{{Short description|One of the two main New Zealand islands}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}} {{About|the island in New Zealand}} {{Infobox islands | name = South Island | local_name = {{native name|mi|Te Waipounamu}} | image_name = South Island satelite photo.jpg | image_caption = Satellite photo, 2012 | image_size = | map = Oceania | map_caption = | nickname = | location = Oceania | coordinates = {{coord|43.6|S|170.4|E|region:NZ_type:isle_scale:5000000|display=inline,title}} | archipelago = New Zealand | area_km2 = 150437 | rank = 12th | coastline_km = 5842 | highest_mount = Aoraki / Mount Cook | elevation_m = 3724 | length_km = 840 | country = New Zealand | country_admin_divisions_title = ISO 3166-2:NZ | country_admin_divisions = NZ-S | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Regional councils | country_admin_divisions_1 = 4 | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Territorial authorities | country_admin_divisions_2 = 23 | country_largest_city = Christchurch | country_largest_city_population = {{NZ population data 2018|Christchurch|y}} | demonym = South Islander | population = {{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}} | population_as_of = {{NZ population data 2018|||y}} | density_km2 = {{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}/151215|1}} | ethnic_groups = {{cslist | European (82.8%) | Māori (11.3%) | Asian (10.3%) | Pacific peoples (3.4%) }} }}
The '''South Island''' (official alternative name '''{{lang|mi|Te Waipounamu}}''',{{efn|{{IPA|mi|tɛ wɐipɔʉnɐmʉ|small=no}}, {{lit|the waters of greenstone}}.}} from Māori) is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand by surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. With a population of {{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}} as of {{NZ population data 2018|||y|y||,}} the South Island is home to {{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|New Zealand|y}}|R}}*100|0}}% of New Zealand's {{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|New Zealand|y}}|R}}/1000000|1}} million inhabitants. The most populous cities are Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill.
The South Island is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south by Foveaux Strait and the Southern Ocean, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers {{convert|150437|km2}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/092edeb76ed5aa6bcc256afe0081d84e/54e50d25aff60a7bcc256b1e007adcb6?OpenDocument |title=Quick Facts – Land and Environment : Geography – Physical Features |work=Statistics New Zealand |year=2000 |access-date=13 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408074526/http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/092edeb76ed5aa6bcc256afe0081d84e/54e50d25aff60a7bcc256b1e007adcb6?OpenDocument |archive-date=8 April 2013 }}</ref> 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. The Southern Alps include Aoraki / Mount Cook, at {{convert|3724|m|abbr=off}} New Zealand's highest peak. The Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains, while the West Coast and Fiordland on the west are renowned for their rough coastlines, native bush and national parks, and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
Prior to European settlement, Te Waipounamu was sparsely populated by three major iwi – Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, and the historical Waitaha – with major settlements including in Kaiapoi Pā near modern-day Christchurch. During the Musket Wars expanding iwi colonised Te Tau Ihu, a region comprising parts of modern-day Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough, including Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne, Ngāti Tama, and later Ngāti Toarangatira after Te Rauparaha's wars of conquest. British settlement of the South Island began with expansive and cheap land purchases early on, and settlers quickly outnumbered Māori. As a result the Wairau Affray was the only conflict of the New Zealand Wars to occur in the South Island.
Dunedin boomed during the 1860s Otago gold rush, which was shaped by extensive Chinese immigration. After the gold rushes in Otago and on the West Coast, the South Island held the majority of the European population and wealth. After the gold rushes the "drift to the north" meant the North Island displaced the South as the most populous. 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=King |first=Michael |author-link=Michael King (historian) |title=The Penguin History of New Zealand |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-14-301867-4 <!-- |url=http://penguin.co.nz/afa.asp?idWebPage=30233&ID=1788742&Sisbn=858711552 --> |location=Auckland |pages=280–281 }}</ref>
==Naming and usage== The island has been known in English as the 'South Island' for many years. The Māori language name for it, '{{Lang|mi|Te Waipounamu}}', is an official alternative name.<ref name=officially>{{cite news |title=Two official options for NZ island names |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11138153 |work=The New Zealand Herald |agency=APNZ |date=10 October 2013 |access-date=10 October 2013 }}</ref><ref name=Gazette2013>{{cite web |title=Notice of the Final Determinations of the Minister for Land Information to Assign Official Alternative Geographic Names |date=17 October 2013 |url= https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2013-ln6727 |work=New Zealand Gazette |publisher=New Zealand Government |access-date=9 December 2025}}</ref> '{{Lang|mi|Te Waipounamu}}' is most often translated as 'the water(s) of pounamu',<ref>{{Cite web |title=1000 Māori place names |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/1000-maori-place-names |publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage |date=6 August 2019 }}</ref> but possibly evolved from '{{Lang|mi|Te Wāhi Pounamu}}' ('the place of pounamu').{{cn|date=February 2025}} It was first recorded in English by Captain James Cook on his voyage to New Zealand in 1769. North Island iwi alternatively used the name '{{Lang|mi|Te Waka-a-Māui}}' ('the canoe of Māui') for the South Island.<ref name=nzgb2013>{{cite news |url=https://www.linz.govt.nz/sites/default/files/consult/nzgb_ministers-report_alternative-names-two-main-islands_20130820.pdf |title=New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa proposals to assign alternative official geographic names for New Zealand's two main islands: summary of submissions and the Board's decision |publisher=New Zealand Geographic Board |date=20 August 2013 |access-date=11 February 2025 |page=3 }}</ref>
In the 19th century, some maps identified the South Island as 'Middle Island' or 'New Munster' (named after Munster province in Ireland), with the name 'South Island' or 'New Leinster' used for Stewart Island.<ref name="TeAra_Provinces">{{cite journal |last=Paterson |first=Donald Edgar |editor-last=McClintock |editor-first=A. H. |title=New Leinster, New Munster, and New Ulster' |journal=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |date=1966 |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/provinces |access-date=5 April 2020 |location=New Zealand }}</ref> In 1907, the Minister for Lands instructed the Land and Survey Department that the name 'Middle Island' was no longer to be used: "South Island will be adhered to in all cases".<ref>{{cite news |work=Taranaki Herald |date=30 July 1907 |page=4 |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=TH19070730.2.22 |title=The Waitara Harbour Bill }}</ref>
The New Zealand Geographic Board found in 2009 that the South Island (along with the North Island) had no official name.<ref>{{cite web |title=The New Zealand Geographic Board Considers North and South Island Names |url=http://www.linz.govt.nz/placenames/about-geographic-board/nzgb-news-notices/2009/0421-alternative-maori-names |publisher=Land Information New Zealand |access-date=10 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214154742/http://www.linz.govt.nz/placenames/about-geographic-board/nzgb-news-notices/2009/0421-alternative-maori-names |archive-date=14 February 2013 }}</ref> After several years and at a cost of over $10,000,<ref name="Gazette2013" /> the island was officially named both "South Island" and "Te Waipounamu" on 17 October 2013, as announced by Minister for Land Information Maurice Williamson in the ''New Zealand Gazette''.<ref name=officially/> Three months of public consultation in April through July 2013 saw an "overwhelming" majority in support of choice between English and Māori names.<ref name="Gazette2013" />
Both main islands of New Zealand are referred to using the definite article ('the') and 'in' should be used in place of 'on' (e.g. "she lives in the South Island", rather than "she lives on South Island").<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/n ''Guardian'' and ''Observer'' style guide: N ("New Zealand")], ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 6 May 2012</ref>
The island is occasionally referred to by residents as 'the Mainland'.<ref>{{cite web |last=Meier |first=Cecile |date=10 September 2015 |title=South Island the true Mainland |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/71913355/south-island-the-true-mainland-cecile-meier |access-date=13 April 2020 |website=Stuff}}</ref> A tourist train service called 'The Mainlander' is set to begin operating in January 2026 between Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 November 2025 |title=Rail to connect coastal South Island for first time in decades |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/11/29/rail-to-connect-coastal-south-island-for-first-time-in-decades/ |website=1News}}</ref> There is also the Mainland brand of cheese which was formerly produced in Dunedin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Craftsmanship |url=https://www.mainland.co.nz/our-craft/the-mainland-story.html |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Mainland}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Non-primary source needed|date=January 2026}}
==Māori mythology==
The island is also known as ''Te Waka a Māui'' which means "Māui's Canoe". In some modern iterations of Māori legends, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Māui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Royal |first=Te Ahukaramū Charles |date=4 March 2009 |title=First peoples in Māori tradition : Places associated with Māui |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/2382/places-associated-with-maui |access-date=15 December 2025 |website=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Waka-o-Māui, Te |url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/9115 |access-date=15 December 2025 |website=Te Aka: Māori Dictionary}}</ref>
Various Māori iwi sometimes use different names, with some preferring to call the South Island ''Te Waka o Aoraki.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mein Smith |first=Philippa |title=A Concise History of New Zealand |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |location=Australia |isbn=0-521-54228-6 |page=6 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Waka-o-Aoraki, Te |url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/word/9114 |access-date=15 December 2025 |website=Te Aka: Māori Dictionary}}</ref> This refers to another Māori legend called the story of Aoraki: after the world was created, Aoraki and his three brothers came down in a waka (canoe) 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. The waka transformed into an island and the four brothers became the mountain ranges on top of it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/our_stories/understanding-aoraki-aoraki-bound-alumni-reach-new-heights/ |title=Understanding Aoraki }}</ref>
