South Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
South Island

Te Waipounamu  (Māori)
South Island Location in Oceania
Geography
Location	Oceania
Coordinates	43°59′S 170°27′E / 43.983°S 170.450°E / -43.983; 170.450
Archipelago	New Zealand
Area	150,437 km2 (58,084 sq mi)
Area rank	12th
Length	840 km (522 mi)
Coastline	5,842 km (3,630.1 mi)
Highest elevation	3,724 m (12,218 ft)
Highest point	Aoraki / Mount Cook
Administration
New Zealand
ISO 3166-2:NZ	NZ-S
Regions	7
Territorial authorities	23
Largest settlement	Christchurch (pop. 384,800)
Demographics
Demonym	Kiwi, South Islander
Population	1,225,000 (June 2023)
Pop. density	8.1 /km2 (21 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	European (82.8%), Māori (11.3%), Asian (10.3%), Pacific peoples (3.4%)

The South Island (Māori: Te Waipounamu, lit. 'the waters of Greenstone', officially South Island or Te Waipounamu or historically New Munster) is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island and sparsely populated Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south by the Foveaux Strait and Southern Ocean, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island, constituting 56% of New Zealand's land area. At low altitudes, it has an oceanic climate.

The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps, which run along the island from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook, at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft). The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains, while the West Coast is renowned for its rough coastlines, such as Fiordland, a very high proportion of native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The main centres are Christchurch and Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services.

With a population of 1,225,000 as of June 2023, the South Island is home to 23% of New Zealand's 5.2 million inhabitants. After the 1860s gold rushes in the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population and wealth. The North Island's population overtook the South Island's in the early 20th century, with 56% of the New Zealand population living in the North Island in 1911. The drift north of people and businesses continued throughout the twentieth century.

Naming and usage

The island has been known internationally as the South Island for many years. The Te Reo Māori name for it Te Waipounamu now also has official recognition but it remains seldom used by most residents. in te reo Māori, and . Said to mean "the Water(s) of Greenstone", Te Waipounamu possibly evolved from Te Wāhi Pounamu ("the Place of Greenstone").

When Captain James Cook visited in 1769, he recorded the island's name phonetically as "Toai poonamoo".

In the 19th century, some maps identified the South Island as Middle Island or New Munster (named after Munster province in Southern Ireland) with the name South Island or New Leinster was used for today's Stewart Island / Rakiura. In 1907, the Minister for Lands gave instructions to the Land and Survey Department that the name Middle Island was not to be used in the future. "South Island will be adhered to in all cases".

Although the island had been known as the South Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that along with the North Island, the South Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially named the island South Island or Te Waipounamu in October 2013.

In prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite article. It is also normal to use the preposition in rather than on, for example "Christchurch is in the South Island", "my mother lives in the South Island". Maps, headings, tables, and adjectival expressions use South Island without "the".

As it is 32% larger than the North Island but contains less than a quarter of the country's population, the South Island is sometimes humorously nicknamed the "mainland" of New Zealand by its residents.

Māori mythology

The island is also known as Te Waka a Māui which means "Māui's Canoe". In some modern alliterations of Māori legends, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Māui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught.

Various Māori iwi sometimes use different names, with some preferring to call the South Island Te Waka o Aoraki, referring to another Māori legend called the story of Aoraki, as after the world was created, Aoraki and his three brothers came down in a waka to visit their mother, Papatūānuku the earth mother, only to crash after failing to perform a karakia on their way back home to their father, Ranginui (also known as Raki) the sky father, in turn causing the waka to transform into an island and the four brothers into the mountain ranges on top of it.

History

Pre-history

Charcoal drawings can be found on limestone rock shelters in the centre of the South Island, with over 500 sites stretching from Kaikoura to North Otago. The drawings are estimated to be between 500 and 800 years old, and portray animals, people and fantastic creatures, possibly stylised reptiles. Some of the birds pictured are long extinct, including moa and Haast's eagles. They were drawn by early Māori, but by the time Europeans arrived, local Māori did not know the origins of the drawings.

Classical Māori period

Early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Mamoe in the 16th century.

Kāti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāi Tahu who migrated south in the 17th century. While today there is no distinct Kāti Mamoe organisation, many Kāi Tahu have Kāti 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 New Zealand. 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.

In the early 18th century, Kāi 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 Kāi Tahu. Kāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Kāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula. From there they spread further south and into the West Coast.

