Southland District


Southland District is a New Zealand territorial authority that covers the south of the South Island as well as Stewart Island/Rakiura.

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.

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 30,400.94 km2, 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.

Towns and localities

Southland District contains the following towns and localities:

Mararoa Waimea Ward

Southland District had a population of 30,864 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,251 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 2,427 people since the 2006 census. There were 11,982 households. There were 16,029 males and 14,835 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. Of the total population, 6,534 people were aged up to 15 years, 5,262 were 15 to 29, 14,436 were 30 to 64, and 4,635 were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.
Ethnicities were 88.1% European/Pākehā, 11.1% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 6.2% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 13.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.7% had no religion, 38.4% were Christian, and 2.7% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 3,363 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 5,739 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,300. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 13,956 people were employed full-time, 4,053 were part-time, and 519 were unemployed.

Mayor

The current district mayor is Gary Tong. He has held this position since 2013.

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