Southland District


Southland District is a New Zealand territorial authority district that covers most of the southern end of the South Island as well as Stewart Island.
WWW southlanddc.govt.nz

History

Southland District was formed through the 1989 local government reforms. Four local authorities were amalgamated at that time: Wallace County, Winton Borough, Stewart Island County and most of Southland County. John Casey, who was first elected onto Southland County Council in 1977, oversaw the amalgamation and was elected Southland District's first mayor in 1989.
Winton Wallacetown Ward was renamed Oreti Ward with effect from the Council election on 12 October 2019. The Ōreti River flows through this ward.

Geography

Southland District covers the majority of the land area of Southland Region, although the region also covers Gore District, Invercargill City and adjacent territorial waters. It has a land area of, excluding inland waters such as Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, and Lake Hauroko.
Southland District contains the islands south of Foveaux Strait:
The seat of the district council is Invercargill, which, however, is not part of Southland District, but a territorial authority in its own right.
Two of New Zealand's largest national parks are within the boundaries of Southland District: Fiordland National Park, and Rakiura National Park.

Urban areas and settlements

The Southland District has three towns with a population over 1,000. Together, they are home to % of the district's population.
Urban areaPopulation
(		% of district
Te Anau%
Winton%
Riverton%

Other settlements and localities in the district include:

Mararoa Waimea Ward

Five Rivers Area:

Waiau Aparima Ward

Riverton Area:

Waihopai Toetoe Ward

Toetoes Area:

Oreti Ward

Wallacetown Area:

Stewart Island-Rakiura Ward

Demographics

Southland District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Southland District had a population of 31,833 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 969 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,220 people since the 2013 census. There were 16,533 males, 15,219 females and 78 people of other genders in 13,371 dwellings. 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.3 years. There were 6,387 people aged under 15 years, 5,025 aged 15 to 29, 14,874 aged 30 to 64, and 5,544 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 86.3% European ; 13.0% Māori; 1.4% Pasifika; 7.6% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 3.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.4%, Māori language by 2.0%, Samoan by 0.2% and other languages by 7.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.9%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 31.8% Christian, 0.5% Hindu, 0.1% Islam, 0.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 0.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.7%, and 8.7% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 3,174 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 14,385 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 7,026 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $44,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 2,211 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 14,340 people were employed full-time, 3,969 were part-time, and 378 were unemployed.
NameArea
PopulationDensity
DwellingsMedian ageMedian
income
Mararoa Waimea Ward17,419.428,3190.483,86441.0 years$44,900
Waiau Aparima Ward6,405.508,1421.273,40841.2 years$38,500
Oreti Ward1,641.778,5595.213,32139.6 years$47,700
Waihopai Toetoe Ward2,360.786,3242.682,48138.9 years$46,200
Stewart Island/Rakiura Ward1,747.724860.2829747.4 years$38,400
New Zealand38.1 years$41,500

Government

Mayor

The current district mayor is Rob Scott. He has held this position since 2022.

Council

The district council is made up of twelve elected members, from various ward areas, and, like any other local authority, is elected every three years.

Sister cities

Current sister city

Former sister city

Southland District was a sister city to Wyong Shire in New South Wales, Australia until 2010.