==History== {{further|History of New Zealand|Timeline of New Zealand history}} [[File:Gilsemans_1642.jpg|right|thumb|First European impression of Māori, at Murderers Bay, 1642]] === Early history (c. 1280 – c. 1820) === {{Further|Māori history}} Archaeological investigations of the Wairau Bar in the north east of the South Island suggest that this site was part of the first era of colonisation of New Zealand, around 1288–1300 CE. Wairau Bar is a rare example in New Zealand of an early East Polynesian settlement clustered around a central point, and is described as "the type-site of the earliest phase of New Zealand’s prehistory".<ref>{{cite Q|Q137374804|p=1}}</ref>
Rock art painted in red ochre and charcoal can be found on limestone rock shelters in over 550 different locations across the South Island.<ref>{{cite web |title=Very Old Maori Rock Drawings |url=http://www.nhc.net.nz/index/museum-new-zealand/maori-cave-art/maori-cave-art.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224214113/http://nhc.net.nz/index/museum-new-zealand/maori-cave-art/maori-cave-art.htm |archive-date=24 February 2009 |access-date=15 February 2009 |publisher=Natural Heritage Collection}}</ref><ref name="blundell">{{Cite journal |last=Blundell |first=Sally |date=May–June 2010 |title=Set in Stone |url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/set-in-stone/ |journal=New Zealand Geographic |issue=103 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Stretching from Kaikōura 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.<ref name="blundell" /> They were drawn by early Māori, but by the time Europeans arrived, local Māori did not know the origins of the drawings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keith |first=Hamish |title=The Big Picture: A history of New Zealand art from. 1642 |publisher=Godwit |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-86962-132-2 |pages=11–16}}</ref>
Waitaha was an early Māori iwi (tribe) that settled in the South Island from the late 15th century.<ref>{{cite web |last=Taiuru |first=Karaitiana |title=Ancient Iwi |url=https://ngaitahu.maori.nz/ancient-iwi/ |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=ngaitahu.maori.nz |series=Ngāi Tahu Pepeha Resources |quote=Waitaha/Te Kapuwai [:] The third tribe to settle in the South Island between 1477–1577. Pā at the mouth of Molyneux River, Lake Te Anau, Lake Wakatipu and Oamaru.}}</ref> They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Māmoe in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Ngāi Tahu Claim: Supplementary Report on Ngāi Tahu Legal Personality |url=http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=df5193bc-b315-4a9c-a9bb-2a2f88a3557a&chapter=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201123/http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=df5193bc-b315-4a9c-a9bb-2a2f88a3557a&chapter=1 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |publisher=Waitangi Tribunal |at=section 2.2}}</ref> 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 Māmoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley. Ngāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Waiau Toa / Clarence River to Ngāi Tahu. Ngāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikōura. By the 1730s, Ngāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula. From there they spread further south to Foveaux Strait and across into the West Coast.<ref name="teara-ngaitahu">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ngāi Tahu |encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngai-tahu |last=Tau |first=Te Maire |date=8 February 2005}}</ref> Kāti Māmoe were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Ngāi Tahu as they migrated south, although many Ngāi Tahu have Kāti Māmoe links in their whakapapa and especially in the far south of the island.<ref>{{cite book |author=Michael King |title=The Penguin History of New Zealand |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-14-301867-4 |page=90}}</ref>
==== European contact ==== The first known contact between Māori in the South Island and Europeans was when the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman arrived with his ships ''Heemskerck'' and ''Zeehaen''. In December 1642, Tasman anchored in a bay at the northern end of the South Island that he named Murderers Bay following a clash with Māori, in which four crew were killed. He then sailed north to Tonga.<ref>{{cite web |title=The first meeting – Abel Tasman and Maori in Golden Bay NZ |url=http://www.theprow.org.nz/events/the-first-meeting-abel-tasman-and-maori-in-golden-bay/#.UtMSb56SzNk |access-date=1 October 2018 |website=Theprow.org.nz}}</ref>
British naval captain James Cook of HM Bark ''Endeavour'' visited the South Island on his first voyage to the southern Pacific Ocean, around 127 years after Tasman in 1769–70. In mid-January 1770, Cook arrived at Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound, on the north coast of the South Island. Ship Cove became an early site for sustained contact between Māori and Europeans, and Cook returned there during his second and third voyages.<ref>{{NZHPT|9900|Meretoto/Ship Cove|12 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Track History |url=https://www.qctrack.co.nz/history/ |access-date=2025-12-12 |website=Queen Charlotte Track |language=en-NZ}}</ref>{{sfn|Beaglehole|1974|pp=210–211}} After leaving Ship Cove, Cook sailed down the east coast of the South Island, charting the coast and continuing the search for the southern continent. The ''Endeavour'' rounded South Cape, the southern-most point of Stewart Island on 10 March 1770, proving that the South Island was not the sought-after sixth continent.{{sfn|Beaglehole|1974|p=218}}{{sfn|Blainey|2020|pp=117–118}} During Cook's second voyage on 17 December 1773, ten crew of the ''Adventure'', the sister vessel to Cook’s ''Resolution'' were killed and eaten by Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne people in Queen Charlotte Sound.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ten crew from the Adventure killed |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/ten-crew-of-cooks-ship-em-adventure-em-killed-and-eaten |access-date=13 December 2025 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz}}</ref>
From the 1780s, South Island Māori encountered European and American sealers and whalers. Some Māori crewed on the foreign ships, with many crewing on whaling and sealing ships that operated in New Zealand waters. Some of the South Island crews were almost totally Māori.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maori and Whaling in the Top of the South Island |url=https://www.theprow.org.nz/maori/maori-and-whaling/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250513000543/https://www.theprow.org.nz/maori/maori-and-whaling/ |archive-date=2025-05-13 |access-date=2025-12-21 |website=www.theprow.org.nz |language=en-NZ}}</ref> Between 1800 and 1820, there were 65 sealing voyages and 106 whaling voyages to New Zealand, mainly from Britain and Australia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bennett |first=R.S. |title=Treaty to Treaty : a history of early New Zealand from the Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 to the Treaty of Waitangi 1840 |publisher=RSB Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-473-12146-4 |volume=1}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=D'Urville's Tasman Bay Odyssey |url=http://www.theprow.org.nz/d-urville-s-tasman-bay-odyssey/#.UPmE0B2R-So |work=theprow.org.nz}}</ref>
=== Musket wars 1827 – 1839 === {{Main|Musket Wars}}
In 1827–28, Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha attacked and defeated Ngāi Tahu at Kaikōura. Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi Pā (a fortified village), ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Ngāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha, who 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, whereby in subterfuge they captured the leading Ngāi Tahu chief, Tama-i-hara-nui, and his wife and daughter. After destroying Tama-i-hara-nui's village, they took their captives to Kapiti and killed them. John Stewart was arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, but escaped conviction.<ref name="teara-ngaitahu" />
In the summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi Pā commencing a three-month siege, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Ngāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe. In 1832–33 Ngāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki 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.<ref name="teara-ngaitahu" />
In 1836, the Ngāti Tama chief Te Pūoho led a 100-person war party, armed with muskets, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass. They fell on the Ngāi Tahu encampment between Lake Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, capturing ten people and killing and eating two children.<ref name="Smith1910">{{cite book |author=S Percy Smith |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiHist-t1-body1-d21-d7.html |title=History and Traditions of the Maoris of the West Coast North Island of New Zealand Prior to 1840 |date=1910 |publisher=Polynesian Society |location=New Plymouth}}</ref> Te Puoho took his captives over the Crown Range to Lake Wakatipu and thence to Southland, where he was killed, and his war party was destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Tūhawaiki.<ref name="AthollAnderson">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1990 |title=Te Puoho-o-te-rangi |encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |url=http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t59/te-puoho-o-te-rangi |access-date=11 July 2017 |volume=1 |author=Atholl Anderson}}</ref>
Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa established peace by 1839, with Te Rauparaha releasing the Ngāi Tahu captives he held. Formal marriages between the leading families in the two tribes sealed the peace.<ref name="teara-ngaitahu-warswithngatitoa">{{cite web |last=Tau |first=Te Maire |date=2005 |title=Ngāi Tahu: Wars with Ngāti Toa |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/ngai-tahu/page-6 |access-date=13 August 2020 |website=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand}}</ref>
===European settlement === The first permanent European settlement in the South Island was founded at Bluff in 1823 by whaler James Spencer who set up a trading post to supply visiting ships.<ref name="HIST2">[https://bluff.co.nz/history-heritage/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014013701/http://www.bluff.co.nz/history.html|date=14 October 2008}} (from the 'bluff.co.nz' website. Retrieved 14 December 2008.)</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 1928 |title=Early Bluff |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19281003.2.122.2 |work=Southland Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=1960 |title=Bluff Island Harbour opened |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/bluff-island-harbour-opened |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=NZHistory}}</ref>
