80-472: The Great South Basin is an area of mainly sea to the south of the South Island of New Zealand . Starting in the 1960s, the area was explored and drilled for oil deposits by various, mostly international minerals companies — including Hunt Oil — but by 1984 all of these companies had left empty-handed. With advances in seismic surveying and drilling technology, hopes have been raised once again for
160-615: A Southern Mayoral Council . Supported by Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton and Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt , Bob Parker said that increased cooperation and the forming of a new South Island-wide mayoral forum were essential to representing the island's interests in Wellington and countering the new Auckland Council . There are 23 territorial authorities within the South Island: 4 city councils and 19 district councils. Three territorial authorities ( Nelson City Council , and
240-536: A Provincial Council that elected its own Speaker and Superintendent. 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
320-817: A basis for the government of the colony, which was centralised in Auckland . New Munster consisted of the South Island. The name New Munster was given by the Governor of New Zealand , Captain William Hobson , in honour of Munster , the Irish province in which he was born. The situation was altered in 1846 when the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 divided the colony into two provinces : New Ulster Province (the North Island north of
400-553: A distance of about 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Nelson. He said he held a deed to the land, having bought it in 1839 from the widow of a whaling captain, John William Dundas Blenkinsop . Blenkinsop had been married to Te Rongo. Wakefield wrote to the company in March 1843, "I rather anticipate some difficulty with the natives." The source of the likely difficulty was simple: the chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata , along with their kinsmen of Ngāti Toa, believed that they owned
480-531: A generous franchise. Grey implemented the ordinance with such deliberation that neither Council met before advice was received that the United Kingdom Parliament had passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 . This act dissolved these provinces in 1853, after only seven years' existence, and New Munster was divided into the provinces of Wellington Province , Canterbury , Nelson , and Otago . Each province had its own legislature known as
560-560: A land claims commission investigation determined that the Wairau Valley had not been legally sold. The government was to pay compensation to the Rangitāne iwi , determined to be the original owners (until the early 1830s, when Te Rauparaha had driven them from the area). The New Zealand Company had built a settlement around Nelson in the north of the South Island in 1840. It had planned to occupy 200,000 acres (810 km ), but by
640-469: A metropolitan population of 521,881, and the smaller Dunedin (population 134,600). The economy relies on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services. 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
720-505: A payment for the Wairau, but they positively refused to sell it, and told him they would never consent to part from it." Arthur Wakefield rejected the request to wait for Spain's enquiry, informing Te Rauparaha that if local Māori interfered with company surveyors on the land, he would lead 300 constables to arrest him. Wakefield duly despatched three parties of surveyors to the land. They were promptly warned off by local Māori, who damaged
800-437: A population of 1,185,282 at the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 80,745 people (7.3%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 180,882 people (18.0%) since the 2013 census . Of the total population, 202,311 people (17.1%) were aged under 15 years, 225,048 (19.0%) were 15 to 29, 538,965 (45.5%) were 30 to 64, and 218,958 (18.5%) were 65 or older. At the 2018 census, there were 571,656 males and 577,914 females, giving
880-531: A population of 1,260,000 as of June 2024, the South Island is home to 24% of New Zealand's 5.3 million inhabitants. After the 1860s gold rushes in the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population and wealth. The North Island's population overtook the South Island's in the early 20th century, with 56% of the New Zealand population living in
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#1732772584250960-414: A potential oil strike. Since 2006, new tenders for drilling rights have been issued. In 2010, ExxonMobil and Todd Energy relinquished their exploration rights, citing technical difficulties and the harshness of the environment. Royal Dutch Shell subsequently purchased a stake in a joint venture headed by OMV New Zealand, with drilling announced at the start of 2014. In 2020, OMV plugged and abandoned