In 1827-1828 Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Kāi Tahu at Kaikoura. Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi, ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Kāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti 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 Kāi 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.

In the summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi pā (fortified village). Kaiapoi was engaged in a three-month siege by Te Rauparaha, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Kāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe. In 1832-33 Kāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at Lake Grassmere. Kāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped. Fighting continued for a year or so, with Kāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made a major incursion into Kāi Tahu territory. By 1839 Kāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa established peace and Te Rauparaha released the Kāi Tahu captives he held. Formal marriages between the leading families in the two tribes sealed the peace.

European discovery

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. In December 1642, Tasman anchored at the northern end of the island in Golden Bay which he named Moordenaar's Bay (Murderers Bay) before sailing northward to Tonga following a clash with 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).

The first European settlement in the South Island was founded at Bluff in 1823 by James Spencer, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo.

In January 1827, the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville arrived in Tasman Bay on the corvette Astrolabe. A number of landmarks around Tasman Bay were named by d'Urville and his crew including d'Urville Island, French Pass and Torrent Bay.

European settlement

When Britain annexed New Zealand in 1840, the South Island briefly became a part of New South Wales. This annexation was in response to France’s attempts to colonise the South Island at Akaroa and the New Zealand Company attempts to establish a separate colony in Wellington, and so Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840 (the North Island by treaty and the South by discovery).

On 17 June 1843, Māori 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 Māori 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 Māori who were pursuing them.

The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland, took concrete form in Otago in March 1848 with the arrival of the first two immigrant ships from Greenock (on the Firth of Clyde) — the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing. Captain William Cargill, a veteran of the Peninsular War, served as the colony's first leader: Otago citizens subsequently elected him to the office of Superintendent of the Province of Otago.

While the North Island was convulsed by the Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, the South Island, with its low Māori population, was generally peaceful. In 1861 gold was discovered at Gabriel's Gully in Central Otago, sparking a gold rush. Dunedin became the wealthiest city in the country and many in the South Island resented financing the North Island’s wars. In 1865 Parliament voted on a Bill to make the South Island independent: it was defeated 17 to 31.

In the 1860s, 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.

2010–2011 earthquakes

September 2010

An earthquake with magnitude 7.1 occurred in the South Island of New Zealand at Saturday 04:35 am local time, 4 September 2010 (16:35 UTC, 3 September 2010). The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), and there were no fatalities.

The epicentre was located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Christchurch; 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-east of Darfield; 190 kilometres (120 mi) south-southeast of Westport; 295 kilometres (183 mi) south-west of Wellington; and 320 kilometres (200 mi) north-northeast of Dunedin.

Sewers were damaged, gas and water lines were broken, and power to up to 75% of the city was disrupted. Among the facilities impacted by lack of power was the Christchurch Hospital, which was forced to use emergency generators in the immediate aftermath of the quake.

A local state of emergency was declared at 10:16 am on 4 September for the city, and evacuations of parts were planned to begin later in the day. People inside the Christchurch city centre were evacuated, and the city's central business district remained closed until 5 September . A curfew from 7 pm on 4 September to 7 am on 5 September was put in place. The New Zealand Army was also deployed to assist police and enforce the curfew. All schools were closed until 8 September so they could be checked.

Christchurch International Airport was closed following the earthquake and flights in and out of it cancelled. It reopened at 1:30 pm following inspection of the main runway.

The earthquake was reported to have caused widespread damage and power outages. 63 aftershocks were also reported in the first 48 hours with three registering 5.2 magnitude. Christchurch residents reported chimneys falling in through roofs, cracked ceilings and collapsed brick walls. The total insurance costs of this event were estimated to reach up to $11 billion according to the New Zealand Treasury.

February 2011

A large aftershock of magnitude 6.3 occurred on 22 February 2011 at 12:51 pm. It was centred just to the north of Lyttelton, 10 kilometres south east of Christchurch, at a depth of 5 km. Although lower on the moment magnitude scale than the quake of September 2010, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was measured to be VIII on the MMI and among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area due to the shallowness and proximity of the epicentre. Early assessments indicated that about a third of the buildings in the Central Business District would have to be demolished.

In contrast to the September 2010 quake, the February 2011 earthquake struck on a busy weekday afternoon. This, along with the strength of the quakes, and the proximity to the city centre resulted in 181 deaths.