Akaroa, founded in 1840, is the oldest town in Canterbury.{{sfn|Ogilvie|2010|p=20}} France wished to colonise New Zealand and sent out a group of immigrants who arrived at Akaroa on 18 August 1840 and established a French community there, supported by French naval officers and sailors.{{sfn|Tremewan|2010|p=158}}{{sfn|Tremewan|2010|pp=13-19}}{{Reference page|pages=170-171}}Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi at Waitangi in February 1840, Lieutenant-Governor Captain William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand on 21 May 1840 and the South Island, along with the rest of New Zealand, briefly became a part of the Colony of New South Wales.<ref>A. H. McLintock (ed), ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', 3 vols, Wellington, NZ:R.E. Owen, Government Printer, 1966, vol 3 p. 526.</ref> This declaration was due in part to the New Zealand Company's attempts to establish a separate colony in Wellington.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Ngāi Tahu Report 1991 |url=http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=D5D84302-EB22-4A52-BE78-16AF39F71D91&chapter=30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301191845/http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/reports/viewchapter.asp?reportID=D5D84302-EB22-4A52-BE78-16AF39F71D91&chapter=30 |archive-date=1 March 2010 |access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 August 2024 |title=A race to Akaroa? |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/french-pipped-at-akaroa-british-sovereignty-proclaimed-over-the-south-island-again |access-date=2026-01-11 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz}}</ref> The Treaty was signed at Akaroa on 28 May 1840.<ref name="Journey">{{Cite book |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/documents/Journey.pdf |title=The Journey of the Treaty |publisher=State Services Commission |year=2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414152742/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/documents/Journey.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
On 17 June 1843, Māori and British settlers clashed at Wairau in what became known as the Wairau Affray or Wairau Massacre. 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 and 22 settlers were killed. Twelve of the Europeans were shot dead or clubbed to death after surrendering to Māori who were pursuing them.<ref name="King">{{cite book |author=Michael King |title=The Penguin History of New Zealand |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-14-301867-4}}</ref>
Settlement of Nelson began with the arrival of three New Zealand Company ships in November 1841. In March 1848, two ships carrying immigrants sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland arrived to begin settlement of Otago, and the Canterbury Settlement was established with the arrival of the 'First Four Ships' in Lyttelton in December 1850.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 January 1851 |title=Shipping news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510111.2.7 |work=Lyttelton Times |page=5 |quote=Arrived. ... Dec. 16. ship Charlotte Jane, 720 tons, Lawrence, master, from Plymouth Sep. 7, with 26 cabin, 24 intermediate, and 104 steerage passengers. Same day, ship Randolph, 761 tons, Dale, master, from Plymouth Sep. 7, with 34 cabin, 15 intermediate, and 161 steerage passengers. ... Dec. 17, ship Sir George Seymour, 850 tons, Goodson, master, from Plymouth Sep. 8, with 40 cabin, 23 intermediate, and 164 steerage passengers. ... Dec. 27, barque Cressy, 720 tons, Bell, master, from Plymouth Sep. 8, with 27 cabin, 23 intermediate, and 105 steerage passengers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=11 January 1851 |title=The "Cressy" |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18510111.2.3.4 |work=Lyttelton Times |page=3}} </ref> Many more immigrant ships arrived in the South Island from the 1850s to the 1870s, and the population was also boosted by an influx of gold prospectors and miners in the 1860s. The European population of the South Island rose from 9,336 in 1851<ref name="census">{{Cite news |date=23 July 1859 |title=Census of the Colony of New Zealand, 1858 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW18590723.2.14 |work=Otago Witness}}</ref> to 296,644 (including Chinese) in 1881.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=13 November 1882 |title=Census of New Zealand 1881: Chapter 6. Population—Summary at Successive Census Periods |url=https://www3.stats.govt.nz/historic_publications/1881-census/1881-results-census.html#idchapter_1_4388 |website=Statistics New Zealand}}</ref> For comparison, the non-Māori population of the North Island increased from 17,371 to 193,047 during the same period.<ref name="census" /><ref name=":3" />
=== 1860s gold rushes === {{Main|Otago gold rush|West Coast gold rush}} Gold was discovered at Gabriel's Gully in Central Otago in May 1861, sparking a gold rush.<ref name=":05">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-05-24 |title=Striking gold in Gabriels Gully |url=https://blog.doc.govt.nz/2015/05/25/gabriels-gully-history/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2019-08-19 |website=Department of Conservation – Blog |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-01-23 |title=Turning up treasures for biography |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/turning-treasures-biography |access-date=2019-08-19 |website=Otago Daily Times |language=en}}</ref> Dunedin prospered, becoming New Zealand's largest and wealthiest city by the end of the 1860s.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |date=17 January 1862 |title=Summary for transmission to Europe |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18620117.2.13.4 |work=Otago Daily Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Guts Gold & Gold: Dunedin in the 1860s |url=https://www.reedgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/guts-god-gold |website=Dunedin Public Libraries}}</ref> The West Coast gold rush lasted from 1864 to 1867, attracting miners from Otago and Australia. It is estimated that in 1867 around 29,000 people (12% of New Zealand's European population, mostly men) lived on the West Coast.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walrond |first=Carl |date=2 March 2009 |title=West Coast |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/gold-and-gold-mining/page-4 |access-date=2026-01-12 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref>
Several thousand Chinese men, mostly from Guangdong, moved to New Zealand to work on the South Island goldfields, firstly in Otago and Southland and then on the West Coast.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Ip |first=Manying |date=1 July 2024 |title=Chinese: The first immigrants |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/chinese/page-2 |access-date=2026-01-12 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref> In 1882, about 40% of the population at the alluvial gold workings at Inangahua was Chinese.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walrond |first=Carl |date=2 March 2009 |title=Māori and Chinese miners |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/gold-and-gold-mining/page-10 |access-date=2026-01-12 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref> Although the first Chinese workers had been invited by the Otago Provincial government, they quickly became the target of hostility from white settlers, and laws were enacted to discourage them from coming to New Zealand.<ref name=":12" />
=== Public works and infrastructure === With the onset of the West Coast gold rush in 1864, the Canterbury Provincial Government wanted to find a way over the Southern Alps from Canterbury to the West Coast. Investigation showed that a route via what is now known as Arthur's Pass was the best option, and in 1866 a road over the pass to Hokitika was opened.
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel through the Port Hills opened in 1867, providing efficient movement of goods between the port at Lyttelton and Christchurch. The Main South Line railway linking Christchurch, Dunedin, and Invercargill was opened in 1878. The Midland rail line between Christchurch and Greymouth opened in 1923. The Otira Tunnel on the Midland Line runs under the Southern Alps between Arthur's Pass and Otira, a length of over {{convert|8.5|km|mi}}. When the Otira Tunnel opened on 4 August 1923, it was the seventh longest tunnel in the world and the longest in the British Empire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Stephen |title=Journey to the Pass: Memories of the Midland Line |last2=Wright |first2=Matthew |date=2009 |publisher=Hilton Press |isbn=978-0-473-14641-2 |location=Christchurch, New Zealand |page=29}}</ref>
==== Hydroelectricity ==== {{Main|Hydroelectric power in New Zealand}}
Most of New Zealand's hydroelectric power is generated in the South Island and used in the North Island.<ref name="Kelly">{{cite journal |last1=Kelly |first1=Geoff |date=June 2011 |title=History and potential of renewable energy development in New Zealand |url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=gsbpapers |journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=2501–2509 |bibcode=2011RSERv..15.2501K |doi=10.1016/j.rser.2011.01.021}}</ref>
In August 1888, Reefton became the first locality in New Zealand to light its streets with electricity, using water from the Inangahua River to power a dynamo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reefton Power Station |url=http://www.ipenz.org.nz/heritage/itemdetail.cfm?itemid=2096 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044513/http://www.ipenz.org.nz/heritage/itemdetail.cfm?itemid=2096 |archive-date=2017-12-09 |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=IPENZ: Engineers New Zealand}}</ref> (The first city to use electric street lighting was Wellington, in June 1889).
Early schemes such as the Waipori scheme in Otago, commissioned in 1903, and the Lake Coleridge power station commissioned in 1914 established New Zealand's use of hydroelectric energy. Roxburgh Dam began operating in 1956. By the early 1960s, most North Island hydro sites had been developed but the South Island still had many potential sites. Commissioning of the HVDC Inter-Island link in 1965 made it possible to send large amounts of electricity between the two islands, and from that time hydro capacity in the South Island increased rapidly. Major South Island developments included the Benmore Power Station (1966), Manapouri power station (1971), the Upper Waitaki River Scheme (1977–85) and the Clyde Dam (1992).
Construction of hydroelectric schemes in the South Island has met some opposition. The first nationwide environmental campaign in New Zealand was opposition to raising the water level of Lake Manapouri for a power station to supply electricity to the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter. The Save Manapouri Campaign was a success and the power station was built without raising the level of the lake outside of its natural range.
