Southlandregional council, local government region, southwestern South Island, New Zealand. Bordering the Tasman Sea to the west, the Southland region stretches for 120 miles (190 km) from the vicinity of Milford Sound in the northwest to Preservation Inlet in the south; eastward it includes Gore and the city of Invercargill. Fiordland National Park, one of the world’s largest national parks, with a total land area of more than 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 hectares), makes up the western part of Southland region.


The region was sighted by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1642 and by Captain Capt. James Cook in 1770 but was not explored until the 1850s. The rugged western landscape, basically untouched, is accessible via the Homer Tunnel road (1954). Area 12,386 square miles (32,079 square km). Pop. (19912006) 10395,442247.