1040-457: A quarter of the country's population, the South Island is sometimes humorously nicknamed the "mainland" of New Zealand by its residents. The island is also known as Te Waka a Māui which means " Māui 's Canoe ". In some modern alliterations of Māori legends, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Māui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught . Various Māori iwi sometimes use different names, with some preferring to call
1120-516: A sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. In the early years of European settlement in New Zealand, the South Island's overall percentage of the New Zealand population was far higher, equalling or even exceeding the population of the North Island. This was exacerbated by the New Zealand Wars and the Otago gold rush of the 1860s. Since that time, the South Island's population as a percentage of
1200-412: A specific oceanic location or ocean current is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Island The South Island ( Māori : Te Waipounamu [tɛ wɐ.i.pɔ.ʉ.nɐ.mʉ] , lit. 'the waters of Greenstone ', officially South Island or Te Waipounamu or archaically New Munster ) is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being
1280-477: A warrant for the arrest of Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata for arson. Wakefield referred to the chiefs in a letter as a pair of "traveling bullies". Thompson commandeered the government brig , which was in Nelson at the time. On the morning of 17 June the party, its size swelled to between 49 and 60 men, including chief surveyor Frederick Tuckett and others who had joined the party after landing, approached
1360-657: A year or so, with Kāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made a major incursion into Kāi Tahu territory. 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. Te Puoho took his captives over
1440-463: Is not arson to burn your own house. The natives had never sold the Wairau, the hut which was burned was built on ground which belonged to the natives, and of materials which belonged to them also; consequently no arson was committed and therefore the warrant was illegal.'" From Nelson, FitzRoy and his officials sailed to Waikanae in the North Island , where he conducted a one-man inquiry into
1520-532: Is sparsely populated and still predominantly rural areas or nature reserves. However, there are 15 urban areas in the South Island with a population of 10,000 or more: Wairau Affray Arthur Wakefield † Henry Thompson † Te Rauparaha Te Rangihaeata The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843, also called the Wairau Massacre and the Wairau Incident ,
1600-441: Is the largest Christian denomination in the South Island with 12.7 percent affiliating, closely followed by Catholicism at 12.1 percent and Presbyterianism at 11.7 percent. These figures are somewhat skewed between the regions of the south, due largely to the original settlement of southern cities (Dunedin, for example, was founded by Scottish Presbyterians, whereas Christchurch was founded by English Anglicans). The South Island
1680-737: The States General of the Netherlands , and that name appeared on his first maps of the country. Dutch cartographers changed the name to Nova Zeelandia in Latin, from Nieuw Zeeland , after the Dutch province of Zeeland . It was subsequently Anglicised as New Zealand by British naval captain James Cook of HM Bark Endeavour who visited the islands more than 100 years after Tasman during (1769–70). The first European settlement in
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#17327725842501760-519: The Crown Range to Lake Wakatipu and thence to Southland, where he was killed, and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Tūhawaiki . Kāi Tahu and Ngāti Toa established peace by 1839, with Te Rauparaha releasing the Kāi Tahu captives he held. Formal marriages between the leading families in the two tribes sealed the peace. The first Europeans known to reach the South Island were
1840-765: The Firth of Clyde ) – the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing . Captain William Cargill , a veteran of the Peninsular War , served as the colony's first leader : Otago citizens subsequently elected him to the office of Superintendent of the Province of Otago . While the North Island was convulsed by the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, the South Island, with its low Māori population,
1920-517: The Local Government Act 2002 gives the South Island (and its adjacent islands) seven regional councils for the administration of regional environmental and transport matters and 25 territorial authorities that administer roads, sewerage, building consents, and other local matters. Four of the territorial councils (one city and three districts) also perform the functions of a regional council and are known as unitary authorities under