This event promptly resulted in the declaration of New Zealand's first National State of Emergency. Many buildings and landmarks were severely damaged, including the iconic 'Shag Rock' and Christchurch Cathedral.

International bodies quickly offered assistance. Contingents of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) soon arrived. Teams were provided by Australia, United States, Singapore, Britain, Taiwan, Japan and China.

The Royal New Zealand Navy was involved immediately. The HMNZS Canterbury, which was docked at Lyttelton when the quake struck, was involved in providing local community assistance, in particular by providing hot meals.

After inspection, the runway at Christchurch Airport was found to be in good order. Due to the demand of citizens wishing to leave the city, the national airline Air New Zealand, offered a $50 Domestic Standby airfare. The Air New Zealand CEO increased the domestic airline traffic from Christchurch to Wellington and Auckland. Thousands of people took up this offer to relocate temporarily in the wake of the event.

On 1 March at 12:51, a week after the tragedy, New Zealand observed a two-minute silence.

June 2011

On 13 June 2011 at about 1:00 pm New Zealand time, Christchurch was again rocked by a magnitude 5.7 quake, followed by a magnitude 6.3 quake (initially thought to be 6.0) at 2:20 pm, centred in a similar location to that of the February quake with a depth of 6.0 kilometres. Dozens of aftershocks occurred over the following days, including several over magnitude 4.

Phone lines and power were lost in some suburbs, and liquefaction surfaced mainly in the eastern areas of the city which were worst affected following the aftershocks. Many residents in and around the hillside suburb of Sumner self-evacuated.

Further damage was reported to buildings inside the cordoned central business district, with an estimate of 75 additional buildings needing demolition. Among the buildings further damaged was the Christchurch Cathedral, which lost its iconic rose window, a factor reducing the likelihood of the cathedral being restored.

There was only one death recorded following the quake; however there were many injuries.

Demographics

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1991	852,843	—
1996	899,382	+1.07%
2001	906,759	+0.16%
2006	1,022,313	+2.43%
2013	1,058,058	+0.49%
2018	1,149,564	+1.67%
2023	1,185,282	+0.61%

Compared to the more populated and multi-ethnic North Island, the South Island has a smaller, more homogeneous resident population of 1,225,000 (June 2023).

The South Island had a population of 1,185,282 at the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 80,745 people (7.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 180,882 people (18.0%) since the 2013 census. Of the total population, 202,311 people (17.1%) were aged under 15 years, 225,048 (19.0%) were 15 to 29, 538,965 (45.5%) were 30 to 64, and 218,958 (18.5%) were 65 or older.

At the 2018 census, there were 571,656 males and 577,914 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female.

In the early years of European settlement in New Zealand, the South Island's overall percentage of the New Zealand population was far higher, equalling or even exceeding the population of the North Island. This was exacerbated by the New Zealand Wars and the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s. Since that time, the South Island's population as a percentage of the country's total population has steadily decreased, with the population of the South island now being less than that of the North Island's largest city, Auckland. This growing disparity has stabilised in recent years, with both the 2013 and 2018 censuses showing the South Island to have a very similar percentage of the national population (around 23%–24%).

Culture and identity

At the 2023 census, 82.8% of South Islanders identified as European (Pākehā), 11.3% as Māori, 3.4% as Pacific peoples, 10.5% as Asian, 1.6% as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, 1.4% as other ethnicities. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity.

Europeans form the majority in all districts of the South Island, ranging from 75.9% in Christchurch City to 92.1% in the Waimakariri district.

The proportion of South Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census was 21.4%. The most common foreign countries of birth are England (22.0% of overseas-born residents), Australia (8.8%), the Philippines (7.9%), Mainland China (6.5%) and India (5.4%).

Around 48.6 percent of South Islanders affiliate with Christianity and 3.1 percent affiliate with non-Christian religions, while 45.8 percent are irreligious. Anglicanism is the largest Christian denomination in the South Island with 12.7 percent affiliating, closely followed by Catholicism at 12.1 percent and Presbyterianism at 11.7 percent. These figures are somewhat skewed between the regions of the south, due largely to the original settlement of southern cities (Dunedin, for example, was founded by Scottish Presbyterians, whereas Christchurch was founded by English Anglicans).