Construction of the Clyde Dam near Cromwell created Lake Dunstan, which meant that many of Cromwell's buildings had to be relocated from the area to be flooded. Some of the historic buildings were saved or rebuilt to create a heritage precinct.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cromwell Heritage Precinct |url=https://www.cromwellheritageprecinct.co.nz/ |access-date=4 January 2023 |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cromwell Heritage Precinct |url=https://centralotagonz.com/explore/listing/cromwell-heritage-precinct |access-date=4 January 2023 |website=Central Otago |language=en-GB}}</ref>
=== High country farming === From the 1850s, settlers established high country stations on dry tussock-covered land 600m or more above sea level in central Otago and in the foothills of the Southern Alps in Canterbury.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The High Country |url=https://www.learnz.org.nz/highcountry152/high-country |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=www.learnz.org.nz}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=The History of High-Country Farming and Pastoral Leases |url=https://www.highcountryaccord.co.nz/history |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=High Country Accord |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Farming - high country |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/our-work/heritage/heritage-topics/farming-high-country/ |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.doc.govt.nz |language=en-nz}}</ref> High country stations typically farmed sheep, often using sheep farming methods from the Scottish Highlands.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":0" /> Wool was a valuable product that did not spoil when transported long distances.<ref name=":0" /> Life on high country stations revolved around an annual cycle of mustering (bringing the animals down from the hills), shearing, lambing, weaning and winter feeding, and a mythos grew up around the image of the stoic 'Southern man' working alone on the hills.<ref>{{Cite web |last=van Beynen |first=Martin |date=January 2018 |title=Last of the Southern Men |url=https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2018/01/last-of-the-southern-men/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> Runholders built huts and sheds for the annual cycle of mustering and shearing sheep.<ref name=":0" /> The Department of Conservation now manages a number of historic huts and sites related to high country farming in Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. A few sites are administered by Heritage New Zealand.<ref name=":0" />
The government owned the land and leased it to runholders on 99-year leases.<ref name=":0" /> Between 1880 and the early 1900s, many properties were abandoned or destocked for various periods because of problems caused by overgrazing, animal disease issues, weather events and plagues of rabbits.<ref name=":13" /> Rabbits had been introduced to New Zealand in the 1830s but quickly became a problem. They depleted pasture, which encouraged weeds to take over, and accelerated erosion in hill country.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wootton |first=Chris |date=28 March 2018 |title=How 'evil' rabbits shaped our high country |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/102584883/how-evil-rabbits-shaped-our-high-country |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=Stuff}}</ref> Early large stations began to be broken up into smaller runs that could be farmed more efficiently.
By 1948 much of the South Island high country was in a poor state, so the Crown introduced the Land Act 1948. This provided for "a perpetually renewable ’pastoral lease’ to give farming families on these lands the ability to farm for future generations and long-term sustainability".<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=High Country Farming and the Crown Pastoral Land Reform |url=https://www.colliersotago.co.nz/news/high-country-farming-and-the-crown-pastoral-land-reform/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Colliers Otago}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Present-day Land Policy and Development |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/land-settlement/page-8 |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref> The farmer has exclusive possession of the land and the right to graze it, and owns improvements made such as fencing and buildings. The farmer does not own the soil and must keep pests and weeds under control.<ref name=":32" />
High country sheep farming became less profitable from about this time due to higher labour costs, loss of subsidies, environmental issues and lower returns. The Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 began a process of tenure review. Runholders could gain freehold title to areas that could be "sustainably farmed", while unsustainable land would revert to management by DOC for conservation purposes.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vance |first=Andrea |last2=McGregor |first2=Iain |date=May 2020 |title=Vanishing Lands: High country farming at risk |url=https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/05/high-country-farming-vanishing-lands/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> The Act was controversial, with some claiming that high country land was on-sold to foreigners who then used the land for golf courses and housing estates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Charlie |title=Half a million hectares sold |url=https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2018/01/half-a-million-hectares-sold/ |access-date=2026-01-18 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref>
==Geography== {{Main|Geography of the South Island}}
thumb|right|A true-colour image of the South Island, after a powerful winter storm swept across New Zealand on 12 June 2006The South Island, with an area of {{cvt|150437|km2|sqmi}}, is the largest landmass 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 {{convert|3724|m}}, with the high Kaikōura Ranges to the northeast. There are eighteen peaks of more than {{convert|3000|m|-2}} in the South Island. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the western side is renowned for its rough coastlines in Fiordland and along the West Coast, a very high proportion of native bush, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
The mountains of the South Island are exposed to prevailing westerly winds from the Tasman Sea, leading to high orographic rainfall and the creation of streams and rivers. These contribute to erosion, and together with continuing uplift and the effects of glaciation create vast quantities of gravel and loess. Glaciation, rivers and gravels have formed the Canterbury Plains and other South Island flood plains. Most of the loess has formed on the eastern side of the South Island, because of the prevailing winds.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=235}} ===Geology=== {{Main|Geology of New Zealand}}
During the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South Islands were connected by a vast coastal plain that formed at the South Taranaki Bight. Similarly, the South Island and Stewart Island were connected by coastal plains that covered modern-day Foveaux Strait.<ref name="Niwa">{{Cite web |date=6 June 2017 |title=Estuary origins |url=https://niwa.co.nz/te-kuwaha/tools-and-resources/ng%C4%81-waihotanga-iho-the-estuary-monitoring-toolkit-for-iwi/estuary-origins |access-date=3 November 2021 |work=NIWA |publisher=National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research}}</ref> During this period, most of the South Island was covered in grassland and glaciers, compared to the woodlands and rainforest that grew in the more temperate North Island.<ref name="Ray">{{cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=N. |last2=Adams |first2=J.M. |year=2001 |title=A GIS-based Vegetation Map of the World at the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000–15,000 BP) |url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue11/2/toc.html |journal=Internet Archaeology |volume=11 |issue=11 |doi=10.11141/ia.11.2}}</ref> Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating the islands and linking the Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea.<ref name="Niwa" />
The South Island lies on the boundary between two tectonic plates, the Pacific plate and the Indo-Australian plate. The Alpine Fault is a geological fault about {{convert|600|km|abbr=on}} long that runs almost the entire length of the South Island on the boundary between the two plates.<ref name="gnsHome">{{Cite web |title=Alpine Fault |url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand/Alpine-Fault |access-date=11 October 2023 |website=GNS Science}}</ref> There is movement of around {{Convert|37|mm|abbr=on}} per year along the Alpine Fault, very fast by global standards.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=20}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Graham |first=I. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIgbjgEACAAJ&q=a+continent+on+the+move |title=A Continent on the Move: New Zealand Geoscience Revealed |date=2015 |publisher=Geoscience Society of New Zealand |isbn=9781877480478 |page=120}}</ref> This is mostly strike-slip (sideways) movement, with the Tasman district and West Coast moving north and Canterbury and Otago moving south.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=306}} The last major earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in about 1717 AD with a great ({{M|w|≥8|link=y}}) earthquake magnitude of {{M|w|8.1|link=y}}± 0.1.<ref name="Howarth2018">{{cite journal |last1=Howarth |first1=Jamie D. |last2=Cochran |first2=Ursula A. |last3=Langridge |first3=Robert M. |last4=Clark |first4=Kate |last5=Fitzsimons |first5=Sean J. |last6=Berryman |first6=Kelvin |last7=Villamor |first7=Pilar |last8=Strong |first8=Delia T. |year=2018 |title=Past large earthquakes on the Alpine Fault: paleoseismological progress and future directions |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00288306.2018.1464658 |journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=309–328 |bibcode=2018NZJGG..61..309H |doi=10.1080/00288306.2018.1464658 |s2cid=134211005 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The probability of another one occurring before 2068 was estimated at 75 percent in 2021.<ref name="GNS2021">{{cite web |date=1 June 2021 |title=Research finds Alpine Fault quake more likely in the next 50 years, Our Science |url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/news/research-finds-alpine-fault-quake-more-likely-in-the-next-50-years/ |access-date=30 March 2024 |website=GNS Science}}</ref><ref name="rnz">{{cite web |date=20 April 2021 |title=Alpine Fault: Probability of damaging quake higher than previously thought |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440834/alpine-fault-probability-of-damaging-quake-higher-than-previously-thought |access-date=3 December 2021 |website=RNZ}}</ref>
However, compression also occurs because there is 11° of convergence at the boundary.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=26}} For most of the length of the Alpine Fault, the compression forces the continental crust of the Pacific plate up and over the continental crust of the Indo-Australian plate, creating uplift of {{Convert|1|to|11|mm|abbr=on}} per year in different places,{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=235}} and forming the Southern Alps.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=20}} This uplift has been occurring for at least 5 myr, leading to a total uplift of {{Convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} over the period, although almost all of this is lost to erosion.{{Sfn|Ballance|2017|p=23}} From Fiordland south, the Indo-Australian plate subducts beneath the Pacific plate, with the boundary between the two plates forming the Macquarie Ridge complex extending {{Convert|1600|km|abbr=on}} to the south of New Zealand.
