As one of the few developed countries in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand also faces the same problem of unbalanced regional development as other countries, the most significant of which is that the North Island is much stronger than the South Island, which forces New Zealand to implement the South Island Development Policy. But why is there such a huge difference in geographical development in a country with only two islands?
In its inception, North Island came out on top
New Zealand's territory is mainly composed of two islands, the north and the south, but the two islands have their own characteristics. The North Island is dominated by hilly lowlands with dense forests and fertile lowlands. New Zealand's longest river, the Waikato River, is on the North Island. Beyond this, the North Island is also dotted with lakes and rivers, and the east coast is dotted with bays and small harbors.
North Island Bay of Plenty Source. Pexels
The natural differences between the south and north islands of New Zealand and the distribution of port cities are indicated
The topography of the South Island is mainly high mountains, and the Southern Alps run through the western part of the South Island, accounting for half of the South Island. The river valleys in the highlands are concentrated areas of lakes. The west coast of the South Island is jagged by the impact of the fjord cut into land, and the east coast is New Zealand's largest plain.
The Southern Alps, located in the western part of New Zealand's South Island, are a natural watershed for the entire South Island. "Southern Alps" is generally used to refer to the entire mountain range, and the many other small mountains that make up this mountain range have different names. source. Pexels
South Island Satellite Cloud Atlas Source. Pexels
The ancestors of the Maori arrived in New Zealand by boat 1,000 years ago. After exploring New Zealand, the Maori chose the North Island as their main settlement. The North Island is relatively undulating and has fertile lowlands and navigable bay ports. For seafaring peoples, ports can be a very important choice. Thus, after settling in the North Island, Māori developed farming on the island, used forest resources to develop handicrafts, and built ports to trade with other Pacific islands for navigation.
Māori are Indigenous New Zealanders and belong to the Polynesians of the Austronesian language family. The word "Māori" means "normal" or "normal person" in the Maori context, as Europeans called themselves when they entered New Zealand. Gentiles called it "Pakeha" (originally meaning "abnormal person". ）。 Pictured is a portrait of a Maori chief. source. Pexels
In 1840, Britain signed the Treaty of Waitangi with The Maori chiefs of New Zealand. The British gained jurisdiction over the lands of New Zealand and officially turned New Zealand into a colony. Interestingly, however, both sides of the treaty had different understandings of the treaty. There were two versions of the Treaty of Waitangi, English and Māori, and due to the fact that Māori and English were not spoken at the time, many of the provisions were expressed differently in different language versions, and naturally there were huge differences in the content of the treaty between the two sides.
After the treaty was signed, the Maori believed that New Zealand still belonged to them, and the treaty was used to point out and remind the whites of the exchanges they had made; the whites believed that they had gained "substantial dominion".
This was followed by the familiar colonial scene, with a large number of European immigrants migrating from Europe, mainly Britain, to New Zealand. After the disguised plundering of colonial governments and immigrants and many wars of resistance, the Maori social organization completely disintegrated, a large amount of land was plundered by the colonists, and New Zealand was completely reduced to a British colony.
The British "rice" motif in the upper left corner of the New Zealand flag source. Pexels
After the seizure of land, European colonists developed animal husbandry, forestry and plantation in New Zealand. These were mainly in line with the British colonial agricultural supply policy at that time, mainly to transport raw materials and primary agricultural products to the British mainland. The North Island region has many peninsulas and bays, and many excellent ports, which is very conducive to the export and transportation of raw materials and primary agricultural products. At the same time, the multiple ports make it very convenient for the North Island to accept immigrants, and immigrants can also choose to settle in a number of different ports. In contrast, although the South Island of the South Island is larger, the whole territory is mountainous, the temperature is low, and the economic development is slightly inferior to that of the North Island. Moreover, the South Island region does not have as many bays as the North Island, and only the West Coast Crestchet area has high-quality ports. Therefore, in the initial stage, the North Island gave priority to the establishment of a preliminary economic production system and promoted the rapid development of the urban population, while the South Island developed much slower.
In addition to the physical and geographical disadvantages, political factors have also caused the South Island to lag behind. Auckland was the first settlement after British colonists landed in New Zealand, and it was also the command center for colonists, with status equivalent to the capital of New Zealand. Later, the colonists did make Auckland the capital. The North Island is blessed with an extra layer of political factors. In 1865, the New Zealand government decided to move the capital to Wellington in order to achieve a balanced development of the north and south islands.
Overlooking the Harbour Bridge and central business district of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, the source. Pexels
On Mount Victoria overlook wellington Harbour and downtown Source. Pexels
The strategy is biased and the development opportunities are missed
In the 1920s, phosphate fertilizer from Nauru entered New Zealand in large quantities, and phosphate fertilizer combined with the climate of the "humid" region allowed new Zealand's barren soil to be reclaimed to grow pasture. Dairy farming began to develop in forested and marshland areas such as Waikato, Manawatu and Taranaki. The post-war economic boom of the same period led to the prevalence of consumerism, and New Zealand now positioned itself as a ranch of the British Empire, relying on British investment to develop animal husbandry and deliver agricultural products such as dairy products. Therefore, in order to meet the huge demand for agricultural products at home and abroad, New Zealand has actively developed intensive agriculture in addition to reclaiming the remaining wasteland of the North Island. This led to a new round of population growth in the North Island region, and the conversion of forests into pastures also led to the emergence of new towns and the expansion of old towns.
New Zealand has a typical temperate maritime climate suitable for the growth of succulent pasture sources. Pexels
But these good things only happen in the North Island area. The undeveloped land of the South Island is mainly concentrated in the mountains, mainly because the South Island lacks high-quality ports at that time, which is not conducive to the export of agricultural products, and the disadvantages in transportation make the South Island not realize the fast train of the world economy like the North Island.
After the end of World War II, New Zealand felt that it was difficult to supply overseas supplies during the war, so it began to lay out and build its own body industrial system. After 1945, a number of small-scale industrial enterprises appeared in New Zealand, and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, these industrial enterprises concentrated on developing into enterprises above designated size. However, New Zealand has adopted a regional development strategy at the expense of the South Island to develop the North Island. These are the three major industrial areas that New Zealand established before the 1970s, namely Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Of the three industrial zones, only Christchurch is located on the South Island, and the other two are on the North Island. For New Zealand, which has an export economy, it is not enough to have a land population town, but also a port. The ports of the North Island are not only numerous but also mostly suitable for the development of foreign trade ports, while only Kleistchech on the east coast of the South Island meets the conditions of foreign trade ports.
New Zealand's third largest city and south island's largest city Crestchez Source. Pexels
The development of industry has put forward new requirements for labor, and New Zealand has begun to actively introduce mature skilled worker immigrants from abroad to provide labor for industrial development. For industry, labor migration will naturally be concentrated in major industrial cities, which will also drive the urbanization of major industrial cities. On the other hand, more and more Maori people followed the process of urbanization and began to leave the rural community and enter the neighboring cities, beginning the process of Maori urbanization. These Māori entered the cities and became cheap labourers, engaged in industrial or service production services.
Differences in the distribution of populations and railways in the south and north islands of New Zealand Source. Pexels
But the distribution of New Zealand's industry was extremely uneven throughout the post-war economic development period. The vast majority of industrial enterprises are located in the North Island, which has only established a manufacturing system in the Crestchet area. Because this area is a rare port on the east coast of the South Island, it is very suitable for the export of primary industrial goods and the import of industrial products.
Thus the post-war economic period of rapid economic development throughout the economy. The North Island's industrial development was faster than that of the South Island, and by the mid-1970s, 75 percent of the country's industrial enterprises were concentrated in the North Island. As a result, New Zealand's economic pattern of strong north and weak south was formed.
After the crisis, the South Island continued to stagnate
In the 1970s, the world entered a period of stagnant development downturn, and New Zealand naturally suffered a huge impact. The worldwide economic crisis has led to a significant reduction in overseas migration, which has led to a sharp decline in New Zealand's population, and the British accession to the European Community has deprived New Zealand of its traditional export market. Under these two major blows, New Zealand's urban development has been seriously affected. From the late 1970s to the 1980s, the three major industrial zones except Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, were in a state of regression or stagnation in the manufacturing and sales sectors. This phenomenon has contributed to the decentralization of New Zealand's cities and the restructuring of the economy.
Stagnant inflation, referred to as "stagflation", swept the globe by 70 sources. Pexels
In this stagflation crisis, although the manufacturing and sales industries are in the downturn, the three major industrial zones have begun to adjust their economic structure and develop information services. Auckland is ahead of the other two, and the information service industry in Auckland is increasing much faster than the other two cities. In particular, Auckland's growth in finance, insurance and real estate has been twice as high as in the other two cities. Wellington and Christchurch not only have to suffer the pain of stagnant job growth and urban transformation, but also disperse the manufacturing and sales industries in the past, which limits the flow of population to the city and the development of the city and also causes the dispersion of the city. This has resulted in more job growth in the rest of the North Island than in Oakland. The rest of the South Island, while still growing at less than half the north island, stands in stark contrast to the city of Christchurch, where employment has declined.
This economic restructuring is complicated for the South Island region. The Kleistach Industrial Zone, which is unique in the South Island, can be described as a major injury. The development measures of the South Island to decentralize manufacturing to other regions at that time constrained the development of manufacturing in Christchurch, leaving many industrial sectors in Christchurch stagnant or even regressive. The corresponding service industry has not been well developed, resulting in the dispersion of cities and industries in the region. Although the rest of the South Island undertook part of the manufacturing industry, it achieved further urbanization and industrialization. But the rest of the South Island is weak after all, and even if it accepts manufacturing from Kleistach, it has not achieved leapfrog development, but it is a slow development trend.
Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand Source. Pexels
This development trend has also caused Auckland to gradually form a dominant situation, and Auckland has gradually developed into the core of New Zealand and become the largest city in New Zealand. This also brings about the backward development of the South Island region and the dissatisfaction of the people, after all, the North Island has two major industrial areas, Auckland and Wellington, plus Auckland's strong leading role. Naturally, the development of the South Island is insurmountable. With the gap between the North and South Islands widening, the New Zealand Government finally decided to devote resources to the development of the South Islands. It is an important plan to balance the development of New Zealand's north and south islands and drive the whole of New Zealand to achieve balanced development and avoid core dominance.
Auckland Skyline Source. Pexels
Looking back at the development history of New Zealand's north and south islands, it can be found that geographical disadvantages and a long-term political policy of emphasizing the north over the south have made the long-term development of the south island lag behind the north island. Although the New Zealand Government has not thought of balancing the north and south islands, in the past it has not had a real effect due to various factors, mainly political and economic factors. In the 21st century, New Zealand's once again large-scale development of the South Island is also a consideration to balance the development of the North and South Islands, and it is also a political strategy related to the stability and unity of the North and the South in the country.
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References: New Zealand: History, Peoples and Cultures. Zhao Xiaohuan by Qiao Xue; History of New Zealand. Filipa Main Smith; Chronicles of Nations New Zealand. Zhanghui Wang; Decentralization of New Zealand Cities. Characteristics and trends of New Zealand's economic development since the 1990s. Tang Mingjie Zhu Tong