Southland (region), New Zealand
The Southland region, located at the southern tip of New Zealand's South Island, is known for its stunning landscapes and rich agricultural heritage. Covering approximately 34,000 square kilometers, it includes Stewart Island, New Zealand's third-largest island. The region is predominantly rural, with Invercargill as its only city, alongside other notable centers like Bluff, Gore, and Riverton. Southland's economy is primarily driven by agriculture, particularly dairy farming and sheep grazing, although tourism in places like Fiordland National Park also plays a significant role.
Historically, Southland has deep Māori roots, with early settlers arriving in canoes and establishing coastal settlements. European exploration began in the 18th century with British captain James Cook, leading to significant changes in the region's demographics and economy. The climate is maritime, characterized by warm summers and cold winters, with high rainfall, especially in Fiordland. The population, as of 2023, is over 100,000, featuring a diverse cultural mix, including a notable Māori community. While the region has lower living costs compared to the national average, it also faces challenges related to economic shifts and demographic changes.
Southland (region), New Zealand
The Southland region is located on the southern coast of South Island, New Zealand. It borders the Tasman Sea to the west, the Otago region to the east-north-east and the West Coast region to the north-east beyond Lake Mackenzie and to the far north. Several islands are part of the Southland region. The largest is Stewart Island (Rakiura), which is New Zealand's third-largest island and is separated from the mainland by Foveaux Strait.
With a land area of Southland and Stewart Island is approximately 34,000 square kilometres, the region is the second largest in New Zealand. Known for its dairy and sheep farms, it is a largely rural region. Its only city is Invercargill. Other main centres include Bluff, Gore, Riverton and Winton. About half of the land in the Southland region is under conservation. The New Zealand Department of Conservation manages the Rakiura National Park and Fiordland National Park, the latter of which is part of the World Heritage site Te Wāhipounamu (inscribed in 1990).
Historical Perspective
According to Māori tradition, the chiefs Rākaihautū and Tamatea were the first Māoris in Southland. They arrived in the Uruao and Tākitimu canoes and lived in the southern part of the South Island, which was named Murihiku, meaning the tail end of the land. The earliest Murihiku Māori settled near the coast, and their numbers remained relatively low for many years. They established settlements at Bluff (Motu-pōhue), Aparima (now Riverton) and Ruapuke Island. The first Europeans in the Southland region were British captain James Cook and his crew on the HMS Endeavour. They sighted Stewart Island in 1770 and came ashore at Fiordland in 1772. Sealers followed in the 1790s. After the seal population was decimated, whalers and traders arrived. The first permanent European settlement was a whaling station at Riverton established by John Howell in 1836. European whalers and sealers traded and intermarried with the local Māoris. In 1840, the Ngāi Tahu became signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Around 1852, the Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Māmoe sold the Murihiku block, constituting much of the present-day Southland region, to government land agent Walter Mantell. Europeans, including many from Scotland, settled in the Southland plains and took up pastoral farming. In 1861, Southland separated from Otago and became an independent province. Economically depressed, it reunited with Otago, which had profited from the discovery of significant gold deposits, nine years later; after the provincial system was abolished in the 1870s, Southland formed its own county in 1877.
During the late 1880s, the region's economy improved with the development of refrigeration for shipping. Entrepreneurs established freezing works, and pastoral farming and dairy factories expanded. The population grew as did a network of railways connecting towns in the Southland region to each other and to other regions. Air transport became possible with the construction of the Invercargill airport in the 1940s.
Geography and Climate
The Southland region has a maritime climate, with warm summers and cold winters. According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the temperature in Invercargill seldom gets above 18.7 degrees Celsius in January and February, while its average daily maximum temperature in July is 9.5 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is high throughout the year, with average annual rainfall about 1,000 to 1,100 millimetres near the coast and less than 1,000 millimetres inland. Fiordland is the rainiest location in New Zealand and receives an average of 7,000 millimetres of rain a year. Spring flooding is common in low-lying areas. Some areas are windy, with Invercargill ranking among the five windiest cities in New Zealand.
