands), where, by adapting to the local climate and the availability of resources, they developed a culture known as
Moriori — related to but distinct from Māori culture in mainland Aotearoa. A notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on
pacifism, proved disadvantageous when Māori
warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship.
The first Europeans known to reach the South Island were the crew of
Dutch explorer
Abel Tasman who arrived in his ships
Heemskerck and
Zeehaen. Tasman anchored in
Golden Bay, at the northern end of the island, (he named it Murderers Bay) in December 1642 and sailed northward to
Tonga following a clash with local Māori. Tasman sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. Tasman called them
Staten Landt, after the
States-General of the Netherlands, and that name appeared on his first maps of the country. Dutch cartographers changed the name to
Nova Zeelandia in Latin, from
Nieuw Zeeland, after the
Dutch province of
Zeeland. It was subsequently Anglicised as
New Zealand by British naval captain
James Cook of
HM Bark Endeavour who
visited the islands more than 100 years after Tasman during (
1769–
1770).
In the early 18th century,
Ngāi Tahu a
Māori tribe who originated on the east coast of the
North Island began migrating to the northern part of the South Island. There they and
Kāti Mamoe fought
Ngāi Tara and
Rangitāne in the
Wairau Valley. Ngāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the
Clarence River to Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering
Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Ngāi Tahu had settled in
Canterbury, including
Banks Peninsula. From there they spread further south and into the
West Coast.
In the summer of 1831-1832 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi
pā (fortified village). After a three-month siege, a fire in the pā allowed Ngāti Toa to overcome it. They then attacked Ngāi Tahu on
Banks Peninsula and took the pā at
Onawe. In 1832-33 Ngāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of
Tuhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at
Lake Grassmere. Ngāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped. Fighting continued for a year or so, with Ngāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made a major incursion into Ngāi Tahu territory.
In the 1870s and 1880s, several thousand
Chinese men, mostly from the
Guangdong province, migrated to New Zealand to work on the South Island goldfields. Although the first Chinese migrants had been invited by the
Otago Provincial government they quickly became the target of hostility from white settlers and laws were enacted specifically to discourage them from coming to New Zealand.
In the 19th century, some maps named the South Island as
Middle Island or
New Munster, and the name
South Island or
New Leinster was used for today's
Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Politics
The South Island is guaranteed 16 of the 69
electorates in the
New Zealand House of Representatives. In addition, 10 list MPs are based in the South Island, including the current
Deputy Prime Minister.
Local Government Regions
There are seven local government
regions covering the South Island and all its adjacent islands and territorial waters. Four are governed by an elected
regional council, while three are governed by
territorial authorities (the second tier of local government) which also perform the functions of a
regional council and thus are known as
unitary authorities. There is one exception to this, Nelson City is governed by an individual Territorial authority to its region (Tasman Region). The
Chatham Islands Council is often counted by many as a unitary authority, but it's officially recognised as a part of the region of Canterbury.
Canterbury
Marlborough
Nelson
Otago
Southland
Tasman
West Coast
Territorial Authorities
There are 25 territorial authorities within the South Island: 4 city councils, 20 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. Four territorial authorities (Nelson City Council, Tasman and Marlborough District Councils and the Chatham Islands Council) also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities.
Tasman District Council (unitary authority)
Nelson City Council (unitary authority)
Marlborough District Council (unitary authority)
West Coast Regional Council
Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury)
Otago Regional Council
Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland)
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Chatham Islands
Political Parties
This is a list of Political Parties, past and present, who have their headquarters in the South Island.
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
Imperial British Conservative Party
National Democrats Party
New Zealand Democratic Party
New Zealand Progressive Party
South Island Party
South Island Party (2008)
People
Population
Compared to the more populated and multi-ethnic North Island, the South Island has a smaller, more homogeneous resident population of 1,008,400. At the 2001 Census, over 91 percent of people in the South Island said they belong to the European ethnic group, compared with 80.1 percent for all of New Zealand .
Economy
The main industry groups within the South Island are manufacturing, agriculture, mining, construction, electricity, gas and water supply, education, health and community services.
Tourism
The main tourism destinations of the South Island are;
Nelson and Tasman District
Marlborough
West Coast
Kaikoura
Hanmer Springs
Christchurch and Canterbury
Dunedin
Southland Region and Stewart Island/Rakiura
Queenstown, Wanaka and Central Otago
Fiordland
Ski areas and Resorts
This is a list of ski areas and resorts in the South Island where the public can pay to ski.