Urbanisation

The South Island is sparsely populated and still predominantly rural areas or nature reserves. However, there are 15 urban areas in the South Island with a population of 10,000 or more:

Name	Population (June 2023)	% of island
Christchurch	384,800	31.4%
Dunedin	106,200	8.7%
Nelson	51,900	4.2%
Invercargill	51,000	4.2%
Blenheim	30,500	2.5%
Rolleston	29,600	2.4%
Queenstown	29,000	2.4%
Timaru	28,900	2.4%
Ashburton	20,800	1.7%
Rangiora	19,600	1.6%
Richmond	19,200	1.6%
Mosgiel	14,800	1.2%
Oamaru	14,000	1.1%
Kaiapoi	13,600	1.1%
Wānaka	12,400	1.0%

Economy

The South Island economy is strongly focused on tourism and primary industries like agriculture. The other main industry groups are manufacturing, mining, construction, energy supply, education, health and community services.

The subnational gross domestic product (GDP) of the South Island was estimated at NZ$78.94 billion in the year to March 2022, 21.9% of New Zealand's national GDP. The subnational GDP per capita was estimated at $65,875 in the same period.

Energy

The South Island is a major centre for electricity generation, especially in the southern half of the island, and especially from hydroelectricity. In 2010, the island generated 18.01 TWh of electricity, 41.5% of New Zealand's total electricity generation. Nearly all (98.7%) of the island's electricity is generated by hydroelectricity, primarily from the Waitaki, Clutha, and Manapouri schemes, with most of the remainder coming from wind generation. While the majority of electricity is consumed within the island, a significant percentage is exported to the North Island via the HVDC Inter-Island link.

Offshore oil and gas is likely to become an increasingly important part of the South Island economy into the future. Origin Energy has formed a joint venture with Anadarko Petroleum, the second-largest independent U.S. natural gas producer, to begin drilling for oil in the Canterbury Basin off the coast of Dunedin. The 390 km², Carrack/Caravel prospect has the potential to deliver more than the equivalent of 500,000,000 barrels (79,000,000 m³) of oil and gas. Market analyst, Greg Easton from Craigs Investment Partners commented that such a substantial find it could well turn Dunedin from the Edinburgh of the south to the Aberdeen of the south.

The Great South Basin off the coast of Otago and Southland at over 500,000 square kilometres (190,000 sq mi) (covering an area 1.5 times New Zealand's landmass) is one of New Zealand's largest undeveloped offshore petroleum basins with prospects for both oil and gas. In July 2007, the New Zealand Government awarded oil and gas exploration permits for four areas of the Great South Basin, situated in the volatile waters off the Southern Coast of New Zealand. The three successful permit holders are:

• a consortium led by ExxonMobil New Zealand (Exploration) Limited (United States) which includes local company Todd Exploration Limited (New Zealand);
• a consortium led by OMV New Zealand Limited (Austria) which includes PTTEP Offshore Investment Company Ltd (Thailand), Mitsui Exploration and Production Australia Pty Ltd (Japan); and
• Greymouth Petroleum Limited (New Zealand)

Stock exchanges

Due to the gold rushes of the 1860s, the South Island had regional stock exchanges in Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill – all of which were affiliated to the Stock Exchange Association of New Zealand. However, in 1974 these regional exchanges were amalgamated to form one national stock exchange, the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE). Separate trading floors operated in both Christchurch and Dunedin until the late 1980s. On 30 May 2003, New Zealand Stock Exchange Limited formally changed its name to New Zealand Exchange Limited, trading as NZX.

Today, the Deloitte South Island Index is compiled quarterly from publicly available information provided by NZX, Unlisted and Bloomberg. It is a summary of the movements in market capitalisation of each South Island-based listed company. A company is included in the Index where either its registered office and/or a substantial portion of its operations are focused on the South Island.

Trade unions

There are several South Island-based trade union organisations. They are:

• Furniture, Manufacturing & Associated Workers Union
• New Zealand Building Trades Union
• New Zealand Meat & Related Trades Workers Union
• Southern Amalgamated Workers' Union

Tourism

Tourism is a huge earner for the South Island. Popular tourist activities include sightseeing, adventure tourism, such as glacier climbing and Bungee jumping, tramping (hiking), kayaking, and camping. Numerous walking and hiking paths, including six of the New Zealand Great Walks, are located in the South Island and are renowned internationally.

An increase in direct international flights to Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown has boosted the number of overseas tourists.

Fiordland National Park, Abel Tasman National Park, Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, Queenstown, Kaikōura, and the Marlborough Sounds are regarded as the main tourism destinations in the South Island and amongst the Top 10 destinations in New Zealand.