2000-522: The Musket Wars expanding iwi colonised Te Tau Ihu , a region comprising parts of modern-day Tasman , Nelson and Malborough , including Ngāti Kuia , Rangitāne , Ngāti Tama , and later Ngāti Toarangatira after Te Rauparaha's wars of conquest. British settlement began with expansive and cheap land purchases early on, and settlers quickly outnumbered Māori. As a result the Wairau Affray
2080-487: The Tasman and Marlborough District Councils) also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. This is a list of political parties, past and present, who have their headquarters in the South Island. Compared to the more populated and multi-ethnic North Island, the South Island has a smaller, more homogeneous resident population of 1,260,000 (June 2024). The South Island had
2160-557: The British immediately. Te Rangihaeata demanded utu (revenge) for the death of his wife Te Rongo. The Maori killed all the remaining captives, including Thompson, Samuel Cottrell, a member of the original survey team; interpreter John Brooks, and Captain Wakefield. Four Māori died and three were wounded in the incident. The British lost 22 dead and five wounded. Te Rongo is sometimes stated to also be Te Rauparaha's daughter but
2240-546: The Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism , proved disadvantageous when Māori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship. In the early 18th century, Kāi Tahu , a Māori tribe who originated on the east coast of the North Island , began migrating to the northern part of the South Island. There they and Kāti Māmoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley . Ngāti Māmoe then ceded
2320-555: The Māori camp. The New Zealand Company's storekeeper James Howard issued the British men with cutlasses, bayonets, pistols and muskets. At the path on the other side of a stream, Te Rauparaha stood surrounded by about 90 warriors, as well as by women and children. He allowed Thompson and five other men to approach him, but requested the rest of the British party to remain on their side of the stream. Thompson refused to shake hands with Te Rauparaha and said that he had come to arrest him, not over
2400-611: The New Zealand Company were incensed by the Governor's finding, but it had been both prudent and pragmatic; Māori outnumbered settlers 900 to one. Many iwi had been amassing weapons for decades, giving them the capacity to annihilate settlements in the Wellington and Nelson areas. FitzRoy knew it was highly improbable that troops would be despatched by the British Government to wage war on the Māori or defend
2480-649: The New Zealand government. When New Zealand was separated from the colony of New South Wales in 1841 and established as a Crown colony in its own right, the Royal Charter effecting this provided that "the principal Islands, heretofore known as, or commonly called, the 'Northern Island', the Middle Island', and 'Stewart's Island', shall henceforward be designated and known respectively as ' New Ulster ', ' New Munster ', and ' New Leinster '". These divisions were of geographical significance only, not used as
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2560-705: The North Island in 1911. The drift north of people and businesses continued throughout the twentieth century. The island has been known internationally as the South Island for many years. The Te Reo Māori name for it Te Waipounamu now also has official recognition but it remains seldom used by most residents. in the Māori language. Said to mean "the Water(s) of Greenstone ", Te Waipounamu possibly evolved from Te Wāhi Pounamu ("the Place of Greenstone"). When Captain James Cook visited in 1769, he recorded
2640-493: The Pakeha had in the first instance been very much to blame; and I determined to come down and inquire into all the circumstances and see who was really in the wrong." Te Rauparaha, Te Rangihaeata and other Māori present were invited to recount their version of events, while FitzRoy took notes and interrupted with further questions. He concluded the meeting by addressing the gathering again, to announce he had made his decision: "In
2720-504: The South Island Te Waka o Aoraki , referring to another Māori legend called the story of Aoraki, as after the world was created, Aoraki and his three brothers came down in a waka to visit their mother, Papatūānuku the earth mother, only to crash after failing to perform a karakia on their way back home to their father, Ranginui (also known as Raki) the sky father, in turn causing the waka to transform into an island and
2800-863: The South Island was founded at Bluff in 1823 by James Spencer, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo . In January 1827, the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville arrived in Tasman Bay on the corvette Astrolabe . A number of landmarks around Tasman Bay were named by d'Urville and his crew, including d'Urville Island , French Pass and Torrent Bay . Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in February 1840, Lieutenant-Governor Captain William Hobson declared British sovereignty over New Zealand in May 1840 and