Some of New Zealand's major earthquakes have occurred in the South Island. The 1929 Murchison earthquake caused landslides and widespread damage to roads, bridges and buildings and resulted in 17 deaths. The Inangahua earthquake occurred on the Alpine Fault in 1968. It killed three people and caused widespread damage to roads, railway tracks and other infrastructure. On 4 September 2010, the South Island was struck by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that caused extensive damage, several power outages, and many aftershocks. Five and a half months later, the 6.3 magnitude 22 February Christchurch earthquake caused far more damage in Christchurch, resulting in 181 deaths.<ref name="listdeceased">{{cite web |date=7 April 2011 |title=List of deceased – Christchurch earthquake |url=http://www.police.govt.nz/list-deceased |access-date=8 April 2011 |publisher=New Zealand Police}}</ref> This quake was centred closer at Lyttelton, and shallower than the prior quake, consequently causing extensive damage.<ref name="current death toll">{{cite web |date=2 March 2011 |title=Christchurch earthquake: Latest news – Wednesday |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4721042/Christchurch-earthquake-Latest-news-Wednesday |access-date=2 March 2011 |work=stuff.co.nz}}</ref> There were no fatalities in the Seddon earthquake of 2013, but it caused damage to buildings in Wellington. In 2016 the Kaikōura earthquake caused the closure of State Highway 1 between Picton and Waipara and the Main North Line of the railways. Two people died.
===Natural geographic features===
==== Southern Alps ==== {{Main|Southern Alps}}
{{Wide image|Southern Alps from Hamilton Peak.jpg|1080px|Panoramic view of some of the Southern Alps in winter from the summit of Hamilton Peak in the Craigieburn Range}}
The Southern Alps (officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana)<ref name="Linz">{{LINZ|7442||21 December 2020}}</ref> are a range of mountains that extend for approximately {{Convert|500|km|abbr=on}} northeast to southwest along much of the length of the South Island. They were created by the meeting of the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. The range includes the South Island's 'Main Divide', which separates the water catchments of the more heavily populated eastern side of the island from those on the West Coast.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beck |first=Alan Copland |title=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |year=2009 |editor-last=McLintock |editor-first=A.H. |chapter=Topography |orig-year=1966 |chapter-url=http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/southern-alps/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022051637/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/southern-alps/2 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Aoraki-Mount Cook from Hooker Valley.jpg|thumb|Aoraki / Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand.]] The tallest peak of the Southern Alps is Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest point in New Zealand at {{Convert|3,724|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The Southern Alps include sixteen other points that exceed {{Convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height. The mountain ranges are bisected by glacial valleys, many of which on the eastern side are infilled with glacial lakes, including Lake Coleridge in the north and Lake Wakatipu in Otago in the south.
Settlements within the Southern Alps include Maruia Springs, a spa near Lewis Pass, the town of Arthur's Pass, and Mount Cook Village. Major crossings of the Southern Alps in the New Zealand road network include Lewis Pass (SH 7), Arthur's Pass (SH 73), Haast Pass (SH 6), and the road to Milford Sound (SH 94). The TranzAlpine train operates on the Midland Line between Greymouth and Christchurch, crossing the Southern Alps at Arthur's Pass.
===== Glaciers ===== {{Main|Glaciers of New Zealand}}
Most of New Zealand's glaciers are in the South Island, generally found in the Southern Alps near the Main Divide. According to inventories conducted in the late 1970s and 1980s, the Southern Alps contained over 3,000 glaciers larger than one hectare.<ref name="Chinn">{{cite journal |author=Chinn TJ |year=2001 |title=Distribution of the glacial water resources of New Zealand |url=http://www.hydrologynz.org.nz/downloads/20071015-094857-JoHNZ_2001_v40_2_Chinn.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Hydrology |location=New Zealand |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=139–187 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016102753/http://www.hydrologynz.org.nz/downloads/20071015-094857-JoHNZ_2001_v40_2_Chinn.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2008}}</ref><ref>Chinn, Trevor J.H., (1988), [https://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386h/nzealand/nzealand.html Glaciers of New Zealand], in ''Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world'', U.S. Geological Survey professional paper; 1386, {{ISBN|978-0-607-71457-9}}.</ref> 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. The Tasman Glacier is the longest, reaching {{Convert|23.5|km|abbr=on}} in length. It has retreated from a recent maximum of {{Convert|29|km|abbr=on}} in the 1960s.<ref name="glaciers">{{cite book |title=Air New Zealand Almanack |publisher=New Zealand Press Association |year=1989 |editor=Lambert M |location=Wellington |page=165}}</ref><ref name="Glacier2017">{{cite news |author=Charlie Mitchell |date=15 February 2017 |title=When the world's glaciers shrunk, New Zealand's grew bigger |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/89403443/when-the-worlds-glaciers-shrunk-new-zealands-grew-bigger |access-date=15 February 2017 |work=Stuff}}</ref> [[File:00_1371_New_Zealand_-_Milford_Sound.jpg|thumb|Typical view of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi featuring Mount Pembroke]]
==== Fiords and lakes ==== {{Main|Fiords of New Zealand|Lakes of New Zealand}}
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 have the word 'Sound' in their name instead. (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.) [[File:Lake_Ohau_Lodge_lupin_field,_NZ.jpg|thumb|Lake Ōhau]] The South Island has eight of New Zealand's 10 biggest lakes, some of which are fiords that became dammed. 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 formed moraines, accumulations of rocks and soil that acted as natural dams. When the glaciers retreated, they left basins that are now filled by lakes. Lake McKerrow / Whakatipu Waitai to the north of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord with a silted-up mouth. Lake Manapouri has fiords as its west, north and south arms. Lake Te Anau has three western arms, which are fiords (and are so named). Lake Wakatipu fills a large glacial valley, as do lakes Hakapoua, Poteriteri, Monowai and Hauroko in the far south of Fiordland. Lake Hauroko is the deepest (462 m) lake in New Zealand, and one of the deepest lakes in the world.<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |last=Nathan |first=Simon |date=24 September 2007 |title=New Zealand lakes |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/lakes/page-1 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=6 July 2020 |website=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Esler |first1=Lloyd |date=9 October 2014 |title=Hauroko NZ's deepest lake |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/culture/in-the-south/10541961/Hauroko-NZs-deepest-lake |accessdate=15 June 2015 |work=The Southland Times}}</ref>
The water level of most glacial lakes in the upper parts of the Waitaki and Clutha / Mata-Au rivers is controlled for electricity generation. Hydroelectric reservoirs are common in South Canterbury and Central Otago. The largest of these is Lake Benmore, an artificial lake created in the 1960s on the Waitaki River.<ref name=":022">{{Cite web |last=Meduna |first=Veronika |date=2006 |title=Lake Benmore hydroelectric dam |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4915/lake-benmore-hydroelectric-dam |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=9 February 2020 |website=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |language=en}}</ref>
Millions of years ago in the Miocene, Central Otago had a huge lake – Lake Manuherikia. It slowly filled in with mud, and fossils of plants, fish, birds and crocodiles have been found there.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Driver |first=George |date=2023-06-25 |title=Bone Hunters: The ancient lake revealing New Zealand's mysterious past |url=https://northandsouth.co.nz/2023/06/26/new-zealand-mammal-fossil-discovery/ |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=North & South Magazine |language=en-NZ}}</ref> A group of fossils from the ancient lake that has been studied is known as the St Bathans fauna.
[[File:Banks Peninsula from space.jpg|thumb|Banks Peninsula is roughly circular, with many bays and two deep harbours.]]
====Volcanoes==== {{Main|Volcanoes in New Zealand}}
There are extinct volcanoes in the South Island, all located on the east coast.
Banks Peninsula forms the most prominent of these volcanic features. The peninsula comprises the eroded remnants of two large shield volcanoes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-07 |title=Banks Peninsula {{!}} UC |url=https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/study/academic-study/science/science-schools-and-departments/school-of-earth-and-environment/uc-earthsciencegarden/regions/banks-peninsula |access-date=2025-12-20 |website=www.canterbury.ac.nz |language=en}}</ref> These formed due to intraplate volcanism between about eleven and eight million years ago (Miocene) on a continental crust and together are known as the Banks Peninsula Volcano complex. The peninsula formed as offshore islands, with the volcanoes reaching to about 1,500 m above sea level. Two dominant craters formed Lyttelton / Whakaraupō and Akaroa Harbours. The portion of the crater rim lying between Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō and Christchurch city forms the Port Hills.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Lyttelton Town and Hills Walks [pamphlet] |url=https://roddonaldtrust.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/lyttelton_printable_rev3.pdf}}</ref>
Otago Harbour was formed from the drowned remnants of a giant shield volcano (the Dunedin 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Volcano Fact Sheet: Dunedin Volcano |url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/assets/Our-Science/Subfiles/Natural-Hazards-and-Risks/Subfiles/Volcanoes/Volcano-Fact-Sheet-Dunedin.pdf |website=GNS Science}}</ref>
Timaru was constructed on rolling hills created from the lava flows of the extinct Mount Horrible, which last erupted many thousands of years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Megan |date=8 August 2012 |title=It was Horrible, but now it's dead |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/7433772/It-was-Horrible-but-now-its-dead |access-date=2025-12-20 |website=Stuff}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Division of Sciences |first= |date=8 May 2023 |title=Wapouri / Mount Horrible, South Island’s youngest volcano |url=https://www.otago.ac.nz/postgraduate-study/research-opportunities/wapouri-mount-horrible-south-islands-youngest-volcano |access-date=2025-12-20 |website=University of Otago |language=en}}</ref>
===Climate===
The climate in the South Island is mostly temperate. The mean temperature for the South Island is {{convert|8|C}}.<ref>From NIWA Science [http://www.niwascience.co.nz/edu/resources/climate/overview/ climate overview].</ref> January and February are the warmest months, while July is the coldest. Historical maxima and minima are {{convert|42.4|C}} in Rangiora, Canterbury, and {{convert|-25.6|C|F}} in Ranfurly, Otago.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2017 |title=New Zealand's coldest recorded temperature |url=https://niwa.co.nz/news/new-zealands-coldest-recorded-temperature |access-date=15 March 2024 |website=NIWA |language=en |archive-date=27 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327215957/https://niwa.co.nz/news/new-zealands-coldest-recorded-temperature |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 March 2024 |title=NZ's temperature record hits new low – minus 25.6degC |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nzs-temperature-record-hits-new-low-minus-256degc/QLZUFM4XQ45CRGHSHGNVH7ZQWE/ |access-date=15 March 2024 |website=The New Zealand Herald}}</ref>
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 {{cvt|600|and(-)|1600|mm}} of rainfall annually, 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 {{convert|640|mm}} of rain per year, while Invercargill is the wettest, receiving about {{convert|1150|mm}}. 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mean monthly sunshine hours |url=http://www.niwascience.co.nz/__data/assets/file/0006/44655/sunshine.xls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015102420/http://www.niwascience.co.nz/__data/assets/file/0006/44655/sunshine.xls |archive-date=15 October 2008 |publisher=National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research |format=XLS}}</ref>
===Biodiversity and conservation=== [[File:Kea.jpg|thumb|upright|Kea, a mountain parrot]]
Several bird species 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, takahē, 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 mammals introduced by humans. Extinct species include the South Island goose, South Island giant moa, Haast's eagle and South Island piopio. The South Island kōkako is also likely to be extinct.
thumb|right|The famous "Pancake Rocks" at Paparoa National Park
Nine of New Zealand's thirteen national parks are in the South Island. They are known for their scenery and geographic features, such as the Pancake Rocks in Paparoa National Park, and are popular recreation and tourism areas. Arthur's Pass National Park, established in 1929, is the oldest. Fiordland National Park (established 1952) is New Zealand's largest and one of the largest in the world. Kahurangi National Park, established in 1996, is the newest and the country's second-largest. Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand's smallest, at 225 km<sup>2</sup>.
Te Wāhipounamu, in the south-west corner of the island, is a World Heritage Site that incorporates Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, Mount Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park.<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO World Heritage official website listing |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/551}}</ref> Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990, it covers {{convert|26000|km2}}. 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.
The Conservation Act 1987 defines a conservation park as an area with predominantly natural systems, managed to maintain protection of ecosystems and historical resources while also providing visitor access. Pre-existing forest parks were transferred to the Department of Conservation in 1987 and became ‘conservation parks’, but have retained the designation ‘forest park’.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-03-19 |title=National park, forest park or conservation park? |url=https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/national-park-forest-park-or-conservation-park/ |access-date=2025-12-11 |website=Wilderness Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> Conservation and forest parks have a less stringent level of protection than national parks and are used for a wide variety of recreational and commercial activities.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Parks and Reserves |url=http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/0/8762285833e21a18cc256b1e007c496f?OpenDocument |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607005451/http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/0/8762285833e21a18cc256b1e007c496f?OpenDocument |archive-date=7 June 2011 |accessdate=2008-09-05 |publisher=Statistics New Zealand}}</ref> There are five forest parks in the South Island that are on public land administered by the Department of Conservation: Mount Richmond Forest Park in Marlborough, Craigieburn, Hanmer and Lake Sumner Forest Parks in Canterbury, and Victoria Forest Park in the West Coast region.
In addition to forest parks, there are a number of conservation parks in the South Island, including: Ahuriri, Hakatere,<ref>[http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=45070 Hakatere Conservation Park] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014012512/http://doc.govt.nz/templates/PlaceProfile.aspx?id=45070|date=14 October 2008}}, Department of Conservation website. Retrieved 21 January 2008.</ref> Ruataniwha and Te Kahui Kaupeka Conservation Parks in Canterbury; Oteake Conservation Park in Waitaki; Te Papanui and Hāwea Conservation Parks in Otago; and Eyre Mountains / Taka Ra Haka and Catlins Conservation Park in Southland.
{{Wide image|Hooker Valley in Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park.jpg|1080px|Hooker Valley at Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, with Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand at 3,724 metres (12,218 feet), and Hooker Lake in the background}}
== Demographics == {{further|List of cities and towns in the South Island|Cities and towns of the South Island by population}}
=== Population === {{Historical populations |1991|852,843 |1996|899,382 |2001|906,759 |2006|1,022,313 |2013|1,058,058 |2018|1,149,564 |percentages=pagr|source=<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2001-census-data/2001-census-regional-summary.aspx |title=2001 Census: Regional summary |website=archive.stats.govt.nz |language=en-nz |access-date=28 April 2020 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929211821/http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2001-census-data/2001-census-regional-summary.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Census 2018">{{Cite web |title=Age and sex by ethnic group (grouped total responses), for census night population counts, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (RC, TA, SA2, DHB) |url=http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE8317 |access-date=18 May 2020 |website=nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz }}</ref>|2023|1,185,282}} Compared to the more populated and multi-ethnic North Island, the South Island has a smaller, more homogeneous resident population of {{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y|y|y|(|).}}
In the early years of European settlement in New Zealand, the South Island's percentage of the New Zealand population was far higher than it is today, 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 disparity has stabilised in recent years, with the 2013 and 2018 censuses both showing the South Island to have around 23%–24% of the national population. The South Island had a population of 1,185,282 at the 2023 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.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |title=2023 Census population counts (by ethnic group, age, and Māori descent) and dwelling counts {{!}} Stats NZ |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2023-census-population-counts-by-ethnic-group-age-and-maori-descent-and-dwelling-counts/ |access-date=4 June 2024 |website=www.stats.govt.nz }}</ref>
In June 2025, Statistics New Zealand released new figures from the 2023 Census showing that 86,000 people moved from the North Island to the South Island between 2018 and 2023. During that same period, 30,000 people migrated from the South Island to the North Island.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Charlie |last2=Gooch |first2=Carly |title=North Island exodus fuels South Island population boom |url=https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360719058/north-island-exodus-fuels-south-island-population-boom |access-date=18 June 2025 |work=The Press |date=11 June 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>[[File:Christchurch_Skyline_2015.jpg|thumb|Christchurch, the most populous city in the South Island]] [[File:Dunedin,_New_Zealand_at_night.jpg|thumb|Dunedin]] [[File:Nelson_New_Zealand.jpg|thumb|Nelson]]
At the 2023 census, 77.0% of South Islanders identified as New Zealand European (Pākehā), 11.3% as Māori, 2.6% as Chinese, 2.3% each as Indian and Filipino, 1.6% as Samoan, 1.5% as English, and 1.2% as 'New Zealander'. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity.<ref name=":03" /> New Zealand Europeans form the majority in all districts of the South Island, ranging from 67.5% in the Queenstown-Lakes District to 87.2% in the Grey District.<ref name=":03" />
The proportion of South Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census was 23.1%. The most common foreign countries of birth are England (19.9% of overseas-born residents), the Philippines (9.3%), Australia (8.8%), India (6.6%), Mainland China (5.9%) and South Africa (5.5%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Birthplace and age for the census usually resident population count, (RC, TALB, SA2, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses |url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=Society%2C1%7C2023%20Census%23CAT_2023_CENSUS%23%7CEthnicity%252C%20culture%2C%20and%20identity%23CAT_ETHNICITY_CULTURE_AND_IDENTITY%23&pg=0&fc=Society&bp=true&snb=140&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_ECI_006&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=2013%2B2018%2B2023.9999%2B99999%2B999999.999999.99&to[TIME]=false&ly[cl]=CEN23_GEO_002&isAvailabilityDisabled=false |access-date=18 January 2026 |website=explore.data.stats.govt.nz}}</ref>
===Urbanisation=== The South Island is sparsely populated and still predominantly rural areas or nature reserves. However, there are 16 urban areas in the South Island with a population of 10,000 or more:
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;" |- ! Name ! Population<br /><small>({{NZ population data 2018|||y|y||)}}</small> ! % of island |- | style="text-align:left;" | Christchurch |{{NZ population data 2018|Christchurch|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Christchurch|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Dunedin |{{NZ population data 2018|Dunedin|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Dunedin|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Invercargill |{{NZ population data 2018|Invercargill|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Invercargill|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Nelson |{{NZ population data 2018|Nelson|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Nelson|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" |Rolleston |{{NZ population data 2018|Rolleston|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Rolleston|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Blenheim |{{NZ population data 2018|Blenheim|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Blenheim|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Timaru |{{NZ population data 2018|Timaru|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Timaru|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" |Queenstown |{{NZ population data 2018|Queenstown|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Queenstown|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Ashburton |{{NZ population data 2018|Ashburton|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Ashburton|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Richmond |{{NZ population data 2018|Richmond|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Richmond|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Rangiora |{{NZ population data 2018|Rangiora|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Rangiora|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Mosgiel |{{NZ population data 2018|Mosgiel|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Mosgiel|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Oamaru |{{NZ population data 2018|Oamaru|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Oamaru|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" | Kaiapoi |{{NZ population data 2018|Kaiapoi|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Kaiapoi|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align:left;" |Wānaka |{{NZ population data 2018|Wanaka|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Wanaka|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- | style="text-align: left;" |Lincoln |{{NZ population data 2018|Lincoln|y}} |{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Lincoln|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|South Island regions|y}}|R}}*100|1}}% |- |} {{Clear}}