Ski areas and resorts

This is a list of ski areas and resorts in the South Island.

Name	Location	Notes
Awakino ski area	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Broken River	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Cardrona Alpine Resort	Otago
Coronet Peak	Otago
Craigieburn Valley	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Fox Peak	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Hanmer Springs Ski Area	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Invincible Snowfields	Otago	Helicopter access only
Mount Cheeseman	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Mount Dobson	Canterbury
Mount Hutt	Canterbury
Mount Olympus	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Mount Potts	Canterbury	Heliskiing and snowcatting only
Mount Robert	Tasman	Club Skifield
Ohau	Canterbury
Porter Ski Area	Canterbury
Rainbow	Tasman
The Remarkables	Otago
Round Hill	Canterbury
Snow Farm	Otago	cross-country skiing
Snow Park	Otago
Haupapa / Tasman Glacier	Canterbury	Heliskiing
Temple Basin	Canterbury	Club Skifield
Treble Cone	Otago

Transport

Road transport

The South Island has a State Highway network of 4,921 kilometres (3,058 mi).

Rail transport

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 dairy factory (Hokitika Branch). The first 64 km of the Otago Central Railway remain in operation for tourist trains run by Dunedin Railways (formerly Taieri Gorge Railway). 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's City Centre and the suburb of Mosgiel, and they ceased in 1982. Regional passenger trains were once extensive, but are now limited to the Coastal Pacific 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 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.

Water transport

The South Island is separated from the North Island by Cook Strait, which is 24 kilometres (15 miles) wide at its narrowest point, and requires a 70 kilometres (43 miles) ferry trip to cross.

Dunedin was the headquarters of the Union Steam Ship Company, once the largest shipping company in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ports and harbours

• Container ports: Lyttelton (Christchurch), Port Chalmers (Dunedin)
• Other ports: Nelson, Picton, Westport, Greymouth, Timaru, Bluff.
• Harbours: Akaroa Harbour, Otago Harbour, Halfmoon Bay (Stewart Island / Rakiura), Milford Sound / Piopiotahi.
• Freshwater: Queenstown and Kingston (Lake Wakatipu), Te Anau and Manapouri (Lake Manapouri)

Air transport

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)
Christchurch	NZCH	CHC	Christchurch International Airport (long-distance)
Cromwell	NZCS		Cromwell Racecourse Aerodrome
Dunedin	NZDN	DUD	Dunedin Airport (limited)
Gore	NZGC		Gore Aerodrome
Greymouth	NZGM	GMN	Greymouth Aerodrome
Haast	NZHT		Haast Aerodrome
Hokitika	NZHK	HKK	Hokitika Airport
Invercargill	NZNV	IVC	Invercargill Airport
Kaikōura	NZKI	KBZ	Kaikoura Aerodrome
Lake Pukaki	NZGT	GTN	Glentanner Aerodrome
Milford Sound	NZMF	MFN	Milford Sound Airport
Aoraki / 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	NZRT		Rangiora Aerodrome
Forest Field	NZFF		Forest Field Aerodrome
Tākaka	NZTK	KTF	Takaka Aerodrome
Te Anau / Manapouri	NZMO	TEU	Manapouri Aerodrome
Timaru	NZTU	TIU	Richard Pearse Airport
Twizel	NZUK	TWZ	Pukaki Aerodrome
Wānaka	NZWF	WKA	Wānaka Airport
Westport	NZWS	WSZ	Westport Airport

Geography

The South Island, with an area of 150,437 km² (58,084 sq mi), 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), with the high Kaikoura Ranges to the northeast. 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 such as Fiordland, very high proportion of native bush, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The dramatic landscape of the South Island has made it a popular location for the production of several films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Geology

On 4 September 2010, the South Island was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which caused extensive damage, several power outages, and many reports of aftershocks. Five and a half months later, the 22 February Christchurch earthquake of 6.3 magnitude caused far more additional damage in Christchurch, resulting in 181 deaths. This quake struck at about lunchtime and was centred closer at Lyttelton, and shallower than the prior quake, consequently causing extensive damage.

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. Historical maxima and minima are 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) in Rangiora, Canterbury and −21.6 °C (−6.9 °F) in Ophir, Otago.

Conditions vary sharply across the regions from extremely wet on the West Coast to semi-arid in the Mackenzie Basin of inland Canterbury. 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 while Invercargill is the wettest, receiving about 1,150 mm (45 in). The southern and south-western parts of South Island have a cooler and cloudier climate, with around 1,400–1,600 hours of sunshine annually; the northern and north-eastern parts of the South Island are the sunniest areas and receive about 2,400–2,500 hours.

Natural geographic features

Fiords

The South Island has 15 named maritime fiords which are all located in the southwest of the island in a mountainous area known as Fiordland. The spelling 'fiord' is used in New Zealand rather than 'fjord', although all the maritime fiords use the word Sound in their name instead.

A number of lakes in the Fiordland and Otago regions also fill glacial valleys. Lake Te Anau has three western arms which are fiords (and are named so). Lake McKerrow to the north of Milford Sound is a fiord with a silted-up mouth. Lake Wakatipu fills a large glacial valley, as do lakes Hakapoua, Poteriteri, Monowai and Hauroko in the far south of Fiordland. Lake Manapouri has fiords as its west, north and south arms.

The Marlborough Sounds, a series of deep indentations in the coastline at the northern tip of the South Island, are in fact rias, drowned river valleys.

Glaciers

Most of New Zealand's glaciers are in the South Island. They are generally found in the Southern Alps near the Main Divide.

An inventory of South Island glaciers during the 1980s indicated there were about 3,155 glaciers with an area of at least one hectare (2.5 acres). About a sixth of these glaciers covered more than 10 hectares. These include the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers on the West Coast, and the Tasman, Hooker, Mueller and Murchison glaciers in the east.

Lakes

There are some 3,820 lakes in New Zealand with a surface area larger than one hectare. Much of the higher country in the South Island was covered by ice during the glacial periods of the last two million years. Advancing glaciers eroded large steep-sided valleys, and often carried piles of moraine (rocks and soil) that acted as natural dams. When the glaciers retreated, they left basins that are now filled by lakes. The level of most glacial lakes in the upper parts of the Waitaki and Clutha rivers are controlled for electricity generation. Hydroelectric reservoirs are common in South Canterbury and Central Otago, the largest of which is Lake Benmore, on the Waitaki River.

The South Island has 8 of New Zealand's 10 biggest lakes. They were formed by glaciers and include Lake Wakatipu, Lake Tekapo and Lake Manapouri. The deepest (462 m) is Lake Hauroko, in western Southland. It is the 16th deepest lake in the world. Millions of years ago, Central Otago had a huge lake – Lake Manuherikia. It was slowly filled in with mud, and fossils of fish and crocodiles have been found there.

Volcanoes

There are 4 extinct volcanoes in the South Island, all located on the east coast.

Banks Peninsula forms the most prominent of these volcanic features. Geologically, the peninsula comprises the eroded remnants of two large shield volcanoes (Lyttelton formed first, then Akaroa). These formed due to intraplate volcanism between about eleven and eight million years ago (Miocene) on a continental crust. The peninsula formed as offshore islands, with the volcanoes reaching to about 1,500 m above sea level. Two dominant craters formed Lyttelton and Akaroa Harbours.

The Canterbury Plains formed from the erosion of the Southern Alps (an extensive and high mountain range caused by the meeting of the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates) and from the alluvial fans created by large braided rivers. These plains reach their widest point where they meet the hilly sub-region of Banks Peninsula. A layer of loess, a rather unstable fine silt deposited by the foehn winds which bluster across the plains, covers the northern and western flanks of the peninsula. The portion of crater rim lying between Lyttelton Harbour and Christchurch city forms the Port Hills.

The Otago Harbour was formed from the drowned remnants of a giant shield volcano, centred close to what is now the town of Port Chalmers. The remains of this violent origin can be seen in the basalt of the surrounding hills. The last eruptive phase ended some ten million years ago, leaving the prominent peak of Mount Cargill.

Timaru was constructed on rolling hills created from the lava flows of the extinct Mount Horrible, which last erupted many thousands of years ago.

Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage site

Te Wāhipounamu (Māori for "the place of greenstone") is a World Heritage site in the south west corner of the South Island.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 it covers 26,000 km² and incorporates the Aoraki/Mount Cook, the Fiordland, the Mount Aspiring and the Westland National Parks.

It is thought to contain some of the best modern representations of the original flora and fauna present in Gondwanaland, one of the reasons for listing as a World Heritage site.

Protected areas

Forest parks

There are six forest parks in the South Island which are on public land administered by the Department of Conservation.

National parks

The South Island has ten national parks established under the National Parks Act 1980 and which are administered by the Department of Conservation.

From north to south, the National Parks are:

Other native reserves and parks

• Hakatere Conservation Park

Natural history

Birds

There are several bird species which are endemic to the South Island. They include the kea, great spotted kiwi, Okarito brown kiwi, South Island kōkako, South Island pied oystercatcher, Malherbe's parakeet, king shag, takahe, black-fronted tern, South Island robin, rock wren, wrybill, and yellowhead.

Many South Island bird species are now extinct, mainly due to hunting by humans and predation by cats and rats introduced by humans. Extinct species include the South Island goose, South Island giant moa, harpagornis and South Island piopio.

Tertiary education

The South Island has three universities, and five polytechnic schools.

Since 2020, the polytechnics are branches of the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.

Healthcare

Healthcare in the South Island is provided by five District Health Boards (DHBs). Organised around geographical areas of varying population sizes, they are not coterminous with the Local Government Regions.

Name	Area covered	Population
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB)	Ashburton District, Christchurch City, Hurunui District, Kaikōura District, Selwyn District, Waimakariri District	491,000
Southern District Health Board (Southern DHB)	Invercargill City, Gore District, Southland District, Dunedin City, Waitaki District, Central Otago District, Queenstown Lakes District, Clutha District	300,400
Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (NMDHB)	Marlborough District, Nelson City, Tasman District	135,000
South Canterbury District Health Board (SCDHB)	Mackenzie District, Timaru District, Waimate District	55,000
West Coast District Health Board (WCDHB)	Buller District, Grey District, Westland District	32,000

There are six major hospitals in the South Island: Christchurch Hospital, Dunedin Hospital, Grey Base Hospital (Greymouth), Nelson Hospital, Southland Hospital (Invercargill), and Timaru Hospital. Christchurch Hospital, Dunedin Hospital and Wellington Hospital (in the North Island) are the main tertiary hospitals serving the South Island.

Emergency medical services

There are several air ambulance and rescue helicopter services operating throughout the South Island.

• The Lake Districts Air Rescue Trust operates two AS350BA Squirrels and an AS355 Squirrel from Queenstown Airport.
• The New Zealand Flying Doctor Service operates a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle and a Cessna Conquest C441 from Christchurch International Airport.
• The Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust operates a MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 from Taieri Aerodrome near Mosgiel.
• The Solid Energy Rescue Helicopter Trust operates an AS350BA Squirrel from Greymouth.
• The Summit Rescue Helicopter Trust operates an AS350BA Squirrel from Nelson Airport.
• The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust operates a MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 and an AS350BA Squirrel from Christchurch International Airport.

Culture

Art

The South Island has contributed to the Arts in New Zealand and internationally through highly regarded artists such as Nigel Brown, Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, Shona McFarlane, Peter McIntyre Grahame Sydney and Geoff Williams.

The University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts was founded in 1950.

South Island Art Galleries include:

• Centre of Contemporary Art
• Christchurch Arts Centre
• Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Language

Parts of the South Island principally Southland and the very southern most areas of Otago near the border with Southland are famous for its people speaking what is often referred to as the "Southland burr", a semi-rhotic, Scottish-influenced dialect of the English language.

Media

Newspapers

The South Island has ten daily newspapers and many weekly community newspapers. Major daily newspapers include the Ashburton Guardian, the Greymouth Star, The Marlborough Express, The Nelson Mail, the Oamaru Mail, the Otago Daily Times, The Press, the Southland Times, The Timaru Herald, and the West Coast Times. The Press and the Otago Daily Times, serving mainly Christchurch and Dunedin respectively, are the South Island's major newspapers.

Television

The South Island has seven regional stations (either non-commercial public service or privately owned) that broadcast only in one region or city: 45 South TV, Channel 39, Canterbury Television, CUE, Mainland Television, Shine TV, and Visitor TV. These stations mainly broadcast free to air on UHF frequencies; however, some are carried on subscription TV. Content ranges from local news, access broadcasts, satellite sourced news, tourist information and Christian programming to music videos.

Radio stations

A large number of radio stations serve communities throughout the South Island; these include independent stations, but many are owned by organisations such as Radio New Zealand, New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and MediaWorks New Zealand.