2880-589: The South Island, along with the rest of New Zealand, briefly became a part of the Colony of New South Wales . This declaration was in response to France's attempts to colonise the South Island at Akaroa and the New Zealand Company attempts to establish a separate colony in Wellington , and so Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840 (the North Island by treaty and
2960-598: The South Island. Four Māori died and three were wounded in the incident, while among the Europeans the toll was 22 dead and five wounded. Twelve of the Europeans were shot dead or clubbed to death after surrendering to Māori who were pursuing them. The Otago Settlement, sponsored by the Free Church of Scotland , took concrete form in Otago in March 1848 with the arrival of the first two immigrant ships from Greenock (on
3040-580: The South by discovery). Seven days after the declaration, the Treaty was signed at Akaroa on 28 May. On 17 June 1843, Māori and British settlers clashed at Wairau in what became known as the Wairau Affray . Also known as the Wairau Massacre in most older texts, it was the first serious clash of arms between the two parties after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in
3120-427: The Wairau Valley and was there during the 1848 earthquake. This rohe (area) has been the subject of a lengthy but successful land/compensation claim by the original Rangitane iwi, which had been displaced in the 1820s by Te Rauparaha's heke. The Rangitāne iwi are recognised as the tangata whenua (people of the land). In 1944 a government investigation established that the Wairau land had never been legally sold to
3200-480: The bodies where they were found. Thirteen were put in one grave and the rest were buried in smaller groups. Historian Michael Belgrave described the British attempt to survey the land as illegal, inopportune and ultimately disastrous. Reverberations of a reported massacre were felt as far away as England, where the New Zealand Company was almost ruined by the news of "British citizens being murdered by barbarous natives". Land sales almost halted, and it became obvious
3280-490: 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. Several internet-based groups advocate their support for greater self-determination . On 13 October 2010, South Island Mayors led by Bob Parker of Christchurch displayed united support for
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3360-470: The company was being less than honest in its land purchasing tactics, and reports on the events in local newspapers were far from accurate. In the Nelson area, settlers became increasingly nervous. One group sent a deputation to the Government complaining that those who had died had been discharging their "duty as magistrates and British subjects ... the persons by whom they were killed are murderers in
3440-759: The country's total population has steadily decreased, with the population of the South island now being less than that of the North Island's largest city, Auckland. This growing disparity has stabilised in recent years, with both the 2013 and 2018 censuses showing the South Island to have a very similar percentage of the national population (around 23%–24%). At the 2023 census, 82.8% of South Islanders identified as European ( Pākehā ), 11.3% as Māori , 3.4% as Pacific peoples , 10.5% as Asian , 1.6% as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, 1.4% as other ethnicities. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity. Europeans form
3520-463: The crew of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who arrived in his ships Heemskerck and Zeehaen . In December 1642, Tasman anchored at the northern end of the island in Golden Bay / Mohua which he named Moordenaar's Bay (Murderers Bay) before sailing northward to Tonga following a clash with Māori. Tasman sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts. Tasman called them Staten Landt , after
3600-593: The east coast regions north of the Waiau Toa / Clarence River to Kāi Tahu. Kāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikōura . By the 1730s, Kāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury , including Banks Peninsula . From there they spread further south and into the West Coast . In 1827–28, Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Kāi Tahu at Kaikōura. Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi Pā , ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts,
3680-432: The editor of a Wellington newspaper, The New Zealand Gazette , for their aggressive attitude towards Māori, warning that he would ensure that "not an acre, not an inch of land belonging to the natives shall be touched without their consent". He also demanded the resignation of the surviving magistrates who had issued the arrest warrants for the Māori chiefs. "'Arson,' said the Governor, 'is burning another man's house, it
3760-461: The end of the year, even as allotments were being sold in England, the company's agents in New Zealand were having difficulty in identifying available land to form the settlement, let alone buying it from local Māori. The settlers began to purchase large areas of land directly from Māori, without consulting the newly established colonial government and often without establishing vendors' rights to sell