==Culture==
=== In art === A number of New Zealand's prominent artists have been heavily influenced by the light and landforms of the South Island.<ref name=":04">{{Cite web |last=Vangioni |first=Peter |date=22 August 2024 |title=The tide is in and the sea is like a blue mirror |url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/bulletin/217/the-tide-is-in-and-the-sea-is-like-a-blue-mirror |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=Christchurch Art Gallery}}</ref> John Gully, occasionally known as 'the Turner of New Zealand'<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Mona |date=1 June 1940 |title=The Early Artists Of New Zealand. IV. John Gully—the Turner of New Zealand |url=https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/webarchive/20210104000423/http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov15_03Rail-t1-body-d10.html |journal=The New Zealand Railways Magazine |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=35-37, 39 |via=National Library of New Zealand}}</ref> was known for his watercolour landscapes of South Island locations in the 19th century. Rita Angus lived in Christchurch in the 1930s and 1940s and painted many scenes of Canterbury and Otago. Her 1936 painting ''Cass'', portraying a small railway station and the emptiness of the Canterbury landscape, was voted New Zealand's most-loved painting in a 2006 television poll.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rita Angus |url=http://oculablack.com/artists/rita-angus/?gclid=CIbhy9SOxL0CFc1DpAod-x0AQA&expanded=true |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402160931/http://oculablack.com/artists/rita-angus/?gclid=CIbhy9SOxL0CFc1DpAod-x0AQA&expanded=true |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=1 August 2014 |website=Ocula Black}}</ref> Toss Woollaston was based in Greymouth in the 1950s and painted many landscapes depicting the West Coast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woollaston, Mountford Tosswill |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5w49/woollaston-mountford-tosswill |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref> Leo Bensemann painted over 60 landscapes of the area around Golden Bay in the Tasman District during the 1960s–1980s.<ref name=":04" /> Grahame Sydney is an artist based in Otago whose works focus on the elements of human impact on Otago's empty landscapes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-10 |title=GRAHAME SYDNEY'S TIMELESS LAND |url=https://www.australiancountry.com.au/escape/artist-grahame-sydney/ |access-date=2025-12-14 |website=Australian Country}}</ref>
In the 1960s and 1970s, Mona Anderson was a popular author in New Zealand, writing about life on a South Island high country station. She is best known for ''A River Rules My Life''.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Shoebridge |first=Tim |date=2018 |title=Anderson, Amy Mona |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6a2/anderson-amy-mona |access-date=2021-09-12 |website=Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |publisher=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography |language=en}}</ref> Two Booker Prize-winning novels have been set in the South Island. Keri Hulme's 1984 book ''The Bone People'' was set in an isolated area on the coast of the South Island and explores themes of isolation and community. ''The Luminaries'', a novel by Eleanor Catton which won the Booker Prize for 2013, is set on the West Coast during the 19th century gold rush period. ''The'' ''Denniston Rose'' (2003) and its sequel ''Heart of Coal'' (2004) by Jenny Pattrick, set on the harsh and isolated Denniston Plateau, are two of New Zealand's best-selling novels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jenny Pattrick |url=https://www.read-nz.org/writers-files/writer/pattrick-jenny |access-date=2025-12-17 |website=Read NZ |language=en}}</ref> ''Hokitika Town'' (2011) by Charlotte Randall is a novel told from the point of view of a Māori boy hanging around the pubs of Hokitika in 1865.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hokitika Town by Charlotte Randall |url=https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/hokitika-town-9781742287652 |access-date=2026-01-11 |website=www.penguin.co.nz |language=en}}</ref>
The dramatic landscapes of the South Island have 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''.
===Language===
Southland and the very southernmost areas of Otago near the border with Southland are known for the people there speaking with what is often referred to as the "Southland burr", a semi-rhotic, Scottish-influenced accent of the English language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Southland 'rolling R' |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/40141/the-southland-rolling-r |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=Te Ara |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ballance |first=Alison |date=2019-05-22 |title=The Southland accent - a rolling change |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/2018696216/the-southland-accent-a-rolling-change |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}</ref>
The South Island dialect of the Māori language has a few notable differences from standard Māori, especially in the far south of the island. Particularly noticeable is the replacement of the ''ng'' sound with a hard ''k''. Other features include a more rolled ''r'' sound (which is sometimes rendered as an ''l''), and a tendency for final vowels to be softened to a schwa or, in extreme cases dropped entirely. This results in place-names such as The Kilmog and Lake Waihola, which would be rendered as ''Kirimoko'' and ''Waihora'' respectively further north.{{sfn|Goodall|Griffiths|1980|loc=p. 45: "This hill [The Kilmog]...has a much debated name, but its origins are clear to Kaitahu and the word illustrates several major features of the southern dialect. First we must restore the truncated final vowel (in this case to both parts of the name, 'kilimogo'). Then substitute r for l, k for g, to obtain the northern pronunciation, 'kirimoko'.... Though final vowels existed in Kaitahu dialect, the elision was so nearly complete that pākehā recorders often omitted them entirely"}}{{sfn|Goodall|Griffiths|1980|loc=p. 50: "Southern dialect for 'wai' – water, 'hora' – spread out"}} Despite the dialect being regarded as extinct, its use in signage and official documentation is encouraged by many government and educational agencies in the southern part of the island.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.otago.ac.nz/maori/world/signage/index.html |title=Approved Māori signage |website=University of Otago |access-date=4 May 2026 |archive-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607213634/https://www.otago.ac.nz/maori/world/signage |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20130209072805/http://www.es.govt.nz/media/13556/coastal-plan-december-10-1-introduction.pdf Eastern Southland Regional Coastal Plan]", from "Regional Coastal Plan for Southland – July 2005 – Chapter 1". See section 1.4, Terminology. Retrieved 4 May 2026.</ref>
===Religion=== {{Main|Religion in New Zealand}}
Just over half the population identified as 'no religion' in the 2023 census.<ref name="Census 2023">{{Cite web |title=Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses |url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?tm=occupation%2C%202023%20census&pg=0&hc[Society]=2023%20Census&hc[Census%20year]=2023&snb=4&vw=tb&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_004&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=raTotal%2Bra00000%2Bra10100%2Bra10101%2Bra10102%2Bra10103%2Bra10104%2Bra10105%2Bra10199%2Bra20000%2Bra20100%2Bra20102%2Bra20103%2Bra20199%2Bra20201%2Bra20301%2Bra20302%2Bra20400%2Bra20401%2Bra20402%2Bra20403%2Bra20499%2Bra20500%2Bra20502%2Bra20503%2Bra20599%2Bra20600%2Bra20601%2Bra20602%2Bra20603%2Bra20604%2Bra20605%2Bra20606%2Bra20699%2Bra20700%2Bra20701%2Bra20799%2Bra20801%2Bra20802%2Bra20803%2Bra20804%2Bra20901%2Bra21001%2Bra21101%2Bra21200%2Bra21201%2Bra21202%2Bra21203%2Bra21299%2Bra21300%2Bra21301%2Bra21302%2Bra21303%2Bra21304%2Bra21305%2Bra21399%2Bra21400%2Bra21401%2Bra21402%2Bra21403%2Bra21404%2Bra21405%2Bra21406%2Bra21407%2Bra21408%2Bra21409%2Bra21410%2Bra21411%2Bra21412%2Bra21413%2Bra21414%2Bra21415%2Bra21416%2Bra21417%2Bra21499%2Bra21501%2Bra21502%2Bra21503%2Bra21504%2Bra21505%2Bra21506%2Bra21507%2Bra21600%2Bra21701%2Bra21801%2Bra21802%2Bra29901%2Bra29902%2Bra29903%2Bra29905%2Bra29906%2Bra29908%2Bra29909%2Bra29910%2Bra29911%2Bra29999%2Bra30100%2Bra30101%2Bra30102%2Bra30103%2Bra30199%2Bra40100%2Bra40101%2Bra40102%2Bra40103%2Bra40104%2Bra40199%2Bra50100%2Bra50101%2Bra50102%2Bra50103%2Bra60000%2Bra60101%2Bra60201%2Bra60901%2Bra60999%2Bra70000%2Bra70101%2Bra70200%2Bra70201%2Bra70202%2Bra70203%2Bra70204%2Bra70205%2Bra70299%2Bra70301%2Bra70401%2Bra70901%2Bra70999%2Bra80000%2Bra80101%2Bra80200%2Bra80201%2Bra80202%2Bra80299%2Bra80301%2Bra80400%2Bra80401%2Bra80402%2Bra80403%2Bra80499%2Bra80601%2Bra80701%2Bra80702%2Bra80801%2Bra80901%2Bra81001%2Bra81101%2Bra81102%2Bra81103%2Bra81104%2Bra81105%2Bra81106%2Bra81107%2Bra81108%2Bra81109%2Bra81110%2Bra81111%2Bra81199%2Bra95555%2BraTS%2Bra94444%2Bra97777%2Bra98888%2Bra99999.2018%2B2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_001&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001&to[TIME]=false |access-date=11 December 2025 |publisher=Statistics New Zealand}}</ref>
Anglicanism is the largest Christian denomination in the South Island with 12.7 percent affiliating as of 2023.<ref name="quickstats_culture">{{cite web |date=15 April 2014 |title=2013 Census QuickStats about culture and identity – data tables |url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2013%20Census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/tables.xls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524102811/http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2013%20Census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-culture-identity/tables.xls |archive-date=24 May 2014 |access-date=25 January 2016 |publisher=Statistics New Zealand}} Note some percentages (e.g. ethnicity, language) may add to more than 100 percent as people could give multiple responses.</ref> Anglicanism is strongest in Canterbury, the city of Christchurch having been founded as an Anglican settlement.
