South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The M?ori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Water/s of Greenstone" (greenstone being jade), possibly evolved from Te W?hi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone". The island is also known as Te Waka a M?ui which means "M?ui's Canoe".^[1]

The South Island is often called "the Mainland". Today this expression is used humorously, although still with pride by "Mainlanders", since while it is 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 (P?keh?) 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 was not until the early 20th century that the North Island population overtook the South, with 56% of the population living in the North in 1911.^[2] In M?ori 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 M?ori population.

History

Early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the K?ti Mamoe in the 1500s.

Ng?ti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Ng?i Tahu who migrated south in the seventeenth century.^[3] While today there is 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 M?ori 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 M?ori culture in mainland New Zealand. A notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism, proved disadvantageous when M?ori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship.^[4]

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 M?ori. 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, Ng?i Tahu a M?ori tribe who originated on the east coast of the North Island began migrating to the northern part of the South Island. There they and K?ti Mamoe fought Ng?i Tara and Rangit?ne in the Wairau Valley. Ng?ti M?moe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Clarence River to Ng?i Tahu. Ng?i Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Ng?i Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula. From there they spread further south and into the West Coast.^[5]

In 1827-1828 Ng?ti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Ng?i Tahu at Kaikoura. Ng?ti Toa then visited Kaiapoi, obstensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Ng?i Tahu killed all the leading Ng?ti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha returned to his Kapiti Island stronghold. In November 1830 Te Rauparaha persuaded Captain John Stewart of the brig Elizabeth to carry him and his warriors in secret to Akaroa, where by subterfuge they captured the leading Ng?i Tahu chief, Te Maiharanui, and his wife and daughter. After destroying Te Maiharanui's village they took their captives to Kapiti and killed them. John Stewart, though arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, nevertheless escaped conviction.^[5]

In the summer of 1831-1832 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi p? (fortified village). After a three-month siege, a fire in the p? allowed Ng?ti Toa to overcome it. They then attacked Ng?i Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the p? at Onawe. In 1832-33 Ng?i Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tuhawaiki and others, attacking Ng?ti Toa at Lake Grassmere. Ng?i Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ng?ti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped. Fighting continued for a year or so, with Ng?i Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ng?ti Toa never again made a major incursion into Ng?i Tahu territory.^[5]

By 1839 Ng?i Tahu and Ng?ti Toa established peace and Te Rauparaha released the Ng?i Tahu captives he held. Formal marriages between the leading families in the two tribes sealed the peace.

On June 17, 1843, M?ori natives and the British settlers clashed at Wairau in what became known as the Wairau Affray. Also known as the Wairau Massacre in most older texts, it was the first serious clash of arms between the two parties after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in the South Island. Four M?ori died and three were wounded in the incident, while among the Europeans the toll was 22 dead and five wounded. Twelve of the Europeans were shot dead or clubbed to death after surrendering to M?ori who were pursuing them.^[6]

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.^[7]

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

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 is officially recognised as a part of the region of Canterbury.

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.

Political Parties

This is a list of Political Parties, past and present, who have their headquarters in the South Island.

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.^[8] 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 ^[9].

Economy

The South Island had an estimated sub-national GDP of US$27.8 billion (as of 2003)^[10].

The main industry groups within the South Island are manufacturing, agriculture, mining, construction, electricity, gas and water supply, education, health and community services.

Tourism

Ski areas and Resorts

Nelson Lakes

Canterbury

Otago

Transport

Road Transport

Rail Transport

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.^[11] 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 J^A class, ran on 26 October 1971.^[12]

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

Air Transport

South Island Airports

LOCATION	ICAO	IATA	AIRPORT NAME
Alexandra	NZLX	ALR	Alexandra Aerodrome
Ashburton	NZAS	ASG	Ashburton Aerodrome
Balclutha	NZBA		Balclutha Aerodrome
Blenheim	NZWB	BHE	Blenheim Airport (Woodbourne)
Chatham Islands	NZCI	CHT	Chatham Islands / Tuuta Airport
Christchurch	NZCH	CHC	Christchurch International Airport (long-distance)
Cromwell	NZCS		Cromwell Racecourse Aerodrome
Dunedin	NZDN	DUD	Dunedin International Airport (limited)
Gore	NZGC		Gore Aerodrome
Greymouth	NZGM	GMN	Greymouth Airport
Haast	NZHT		Haast Aerodrome
Hokitika	NZHK	HKK	Hokitika Airport
Invercargill	NZNV	IVC	Invercargill Airport
Kaikoura	NZKI	KBZ	Kaikoura Aerodrome
Lake Pukaki	NZGT	GTN	Glentanner Aerodrome
Milford Sound	NZMF	MFN	Milford Sound Airport
Mount Cook	NZMC	MON	Mount Cook Aerodrome
Motueka	NZMK	MZP	Motueka Aerodrome
Nelson	NZNS	NSN	Nelson Airport
Oamaru	NZOU	OAM	Oamaru Aerodrome
Picton	NZPN	PCN	Picton Aerodrome
Queenstown	NZQN	ZQN	Queenstown Airport (limited)
Rangiora	NZFF		Forest Field Aerodrome
Stewart Island/Rakiura	NZRC	SZS	Ryans Creek Aerodrome
Takaka	NZTK	KTF	Takaka Aerodrome
Te Anau / Manapouri	NZMO	TEU	Manapouri Aerodrome
Timaru	NZTU	TIU	Richard Pearse Airport
Twizel	NZUK	TWZ	Pukaki Aerodrome
Wanaka	NZWF	WKA	Wanaka Airport
Westport	NZWS	WSZ	Westport Airport
Wigram	NZWG		Wigram Aerodrome

Geography

Climate

The climate in the South Island is mostly temperate. The Mean temperature for the South Island is 8 �C (46 �F).^[13] 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.

Geology

National Parks

Geographic Features

Education

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

Healthcare

Media

Television

Radio

Nelson Stations

West Coast Stations

Canterbury Stations

Dunedin and East Otago Stations

Queenstown and Central Otago Stations

Southland Stations

Sport

A number of national or international sporting teams and events are based in the South Island, including: