Invercargill
Invercargill
Waihopai |
|
| Population: | 48,200
(urban)
50,800
(territorial)| Mayor: | Tim Shadbolt | | Urban Area |
|---|
| Extent: | Makarewa to Woodend;
west to Otatara | | Territorial Authority |
|---|
| Name: | Invercargill City | | Land area: | 491km² | | Extent: | Makarewa to Bluff;
Oreti Beach to
Kennington | | Regional Council: | Southland | |
Invercargill (
Waihopai in
Maori) is the southern-most and western-most city in
New Zealand, and one of the southern-most settlements in the world. It is the commercial centre of the
Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the
Southland Plains on the
Oreti or New River some 18 km north of
Bluff, which is the southernmost town in the South Island. It is bordered by large areas of conservation land and marine reserves, including
Fiordland National Park covering the south-west corner of the South Island. There is much rich farmland to the north, as far as the beautiful lakes of neighbouring
Otago.
In
1856 a petition was put forward to
Thomas Gore Browne, the
Governor of New Zealand, for a port at Bluff. Browne agreed to the petition and gave the name Invercargill to the settlement north of the port.
Inver comes from the
Scots Gaelic word
inbhir meaning
a river's mouth and
Cargill is in honour of Captain
William Cargill, who was at the time the Superintendent of
Otago, of which Southland was then a part.
During the mid
1950s, Invercargill Airport was used as an American base for
Operation Deep Freeze. Large planes destined for
McMurdo Sound in the
Antarctic utilised the airport assisted in takeoff by
JATO rockets under their wings.
Invercargill is home to the
Southern Institute of Technology, which has introduced a fees-free scheme. There is a large park,
Queen's Park, just north of the city centre. This park has
botanical gardens, an aviary, sports grounds, and is also home to the
Southland Museum and Art Gallery.
Anderson Park, located on the northern boundary of Invercargill, consisting of a large Georgian-style residence set in 24 hectares of landscaped gardens. The house displays Invercargill's extensive collection of New Zealand art.
As a regional centre, it has a large number of shops. Due to the
Invercargill Licensing Trust, alcohol is not sold in supermarkets, the monopoly trust putting all profits back into the community. Many streets in the city, especially in the centre and main shopping district, are named after
British rivers. These include
Dee,
Tyne,
Esk,
Don,
Thames,
Mersey,
Ness,
Yarrow,
Spey,
Tay, and
Eye rivers.
Invercargill is at the southern end of the
Main South Line railway, which extends up the east coast to
Christchurch via Dunedin. Until the cancellation of
the Southerner in 2002, Invercargill had the southernmost passenger railway station in the world. Passenger trains no longer call in Invercargill, except for occasional excursions. The
Bluff Branch extends south from Invercargill and has been freight-only since 1967. It is also home of the
SBS Invitational Amateur golf tournament which is held every year at the beginning of March.
In recent years, publicity has been brought to the southern city by the election of
Tim Shadbolt, a colourful and outspoken former student activist, as mayor.
A temperate oceanic climate similar to that of the
British Isles (the rain is warmer in summer) prevails in Invercargill, where the mean daily temperature ranges from 5.2°C in July to 13.8°C in January. Precipitation averages 1064 mm annually, and measurable snowfall is occasionally seen during the winter months of June to September. It is New Zealand's cloudiest major centre, averaging 1580 hours of sunshine per annum.
The average temperature high ranges from 18.4°C in January to 11.1°C in August. Due to the relatively high latitude (46° 42'), the city enjoys nearly 16 hours of daylight at the
summer solstice in late December.
Invercargill is "The city of Water and Light". A recent sign also states "Invercargill, where dreams can come true" with an image from the 2005 film
The World's Fastest Indian.
Invercargill is probably best-known internationally for the
Invercargill March, a stirring piece of military music written in
1900 by the composer
Alex F. Lithgow, who lived in Invercargill from the age of six, although born in Scotland. The march was specifically written for the City of Invercargill, which Alex Lithgow dearly missed while he was away.