Museums

• Bluff Maritime Museum
• Canterbury Museum (Temporarily closed for renovations)
• Ferrymead Heritage Park
• Nelson Provincial Museum
• Olveston House
• Otago Museum
• Otago Settlers Museum: Toitū
• Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
• Southland Museum and Art Gallery
• World of Wearable Art
• Yaldhurst Museum

Religion

Anglicanism is strongest in Canterbury (the city of Christchurch having been founded as an Anglican settlement).

Catholicism is still has a noticeably strong presence on the West Coast, and in Kaikoura. The territorial authorities with the highest proportion of Catholics are Kaikoura (where they are 18.4% of the total population), Westland (18.3%), and Grey (17.8%).

Presbyterianism is strong in the lower South Island — the city of Dunedin was founded as a Presbyterian settlement, and many of the early settlers in the region were Scottish Presbyterians. The territorial authorities with the highest proportion of Presbyterians are Gore (where they are 30.9% of the total population), Clutha District (30.7%), and Southland (29.8%).

The first Muslims in New Zealand were Chinese gold diggers working in the Dunstan gold fields of Otago in the 1860s. Dunedin's Al-Huda mosque is the world's southernmost, and the farthest from Mecca.

Law enforcement

Police

The New Zealand Police is the primary law enforcement agency of New Zealand, including the South Island. Three decentralised Police Districts cover the entire South Island, with each being commanded by a Superintendent and having a central station from which subsidiary and suburban stations are managed. The Christchurch Police Communications Centre handles all emergency and general calls within the South Island.

The Tasman Police District covers 70,000 kilometres of territory, encompassing the northern and most of the western portion of the South Island. The West Coast alone spans the distance between Wellington and Auckland. There are 22 police stations in the Tasman District, with 6 being sole-charge – or one-person – stations. The Tasman Police District has a total of 302 sworn police officers and 57 civilian or nonsworn staff. Organisationally, the district has its headquarters in Nelson and has three distinct Areas, each headed by an Inspector as its commander. The areas are Nelson Bays, West Coast and Marlborough.

The Canterbury Police District is based in Christchurch the largest city in the South Island and covers an area extending from the Conway River, (just south of Kaikōura), to the Waitaki River, south of Timaru.

The Southern Police District with its headquarters in Dunedin spans from Oamaru in the North through to Stewart Island in the far South covers the largest geographical area of any of the 12 police districts in New Zealand. The Southern District has three distinct Areas headed by Inspectors; Otago Rural, Southland and Dunedin.

Correctional facilities

Correctional facilities in the South Island are operated by the Department of Corrections as part of the South Island Prison Region. Christchurch Prison, also known as Paparua, is located in Templeton a satellite town of Christchurch. It accommodates up to 780 minimum, medium, and high-security male prisoners. It was built in 1925, and also includes a youth unit, a self-care unit and the Paparua Remand Centre (PRC), built in 1999 to replace the old Addington Prison. Christchurch Women's Prison, also located in Templeton, is a facility for women of all security classifications. It has the only maximum/medium security accommodation for women prisoners in New Zealand. It can accommodate up to 98 prisoners.

Rolleston prison is located in Rolleston, another satellite town of Christchurch. ..... Invercargill Prison, in Invercargill, accommodates up to 172 minimum to low-medium security prisoners. Otago Corrections Facility is located near Milton and houses up to 335 minimum to high-medium security male prisoners.

Customs service

The New Zealand Customs Service whose role is to provide border control and protect the community from potential risks arising from international trade and travel, as well as collecting duties and taxes on imports to the country, has offices at Christchurch International Airport, Dunedin, Invercargill, Lyttelton and Nelson.

Sport

Of the professional sports teams based in the South Island, the major spectator sports of rugby union and cricket are particularly well represented. The Crusaders and Highlanders represent the upper and lower South Island respectively in rugby union's Super Rugby competition; and Canterbury, Otago, Southland Stags, Tasman Makos all participate in provincial rugby's ITM Cup. At cricket, the South Island is represented by the Canterbury Wizards, Central Stags, and Otago Volts in the Plunket Shield, one day domestic series, and the Super Smash.

As well as rugby union and cricket, the South Island also boasts representative teams in the domestic basketball, soccer, ice hockey, netball, and rugby league.

The North vs South match, sometimes known as the Interisland match, is a longstanding rugby union fixture in New Zealand. The first game was played in 1897, the most recent one in 2020.

Christchurch hosted the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

See also

In Spanish: Isla Sur para niños