Plains, hills and mountains cover the Southland region. Fiordland, a rocky mountainous region, extends along the western coast. Formed by glaciers during the last ice age, its peaks range from 1,400 to 2,746 metres. Glaciers carved out its coastal fiords and inland lakes. The rocky Eyre Mountains (Tākerehaka) stretch across northern Southland and part of central Otago; they are made mostly of schist, or crystalline rock. Several plains, including the Southland Plain, Waimea Plains and lower Waiau Plains, are located south of the high country. Interspersed across the plains are the Hunter and Tākitimu Mountains, the Hokunui Hills and the Longwood Range. The Hokunui Hills are part of the Southland Syncline, folded rock layers in the earth's surface created by plate-tectonic forces. There are also many lakes, including Lake Te Anau, the country's second largest. About one-third of the land area is forested.
Economy
Agriculture and manufacturing are the primary drivers of the Southland region's economy. The dominant industries are dairy farming and dairy processing. Dairy farming has been a core element of the economy since Europeans settled the region. After a decline in the mid-twentieth century, it experienced a resurgence in the 1990s as dairy farmers from the North Island came to the South Island, attracted by its climate and lower land costs. The region's dairy-processing plants produce cheese, whole-milk powder and other milk products. Other manufacturing includes meat processing, aluminium smelting and metal manufacturing. Sheep herding remains strong, although it has declined since the mid-1980s. While the Southland region had about 9 million sheep in 1985, its numbers had dropped to about 4.1 million by 2015 and to 3.0 million by 2023. A small number of beef cattle are also raised. According to the 2018 census, 20.2 per cent of the population worked as managers and 14.8 percent worked as professionals, while 19.5 percent were labourers.
Tourism also plays a key role in the region's economy. Fiordland National Park is one of the nation's key tourist destinations and accounts for about one-fourth of the annual tourist dollars spent in New Zealand. Like many other regions of New Zealand, an increasing number of people are working in service industries.
While the region has a slightly lower average household income than the national average, it also has much lower living costs. Southland has some of the lowest home prices and rents in the nation. Nearly 65 per cent of the Southland population was employed as of 2018, compared to 67 per cent in the nation.
Demographics
The resident population of the Southland region was 100,143 in 2023, according to Statistics New Zealand. At the time of the 2023 Census, about 19,470 Māoris lived in the Southland region. This was an increase of 2.7 per cent from the 2018 Census. While the total population is slightly older than the nation as a whole, with a median age of 40.4 years compared to the national median of 38 years.
The Southland region is more ethnically homogenous than the nation as a whole, with 67.8 per cent of the population reporting a European ethnic affiliation, 17.8 per cent claiming Māori affiliation, 17.3 per cent Asian, and 8.9 per cent other Pacific Islanders. In 2018, 12.3 per cent of the population was born overseas, with the most common place of birth being England. English is the dominant language and is spoken by more than 97 per cent of the population. The next most common language is te reo Māori, which is spoken by 2.6 per cent of the population of Southland and 4 per cent of New Zealand. .
Bibliography
"Fiordland National Park." Department of Conservation, New Zealand Government, www.doc.govt.nz/fiordland. Accessed 18 June 2024.
Grant, David. "Southland Places." Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 25 May 2015, www.teara.govt.nz/en/southland-places. Accessed 18 June 2024.
Grant, David. "Southland Region." Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 25 May 2015, www.teara.govt.nz/en/southland-region. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"Southland." New Zealand Now. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand Government, 1 Jan. 2017, www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/regions-nz/southland. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"2023 Census Data Highlights: Southland Region." Business Scoop, 29 May 2024, business.scoop.co.nz/2024/05/29/2023-census-data-highlights-southland-region/. Accessed 18 June 2024.