South Island nationalism

South Island nationalism refers to a movement for political independence in the South Island of New Zealand.

Various movements advocating political or economic independence for the South Island have arisen since the nineteenth century, due to perceptions that the central government based in the North Island does not represent or understand the south, but exploits its resources and the income it generates. The idea of independence was voted on by the New Zealand Parliament in 1865, and concern that the South Island could form a separate colony was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from Auckland to the more centrally located Wellington in the same year.