Southland is the most southerly area of the South Island of New Zealand. Southland had a separate provincial government from 1861 to 1870. After getting into financial difficulties, Southland was administered by Otago as a subprovince from 1870 to 1875.
Southland is recognized as the area south of an irregular line from near Milford Sound, on the west coast, to the south coast, east of Waikawa. It is roughly triangular in shape. This area, excluding Fiordland and Stewart Island across Foveaux Strait, covers about 3,725,000 acres (1,507,500 hectares). The Hokonui mountain range divides the cultivated area into two main areas—the Southland and Waimea Plains. West of the Waiau River is Fiordland, a mountainous, bush-covered area. Fiordland National Park is the largest national park in New Zealand. In 1986, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Fiordland National Park to its World Heritage List. The list includes sites UNESCO considers to be places of unique natural or cultural importance. The park is listed as part of the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage Area. 
The largest lakes in Southland are Te Anau and the adjoining Manapouri. Major rivers include the Waiau, the Mataura, the Oreti, and the Aparima.
Invercargill is the main city in the region. The Port of Southland is at Bluff. The second largest city is Gore, the center of a prosperous farming district.
Southland has meat-processing works. Other major plants include an aluminum smelter, a paper mill, several sawmills, a phosphate works, a cheese factory, and several limeworks.
Southland’s economy is based mainly on its farmland. Farmers keep sheep, beef cattle, and dairy cattle. Crops include cereals, potatoes, and hay. The fishing industry is based mainly at Bluff. There are oyster beds in Foveaux Strait. Fishing boats catch rock lobsters and finfish. Coal mines lie at Ohai, 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Invercargill, and the Mataura lignite fields lie in eastern Southland. Lumber is another important resource.
The main highway that extends the length of the South Island links Bluff, Invercargill, and Gore. The western coast has few roads. Invercargill is the southern terminal of the South Island main trunk line and of services operated by Air New Zealand. A ferry service operates between Stewart Island and Bluff.
Southland’s main newspaper is Southland Times. A smaller newspaper, The Ensign, is published daily. The government-owned Radio New Zealand operates commercial and national radio stations.
Dusky Sound, on the west coast of Southland, was one of many features of Southland’s coast that the British explorer James Cook noted when he sailed around the South Island in 1770. By 1792, sealers had established a station there. In 1829, a whaling station at Preservation Inlet, to the south, became one of the first permanent European settlements in the South Island.
The first major settlement of the Otago area, of which Southland was a part, began in 1848. Immigrants from Scotland arrived there. Five years later, the British government bought Southland from Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand. The first large group of settlers founded Invercargill. They named the town in honor of Captain William Cargill, a leader of the first Scottish settlers to Otago.
In 1861, Southland was declared a separate province. The new provincial government undertook a program of road making and railroad extensions. By 1870, financial difficulties had grown so serious that bankruptcy was looming, and Southland once more became linked with Otago. Provincial governments were abolished altogether in 1875.
After World War II ended in 1945, Southland became one of the most prosperous areas in New Zealand. Since the 1970’s, the population growth has slowed.
