Southland, New Zealand
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Southland Murihiku |
|
|---|---|
| Region of New Zealand | |
| Southland Region | |
 Southland Region within New Zealand |
|
| Country | New Zealand |
| Island | South Island |
| Established | 1989 |
| Seat | Invercargill |
| Territorial authorities | |
| Government | |
| • Chair | Nicol Horrell |
| • Deputy Chair | Lloyd McCallum |
| Area | |
| • Region | 34,357 km2 (13,265 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2016) | |
| • Region | 98,000 |
| • Density | 2.9/km2 (7.4/sq mi) |
| Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) |
| • Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
Southland (Māori: Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans over 3,400 km of coast.
Southland was a scene of early extended contact between Europeans and Maori, in this case sealers, whalers and missionaries – Wohlers at Ruapuke. In 1853, Walter Mantell purchased Murihiku from local Maori iwi, claiming the land for European settlement. Over successive decades, present-day Southland and Otago were settled by large numbers of Scottish settlers. Immigration to New Zealand had been precipitated by an economic depression in Scotland and a schism between the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland.
In 1852, James Menzies, leader of the Southland separatist movement, became the first Superintendent of the tiny Southland electorate which was still part of the large Otago region. Under the influence of Menzies, Southland Province (a small part of the present Region, centred on Invercargill) seceded from Otago in 1861 following the escalation of political tensions.
However, rising debt forced Southland to rejoin Otago in 1870, and the province was abolished entirely when the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 November 1876. In the 1880s, the development of an export industry based on butter and cheese encouraged the growth of dairy farming in Southland. Consequently, the colony's first dairy factory was established at Edendale in 1882. Much of this export went to the United Kingdom.
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