3840-533: The eyes of common sense and justice". In late January or early February 1844, a month after taking up his post, incoming Governor Robert FitzRoy visited Wellington and Nelson in a bid to quell the hostility between Māori and British, particularly in the wake of the Wairau Affray. So many conflicting statements had been published that it was impossible for him to decide who had been at fault. But he immediately upbraided New Zealand Company representatives and
3920-518: The far south of the island. Around the same time, a group of Māori migrated to Rēkohu (the Chatham Islands ), where, in adapting to the local climate and the availability of resources, they eventually evolved into a separate people known as the Moriori with its own distinct language – closely related to the parent culture and language in mainland New Zealand . One notable feature of
4000-562: The first Chinese migrants had been invited by the Otago Provincial government, they quickly became the target of hostility from white settlers and laws were enacted specifically to discourage them from coming to New Zealand. The South Island has no separately represented country subdivision , but is guaranteed 16 of the electorates in the New Zealand House of Representatives . A two-tier structure constituted under
4080-538: The first place, the white men were in the wrong. They had no right to survey the land ... they had no right to build the houses on the land. As they were, then, first in the wrong, I will not avenge their deaths." But FitzRoy, who had a background as a humanitarian, told the chiefs they had committed "a horrible crime, in murdering men who had surrendered themselves in reliance on your honour as chiefs. White men never kill their prisoners". He urged British and Māori to live peaceably, with no more bloodshed. Settlers and
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#17327725842504160-486: The four brothers into the mountain ranges on top of it. Charcoal drawings can be found on limestone rock shelters in the centre of the South Island, with over 550 sites 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 . They were drawn by early Māori , but by
4240-482: The incident. He opened proceedings by telling a meeting of 500 Māori: "When I first heard of the Wairau massacre ... I was exceedingly angry ... My first thought was to revenge the deaths of my friends, and the other Pākehā who had been killed, and for that purpose to bring many ships of war ... with many soldiers; and had I done so, you would have been sacrificed and your pa destroyed. But when I considered, I saw that
4320-548: The island from north to south. They include New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki / Mount Cook , at 3,724 metres (12,218 feet). The high Kaikōura Ranges lie to the northeast. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains , while the West Coast is renowned for its rough coastlines, such as Fiordland , a very high proportion of native bush and national parks , and the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers . With
4400-587: The island's name phonetically as "Toai poonamoo". In the 19th century, some maps identified the South Island as Middle Island or New Munster (named after Munster province in Southern Ireland) with the name South Island or New Leinster was used for today's Stewart Island / Rakiura . In 1907, the Minister for Lands gave instructions to the Land and Survey Department that the name Middle Island
4480-538: The land and had not been paid for it. They had controlled the area since the early 1830s, after they defeated the previous occupants, the Rangitāne iwi . Ngāti Toa believed that under British law they were the rightful owners and had not sold the land. They had asked for the surveying to stop until the pending investigation into the Blenkinsop Indenture (the deed) by Land Commissioner William Spain had been determined. In January 1843, Nohorua,
4560-453: The land issue but for burning the huts. Te Rauparaha replied that the huts had been made from rushes grown on his own land, and thus he had burnt his own property. Thompson insisted on arresting Te Rauparaha, produced a pair of handcuffs, and called out to the men on the far side of the stream, ordering them to fix bayonets and advance. As they began to cross, one of the British fired a shot (apparently by accident). Te Rangihaeata's wife Te Rongo
4640-504: The land. The situation led to tension and caused disputes between the parties. In January 1843, Captain Arthur Wakefield had been dispatched by the New Zealand Company to lead the first group of settlers to Nelson. He was the younger brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield , one of the principal officers of the company, and Colonel William Wakefield . Arthur wrote to Edward that he had located the required amount of land at Wairau,
4720-674: The land. They burned down roughly-built thatched huts that contained surveying equipment. The surveyors were rounded up and sent unharmed back to Nelson. Bolstered by a report in the Nelson Examiner newspaper of "Outrages by the Maori at Wairoo", Wakefield assembled a party of men, including Police Magistrate and Native Protector Henry Augustus Thompson, magistrate Captain R. England, Crown prosecutor and newspaper editor G.R. Richardson and about 50 men press-ganged into service, swearing them in as special constables . Thompson issued
4800-747: The majority in all districts of the South Island, ranging from 75.9% in Christchurch City to 92.1% in the Waimakariri district . The proportion of South Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census was 21.4%. The most common foreign countries of birth are England (22.0% of overseas-born residents), Australia (8.8%), the Philippines (7.9%), Mainland China (6.5%) and India (5.4%). Around 48.6 percent of South Islanders affiliate with Christianity and 3.1 percent affiliate with non-Christian religions, while 45.8 percent are irreligious. Anglicanism
4880-407: The massacre, Te Rauparaha was captured in 1846 for organising an uprising in the Hutt Valley and was imprisoned on HMS Calliope in Auckland without charges being brought. Author Ranginui Walker has claimed the arrest was delayed punishment for the Wairau killings. The Ngāti Toa iwi sold the Wairau land while Te Rauparaha was held in captivity. After his release, Te Rauparaha returned to
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#17327725842504960-405: The mouth of the Patea River ), and New Munster Province (and the southern portion of the North Island , up to the mouth of the Patea River , the South Island and Stewart Island). Each province had a Governor and Legislative and Executive Council, in addition to the Governor-in-Chief and Legislative and Executive Council for the whole colony. The 1846 Constitution Act was later suspended, and only
5040-403: The natives". The effect of the massacre and the passive reaction of FitzRoy set in train a chain of events that still rumble through the New Zealand courts today. Its immediate effect was to alarm settlers in New Plymouth, who had insecure title to land purchased under similar circumstances to Wairau. FitzRoy was very unpopular and was recalled to be replaced by Governor George Grey . After
5120-447: The older brother of Te Rauparaha, led a delegation of chiefs to Nelson to protest about British activity in the Wairau Plains. Two months later Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata arrived in Nelson, urging that the issue of the land ownership be left to William Spain. Based in Wellington, he had begun investigating all the claimed purchases of the New Zealand Company. Spain later wrote that during that visit, Arthur Wakefield "wished to make them
5200-526: The provincial government provisions were implemented. Early in 1848 Edward John Eyre was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster. The Provincial Council of New Munster had only one legislative session, in 1849, before it succumbed to the virulent attacks of settlers from Wellington . Governor Sir George Grey , sensible to the pressures, inspired an ordinance of the General Legislative Council under which new Legislative Councils would be established in each province with two-thirds of their members elected on
5280-458: The settlers. FitzRoy's report was endorsed by Colonial Secretary Lord Stanley , who said the actions of the party led by Thompson and Wakefield had been "manifestly illegal, unjust and unwise", and that their deaths had occurred as a "natural and immediate sequence". William Williams , a leading Church Missionary Society missionary, also clearly apportioned blame to "our countrymen, who began with much indiscretion & gave much provocation to
5360-518: The smaller but more populous North Island and sparsely populated Stewart Island . It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait , to the west by the Tasman Sea , to the south by the Foveaux Strait and Southern Ocean , and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island , constituting 56% of New Zealand's land area. At low altitudes, it has an oceanic climate . The major centres are Christchurch , with
5440-496: The summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi pā (fortified village). Kaiapoi was engaged in a three-month siege by Te Rauparaha, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Kāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe . In 1832–33 Kāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at Lake Grassmere . Kāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped. Fighting continued for
5520-453: The surveyors' tools but left the men unharmed. Te Rauparaha and Nohorua wrote to Spain on 12 May, urgently asking him to travel to the South Island to settle the company's claim to Wairau. Spain replied that he would do so when his business in Wellington was complete. A month later, with still no sign of Spain, Te Rauparaha led a party to Wairau, where they destroyed all the surveyors' equipment and shelters that had been made with products of