"Invercargill" rates alongside old favourites such as the
Gladiator March,
Liberty Bell, the
Radetsky March, and other stirring Sousa marches. The Invercargill March is especially popular in the
United States of America. It is a favorite of the
US Marines, and was the Regimental March of the 56th Infantry Regiment of the
New York Guard during
World War 2.
Schools in Invercargill include:
High schools
All High Schools in Invercargill are Year 7-13, following a Ministry of Education review in 2004 which made most of Invercargill's primary schools Year 1-6 and closed Year 7-8 schools Rosedale Intermediate and Collingwood Intermediate.
*
James Hargest College is a school in northern Invercargill of about 1800 students.
*
Aurora College was established in 2005, brought in after Mount Anglem College was closed in 2004.
*
Southland Girls' High School In 2005 became the first state Year 7-13 single-sex female school in New Zealand.
*
Southland Boys' High School In 2005 became the first state Year 7-13 single-sex male school in New Zealand.
*
Verdon College is a co-educational Catholic school of about 600 students.
Primary Schools
Some Primary Schools are Year 1-8, but most are Year 1-6.
*
St Joseph's, a small Catholic school near St Mary's Basilica
*
Ascot Community School, currently the city's only public Year 1-8 school.
*
Fernworth Primary*
Windsor North School, previously known as Invercargill North School.
*Waihopai School, co-ed school for years 1-6
*St John's School for girls, small school for Years 1-8.
*Sacred Heart Primary School, North Road, Waikiwi. Years 1-6 Special Character Catholic Family school serving the Northern suburbs of Waikiwi, Grasmere and Makarewa.
|
Invercargill Water Tower, taken from the Queens Park Fountains |
*
Ernest Godward - inventor of the spiral hairpin and the petrol economiser
*
Peter Arnett - NBC war correspondent
*
Rowena Jackson -
Royal Ballet prima ballerina*
Johnnie Checketts - Silver Star, Wingco and Spitfire Ace
*
Bill Crawford-Crompton - Silver Star, Air Vice Marshal and WW2 Commander and Ace
*
Herbert Pither - aviation legend of Southland, made cycles, petrol engines, marine engineering etc.
*
Herbert James Burt Munro - inventor, motorcycle enthusiast, racer and under 1000 cc land speed record holder.
*
Gerald Cross - technological experimenter
*
David Cross - technological experimenter
*
Marton Csokas - actor in major
Hollywood films
*
John Pomeroy - inventor of the pomeroy (tracer) bullet
*
Joseph Hatch - pharmacist, sealing and penguin oil trade, subantarctic
*
Alfred Philpott - entomologist, helped to set up Cawthron Institute
*
Barry Hillis - solar power enthusiast
*
Briggader James Hargest - Briggader and Invercargill battalion leader in WW2
*
James Herries Beattie - local historian, Percy Smith medal in anthropology
*
Robert McNab - historian, MP etc.
*
Richard Henry - dedicated to the early preservation of N.Z.'s flightless birds
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Joseph Ward - Prime Minister of New Zealand
*
Garfield Todd - Prime Minister of Rhodesia
*
Henry Gordon Munro - All Black, 1924-25 Invincibles
*
Victor Spencer - last soldier to be executed in World War I, pardoned in 2005
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Georgie West - first
Māori to enter
RNZAF *
Bernice Mene - New Zealand Netball (Silver Ferns) Captain
*
Jeff Wilson - All Black and Black Cap ("
Double All Black")
*
Lesley Nicol -
Silver Ferns Captain
*
Leicester Rutledge - All Black
*
Bill Manhire - N.Z.'s inaugural poet laureate
*
Dan Davin - author
*
Jeremy Waldron - prominent legal and political philosopher
*
Jon Gadsby - comedian
*
Chris Knox - infamous (in NZ) alternative rock musician
*
Kumugaya,
Japan*
*
City of Invercargill*
Invercargill City Council*
ICC Map page*
Invercargill Information Center*
Invercargill Student Forum
