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New Zealand - South Island |
| The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, meaning "The Waters of Greenstone" (greenstone being jade), possibly evolved from Te Wa-hi Pounamu which means "The Place Of Greenstone". The island is also known as Te Waka a Ma-ui which means "Ma-ui's Canoe" |
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The South Island is often called "the Mainland". Today this expression is used humorously, although still with pride by "Mainlanders", since while it is a somewhat larger landmass than the North Island, only about a quarter of New Zealand's four million inhabitants live in the South Island. However, in the early stages of European (Pa-keha-) settlement of the country, the South Island was pre-eminent, with the majority of the European population and wealth focussed there due to gold rushes. It was not until the early 20th century that the North Island population overtook the South, with 56% of the population living in the North in 1911. In Ma-ori legend, the South Island existed first, as the boat of Maui, while the North Island was the fish that he caught. However, the South Island has never been the main site of Ma-ori population. | ||
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