Stewart Island

Stewart Island (Maori: Rakiura) is the third largest island of New Zealand. It lies 30 km south of the South Island. The island has an area of 1746 square kilometres and its permanent population is less than 400 people.

History

Captain Cook was the first European to sight the island, but he thought it was attached to the South Island so named it South Cape in 1770. Europeans realised it was an island at the beginning of the 19th century. It was named after Captain William Stewart, who in 1809 was the first to chart it.

Settlements

The only town is Oban, which is located at Half Moon Bay.

A previous settlement, Point Pegasus, once boasted several stores and a post office, and was located on the southern coast of the island. It is now uninhabited, and is only accessible by boat or by an arduous march across the island.

Communications and economy

A regular passenger ferry service runs between Bluff and Oban. There is an air link with Invercargill Airport.

Although some tourism, forestry, and farming takes place on Stewart Island, the main industry is fishing. Much of the island is set aside as Rakiura National Park.

Government

In local government terms, the island is part of Southland District. However, it shares with some other islands a certain relaxation in some of the rules governing daily activities. For example, every transport service operated solely on Great Barrier Island, the Chatham Islands, or Stewart Island is exempt from section 70C of the Transport Act 1962 (the requirements for drivers to maintain driving-hours logbooks). Drivers subject to section 70B must nevertheless keep record of their driving hours in some form. See New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2003.