Nelson Lakes
Rainbow
Mount Robert
Canterbury
Fox Peak (club skifield)
Hanmer Springs Ski Area (club skifield)
Mount Lyford
Mount Potts (heliskiing and snowcatting only)
Mount Hutt
Mount Dobson
Ohau
Porter Heights
Tasman Glacier (Heliski)
Temple Basin (club skifield)
Craigieburn Range
Otago
Coronet Peak
Invincible Snowfields (helicopter access only)
The Remarkables
Round Hill
Around Wanaka
Transport
Road Transport
The South Island has a State Highway network of 4,921 km.
Rail Transport
» See also: List of New Zealand railway lines, Rail transport in New Zealand.
The South Island's railway network has two main lines, two secondary lines, and a few branch lines. The Main North Line from Picton to Christchurch and the Main South Line from Lyttelton to Invercargill via Dunedin together comprise the South Island Main Trunk Railway. The secondary Midland Line branches from the Main South Line in Rolleston and passes through the Southern Alps via the Otira Tunnel to the West Coast and its terminus in Greymouth. In Stillwater, it meets the other secondary route, the Stillwater - Westport Line, which now includes the Ngakawau Branch. A number of other secondary routes are now closed, including the Otago Central Railway, the isolated Nelson Section, and the interdependent Waimea Plains Railway and Kingston Branch. An expansive network of branch lines once existed, especially in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, but these are now almost completely closed. The branch lines that remain in operation serve ports (Bluff Branch and Port Chalmers Branch), coal mines (Ohai Branch and Rapahoe Branch), and a dairying factory (Hokitika Branch). The first 64 km of the Otago Central Railway remain in operation for tourist trains run by the Taieri Gorge Railway (TGR). The most significant freight is coal from West Coast mines to the port of Lyttelton for export.
Passenger services were once extensive. Commuter trains operated multiple routes around Christchurch and Dunedin, plus a service between Invercargill and Bluff. Due to substantial losses, these were cancelled between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The final services to operate ran between Dunedin and Mosgiel, and they ceased in 1982. Regional passenger trains were once extensive, but are now limited to the TranzCoastal from Christchurch to Picton and the TranzAlpine from Christchurch to Greymouth. The Southerner between Christchurch and Invercargill, once the flagship of the network, was cancelled on 10 February 2002. Subsequently, the architecturally significant Dunedin Railway Station has been used solely by the TGR's tourist trains, the Taieri Gorge Limited along the Otago Central Railway and the Seasider to Palmerston. Rural passenger services on branch lines were provided by mixed trains and Vulcan/88 seater railcars but the mixeds had largely ceased to exist by the 1950s and the railcars were withdrawn in the mid-1970s.
The South Island saw the final use of steam locomotives in New Zealand. Locomotives belonging to classes long withdrawn elsewhere continued to operate on West Coast branches until the very late 1960s, when they were displaced by DJ class diesels. In comparison to most countries, where steam locomotives were last used on insubstantial rural and industrial operations, the very last services run by steam locomotives were the premier expresses between Christchurch and Invercargill: the South Island Limited until 1970 and the Friday and Sunday night services until 1971. This was due to the carriages being steam-heated. The final steam-hauled service in New Zealand, headed by a member of the JA class, ran on 26 October 1971.
Water Transport
The South Island is separated from the North Island by Cook Strait, 24 km wide at its narrowest point, but requiring a 70 km ferry trip to cross.
Ports and harbours
Container ports: Lyttelton (Christchurch), Port Chalmers (Dunedin)
Other ports: Nelson, Picton, Westport, Greymouth, Timaru, Bluff.
Harbours: Akaroa, Otago Harbour, Half Moon Bay (Stewart Island/Rakiura), Milford Sound.
Freshwater: Queenstown and Kingston (Lake Wakatipu), Te Anau and Manapouri (Lake Manapouri)
Air Transport
South Island Airports
Geography
The South Island with an area of 151,215 km² (58,093 square miles) is the largest land mass of New Zealand, it contains about one quarter of the New Zealand population and is the world's 12th-largest island. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3754 metres (12,316 ft). There are eighteen peaks of more than 3000 metres (9800 ft) in the South Island. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines, very high proportion of native bush, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
Climate
The climate in the South Island is mostly temperate. The Mean temperature for the South Island is 8 °C (46 °F). January and February are the warmest months while July is the coldest.
Most areas have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall with the most rain along the West Coast and the least rain on the East Coast, predominantly on the Canterbury Plains. Christchurch is the driest city receiving about 640 mm (25 in) of rain per year.
There are three main factors that influence New Zealand's climate:
Its latitude zone location where the prevailing winds flow westerly.
Its oceanic environment.
The mountains, especially the Southern Alps.