5600-498: The time Europeans arrived, local Māori did not know the origins of the drawings. Early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha . They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Māmoe in the 16th century. Kāti Māmoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāi Tahu who migrated south in the 17th century. While today there is no distinct Kāti Māmoe organisation, many Kāi Tahu have Kāti Māmoe links in their whakapapa and especially in
5680-430: The two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island , with the definite article . It is also normal to use the preposition in rather than on , for example "Christchurch is in the South Island", "my mother lives in the South Island". Maps, headings, tables, and adjectival expressions use South Island without "the". As it is 32% larger than the North Island but contains less than
5760-437: The well after failing to find any oil. Anadarko Petroleum made a test drilling in the area in early 2014, without success. Schlumberger subsequently made a drilling attempt in the same areas later in the year. 47°06′S 169°42′E / 47.1°S 169.7°E / -47.1; 169.7 This Southland Region geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
5840-728: The well-prepared Kāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha returned to his Kapiti Island stronghold. In November 1830, Te Rauparaha persuaded Captain John Stewart of the brig Elizabeth to carry him and his warriors in secret to Akaroa , whereby in subterfuge they captured the leading Kāi 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, though arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, nevertheless escaped conviction. In
5920-402: Was Te Rangihaeata's wife. The incident heightened fears among settlers of an armed Māori insurrection. It created the first major challenge for Governor Robert FitzRoy , who took up his posting in New Zealand six months later. FitzRoy investigated the incident and exonerated Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, for which he was strongly criticised by settlers and the New Zealand Company . In 1944
6000-520: Was generally peaceful. In 1861, gold was discovered at Gabriel's Gully in Central Otago , sparking a gold rush . Dunedin became the wealthiest city in the country, and many in the South Island resented financing the North Island's wars. In the 1860s, several thousand Chinese men, mostly from the Guangdong province, migrated to New Zealand to work on the South Island goldfields. Although
6080-528: Was killed in one of the first volleys, sparking gunfire from both sides. The British retreated across the stream, scrambling up the hill under fire from the Ngāti Toa. Several people from both sides were killed. Te Rauparaha ordered the Ngāti Toa warriors to cross the stream in pursuit. Those British who had not escaped were quickly overtaken. Wakefield called for a ceasefire and surrendered, along with Thompson, Richardson and ten others. The Maori killed two of
6160-542: Was not to be used in the future. "South Island will be adhered to in all cases". Although the island had been known as the South Island for many years, in 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that along with the North Island, the South Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially named the island South Island or Te Waipounamu in October 2013. In prose,
6240-486: Was probably his relation in a different way, she was a chief 'in her own right' and Ngāti Mutunga on her father's side. Her first husband was Captain John Blenkinsop, the man who created the deed that Wakefield purchased and that gave rise to the fighting. Some survivors fled to Nelson to raise the alarm and a search party, including Wellington magistrates and a group of sailors, returned to Wairau and buried
6320-695: Was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in the South Island . The incident was sparked when a magistrate and a representative of the New Zealand Company , who held a duplicitous deed to land in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough in the north of the South Island, led a group of European settlers to attempt to arrest Ngāti Toa chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata . Fighting broke out and 22 British settlers were killed, nine after their surrender. Four Māori were killed, including Te Rongo, who
6400-466: Was the only conflict of the New Zealand Wars to occur in the South Island. The island became rich and prosperous and Dunedin boomed during the 1860s Otago gold rush , which was shaped by extensive Chinese immigration . After the gold rush the " drift to the north " meant the North Island displaced the South as the most populous. The South Island is shaped by the Southern Alps , which run along
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