South Island

Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.



Links: South Island Travel Blogs (6874) | South Island Travel Photos | Map of South Island | New Zealand Travel Forum | New Zealand Facts | Map of New Zealand

Areas in South Island: Abel Tasman National Park | Akaroa | Albert Town | Amberley | Arthur's Pass National Park | Banks Peninsula | Blenheim | Bluff | Cadrona | Canterbury Plains | Central Otago | Cheviot | Christchurch | Curio Bay | Dansey's Pass | Dunedin | Fairlie | Fiordland National Park | Fox Glacier | Franz Josef | Geraldine | Glaciers | Glenorchy | Glentunnel | Greymouth | Haast Pass | Hanmer Springs | Hokitika | Invercargill | Kahurangi National Park | Kaikoura | Lake Alexandrina | Lake Clearwater | Lake Mahinapuha | Lake Pukaki | Lake Tekapo | Lake Wakatipu | Le Bons Bay | Loburn | Mackenzie District | Makarora | Marlborough | Methven | Milford Sound | Moeraki Boulders | Motueka | Mount Aspiring National Park | Mount Cook National Park | Mount Sunday | Murchison | Nelson Lakes National Park | Nelson Region | Oamaru | Onuku | Otago | Owaki Scenic Reserve | Paparoa National Park | Picton | Porpoise Bay | Punakaiki & the Pancake Rocks | Purakaunui | Queen Charlotte Sound | Queenstown | Rakaia | Reefton | Robin Hood Bay | Ross | Routeburn Track | Southland | Springfield | Stewart Island | Te Anau | Timaru | Wanaka | Ward | West Coast | Westland National Park | Westport | Woodend