Bluff (Invercargill, N.Z.)

Bluff (Māori: Motupōhue), previously known as Campbelltown, is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand serving as the main port of Invercargill. It is the southernmost town in mainland New Zealand and, despite Slope Point and Stewart Island being further south, Bluff is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country (particularly in the phrase "from Cape Reinga to The Bluff"). According to the 2018 census, the resident population was 1,797, a decrease of 6 since 2013. The Bluff area was one of the earliest areas of New Zealand where a European presence became established. The first ship's crew known to have visited the harbour were from Perseverance which had anchored at Stewart Island in 1813. They were in search of flax trading possibilities, with the first European settlers arriving about 1836 when a whaling station was established by William Stirling. The town was officially called Campbelltown in 1856, became a borough in 1878, and was renamed Bluff in 1917. Many of the streets in Bluff are named after rivers in Ireland. These include the streets Blackwater, Shannon, Boyne, Liffey, Barrow, Foyle, Slaney, Bann, Suir, Lee, Bandon and Lagan.