Catholicism still has a noticeably strong presence on the West Coast, where many of the early settlers were Catholic Irish miners,<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Patrick's Catholic Church |url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/list-details/1693/Listing |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=www.heritage.org.nz |language=en}}</ref> and in Kaikōura. The territorial authorities with the highest proportion of Catholics are Kaikōura (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 were 30.9% of the total population in 2013), Clutha District (30.7%), and Southland (29.8%).<ref name="quickstats_culture" />
The first Muslims in New Zealand were a few Chinese gold diggers working in the Dunstan gold fields of Otago in the 1860s.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}
==Governance== thumb|Regions and territorial authority districts{{Further|New Zealand Constitution Act 1846|New Munster Province|Provinces of New Zealand}} The South Island has sixteen general electorates (by law) and one Māori electorate (by quota) in the New Zealand House of Representatives.<ref>Electoral Act 1993, section 35(3)(a).</ref> Local government functions as it does in the rest of the country, with regional matters handled by regional councils and more local matters by territorial authorities. In the upper part of the island, the territorial authorities of Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough also handle regional functions, existing as unitary authorities. There are four regional councils (being West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland) and 23 territorial authorities.
=== Independence movements === {{Main|South Island nationalism}} Secession movements have surfaced several times in the South Island. A Premier of New Zealand, Sir Julius Vogel, was amongst the first people to make this call, which was voted on by the New Zealand Parliament as early as 1865. The desire for the South Island to form a separate colony was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington that year.
Several South Island nationalist groups emerged at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st. The South Island Party fielded candidates in the 1999 general election but cancelled its registration in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Electoral Commission |date=17 June 2002 |title=Political Parties' Registration Cancelled |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0206/S00084.htm |work=Scoop}}</ref> Several internet-based groups advocate their support for greater self-determination.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 August 2018 |title='It will happen' – South Island Independence Movement vows to break away |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/happen-south-island-independence-movement-vows-break-away |publisher=1 News}}</ref>
==Economy== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}} [[File:Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter.jpg|thumb|right|The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter near Bluff]] {{Further|List of South Island companies}}
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.<ref>{{cite web |date=24 March 2023 |title=Regional gross domestic product: Year ended March 2022 |url=https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/regional-gross-domestic-product-year-ended-march-2022/ |access-date=4 April 2023 |publisher=Statistics New Zealand }}</ref>
===Energy=== [[File:Aviemore Dam From Canterbury.jpg|thumb|left|The Aviemore Dam, the penultimate hydro station on the Waitaki River hydro scheme]] 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 {{val|18.01|ul=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.<ref name="EDF2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentTOC____46119.aspx |title=Energy Data File |publisher=Ministry of Economic Development |date=13 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111207221928/http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentTOC____46119.aspx |archive-date=7 December 2011 }}</ref> 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.
===Tourism===
[[File:NZ280315 Kaikoura Whale Watching 06.jpg|thumb|Whale watching in Kaikōura]]
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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Macleod |first1=Source: Murdo |title=Walking the Milford Track: New Zealand's most popular trail |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/video/2018/jan/22/walking-the-milford-track-new-zealands-most-popular-trail |website=The Guardian |access-date=31 December 2021 |date=22 January 2018 }}</ref>
An increase in direct international flights to Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown has boosted the number of overseas tourists.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
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.<ref>{{cite web |author=Hot Soup |url=http://www.thequickten.com/travel/top-ten-tourist-attractions-in-new-zealand |title=Top Ten Tourist Attractions in New Zealand |publisher=Thequickten.com |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=12 November 2010 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2021}}
Most of New Zealand's ski areas and resorts are located in the South Island.
==Transport== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}} {{Main|Transport in New Zealand}}
thumb|South Island rail network map
The South Island has a state highway network of {{convert|4921|km}}. SH 1 extends down the east coast of the South Island from Picton via Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill to Stirling Point, one kilometre south of Bluff. A section of the highway north of Kaikōura was closed from 14 November 2016 to 15 December 2017 due to damage from the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 November 2016 |title=Rail near Kaikoura likely out for a year, 'unprecedented' damage to highway |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/nz-earthquake/86611874/rail-near-kaikoura-likely-out-for-a-year-unprecedented-damage-to-highway |access-date=17 December 2016 |publisher=Stuff.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kaikoura Earthquake Response |url=https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/kaikoura-earthquake-response/ |access-date=12 August 2018 |publisher=NZ Transport Agency}}</ref> SH6 extends from Blenheim (splitting from SH1) across the top of the island through Nelson, then down the West Coast and across the Southern Alps to Otago and south to Invercargill, where it rejoins SH1.
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 constitute 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.
[[File:Cookstraitferry.jpg|thumb|The Interislander {{ship||Arahura}} in the Marlborough Sounds]]
Commuter and long-distance passenger train services were once extensive, but commuter services were cancelled during the late 1960s to early 1980s due to financial losses.<ref>Tony Hurst, ''Farewell to Steam: Four Decades of Change on New Zealand Railways'' (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1995), p. 96.</ref> Regional passenger trains 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 in 2002.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Stanford |first=Emma |date=23 May 2025 |title=Historic train The Southerner coming back due to popular demand |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/360699589/historic-train-coming-back-due-popular-demand |access-date=2025-12-19 |website=Stuff}}</ref> It ran for a few days in 2025 as a tourist excursion,<ref name=":2" /> and in 2026 a similar tourist service named ''The Mainlander'' operated occasionally.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mainlander Train Journey {{!}} South Island NZ |url=https://www.mainlander.co.nz/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260112103651/https://www.mainlander.co.nz/ |archive-date=2026-01-12 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.mainlander.co.nz |language=en}}</ref> The architecturally significant Dunedin Railway Station is used by Dunedin Railways (formerly Taieri Gorge Railway) tourist trains: the Taieri Gorge Limited along the Otago Central Railway and the Seasider to Palmerston.
The South Island is separated from the North Island by Cook Strait, which is {{convert|24|km|abbr=off}} wide at its narrowest point, and requires a {{convert|70|km|abbr=off}} ferry trip to cross, a trip of between three and three and a half hours. Regular roll-on/roll-off ferry services across Cook Strait between Wellington and Picton are operated by two companies: Interislander (a division of KiwiRail), and Bluebridge (Strait Shipping). One Interislander ferry is a rail ferry capable of transporting both road and rail on separate decks. The other ferries carry passengers and road vehicles only. Container ports operate at Bluff, Lyttelton (Christchurch), Port Chalmers (Dunedin), Nelson and Timaru.
[[File:Dunedin International Airport2.jpg|thumb|Dunedin International Airport control tower and terminal building, 2009]]
The main airport in the South Island is Christchurch Airport, which handles international and domestic flights as well as flights to the Chatham Islands and Antarctica. Some international services operate from Dunedin Airport and Queenstown Airport.
== See also == {{portal|New Zealand|Islands|Geography}} * List of cities and towns in the South Island by population * List of military units based in or affiliated with the South Island * Nor'west arch
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
{{Clear-right}} == References == {{Reflist}}
===Sources cited=== * {{cite Q|Q137565378|last1=Ballance|first1=P.|year=2017}} * {{cite book|last=Beaglehole|first=J. C.|year=1974|title=The Life of Captain James Cook|publisher=Adam and Charles Black|location=London}} * {{cite book |last=Blainey |first=Geoffrey |title=Captain Cook's Epic Voyage: The Strange Quest for a Missing Continent |publisher=Viking (Australia) |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-76089-509-9}} * {{cite book|last1=Goodall |first1= Maarire |author2-link=George Griffiths (historian)|last2=Griffiths |first2=George J. |date=1980 |title=Maori Dunedin |location =Dunedin |publisher=Otago Heritage Books}}
== Further reading == * Atkinson, Brett, et al. ''New Zealand's South Island'' (2010) [https://books.google.com/books?id=EWYaU5OL-BgC excerpt and text search] * {{cite book |author=Bull, Mary P. |title=New Zealand Tales and Tours: South Island Adventures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rO42LMY1vsUC&pg=PA15 |year=2004 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=9781412008631}}
== External links == {{Commons category|South Island, New Zealand}} {{Wikivoyage}} * [https://www.backpack-newzealand.com/mapofsouthisland.html/ South Island Road Map]
{{Regions of New Zealand}} {{World's largest islands}} {{Authority control}}
Category:South Island Category:Islands of New Zealand