Geology
National Parks
Abel Tasman National Park
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Fiordland National Park
Kahurangi National Park
Mount Aspiring National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park
Paparoa National Park
Rakiura National Park
Westland National Park
Other Native Reserves and Parks
Hakatere Conservation Park
Geographic Features
Arthur's Pass
Banks Peninsula
Catlins
Doubtful Sound
Farewell Spit
Haast Pass
Mackenzie Basin
Marlborough Sounds
Milford Sound
Southern Alps
Glaciers:
Fox Glacier
Franz Josef Glacier
Rivers:
Hokitika River
Education
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
The South Island has several tertiary level institutions:
Aoraki Polytechnic
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology
Lincoln University
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Otago Polytechnic
Southern Institute of Technology
Tai Poutini Polytechnic
Telford Rural Polytechnic
University of Canterbury
University of Otago
Media
Print
Ashburton Guardian
The Marlborough Express
The Nelson Mail
Otago Daily Times
The Press
Southland Times
The Timaru Herald
Television
45 South
Canterbury Television
Channel 9
CUE (Southland TV)
Radio
Nelson Stations
Current Stations
Fresh FM
Impact 100
Mainland FM
Radio Robot
Previous Stations
Cadbury Moro FM
Fifeshire FM - Rebranded as More FM
Radio Nelson - Rebranded as Classic Hits 89.8 & 90.4FM
The Planet 97FM - Replaced with ZM
West Coast Stations
Current Stations
Coast FM - (no connection to Coast Radio Network.
Z102 102.5FM
Previous Stations
Radio Scenicland and later Scenicland FM - Rebranded as Classic Hits Scenicland FM.
Canterbury Stations
Current Stations
91ZM - Operates local daytime show all other shows from the ZM network. Originally local until 2001.
Country 88FM
Newstalk ZB - Local breakfast and morning show all other shows from Newstalk ZB network.
Plains 96.9FM
Port FM (Timaru)
Pulzar FM
Radio Ferrymead
RDU-FM
Previous Stations
3ZB - Rebranded as Newstalk ZB
3ZE (Ashburton) - Rebranded as Classic Hits 92.5 ZEFM
Channel Z - Operated local Channel Z station until 2001 when station was replaced with Auckland based network product.
Fox FM (Ashburton) - Rebranded as Port FM
99 Life FM - Original Life FM station
B98 FM - Rebranded as Classic Hits B98 and later Classic Hits 97.7
Lite FM - Rebranded as The Breeze
Radio Avon and later C93FM
Radio Caroline (Timaru) - Rebranded as Classic Hits 99FM
Blush 96.1 - Christchurch NZBS "Live Sexy"
Dunedin and East Otago Stations
Current Stations
Big River Radio (Balclutha)
Country Radio 88.7
Ear107
GoldRush1440 (Lawrence)
Hills AM
Radio Clutha (Balclutha)
Radio Dunedin
Radio One
RushFM (Lawrence)
Previous Stations
4XO - Rebranded as More FM
4ZB and later ZBFM - Rebranded as Classic Hits 89FM
93Rox
Radio Waitaki (Oamaru) - Rebranded as Classic Hits Radio Waitaki
Whitestone FM (Oamaru) - Rebranded as Port FM
Queenstown and Central Otago Stations
Current Stations
96.7 Blue Skies FM (Alexandra)
Burn 729AM (Ranfurly)
The Studio FM (Queenstown)
Radio Wanaka (Wanaka)
Previous Stations
Radio Central (Alexandra) - Rebranded as More FM
Resort Radio (Queenstown) - Rebranded as More FM
Q92 (Queenstown) - Rebranded as Q92 The Breeze
Southland Stations
Current Stations
Country Radio 88.4
Hokonui Gold
Radio Southland 96.4
Previous Stations
4ZA - Rebranded as Classic Hits 98.8 ZAFM
Foveaux FM - Rebranded as More FM
eFM - Southern Institute of Technology student radio station that operated in 2001.
Sport
A number of national or international sporting teams and events are based in the South Island, including:
Basketball: Canterbury Rams, Christchurch Sirens, Nelson Giants and the Otago Nuggets.
Netball: Canterbury Tactix and the Southern Steel.
Soccer: Canterbury United, Otago United.
Rugby league: Canterbury Bulls
Rugby union: Crusaders, Highlanders, Tasman Makos, Southland Stags, West Coast, Buller, South Canterbury, North Otago
International events hosted in the South Island include the National Basketball League, the ANZ Championship netball competition and the Super 14 rugby union competition.
The Arts
Art Galleries
Centre of Contemporary Art
Christchurch Arts Centre
Dunedin Public Art Gallery
Museums
Canterbury Museum
Ferrymead Heritage Park
Nelson Provincial Museum (External Link)
Otago Museum
Otago Settlers Museum
Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
Southland museum and art gallery
World of Wearable Art
Film location
Several movies have been filmed (in large part) in the South Island, including the Lord of the Rings and 2005's .
Further Information
Get more info on 'South Island'.
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