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New
Zealand’s southern most city, Invercargill with a population of
approximately 50,000 has a unique character and charms of a bygone era.
Famous for its Bluff Oysters and home to New Zealand’s endangered and
ancient Tuatara lizard, Invercargill is a quant city well worth a visit on the
way to Stewart Island or around the South Island’s breathtakingly beautiful
scenic coastline.
Settled in 1856 by hardy Scottish pioneers in search of grazing lands,
Invercargill flourished on the sheep's back. The city’s port of Bluff also
enjoyed a heyday located on the main route from Australia to Europe around Cape
Horn until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The port is now dominated by
New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter, numerous fishing vessels and the myriad of
birdlife that call Bluff home.
During the early 20th Century Invercargill and its province of Southland
flourished on high commodity prices and well preserved Edwardian and Art Deco
buildings stand testament to these prosperous times. The city is now attracting
students to its fee-free Polytechnic, giving the city a new youthfulness.
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