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Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff, New ZealandPopulated places in the Southland RegionPort cities in New ZealandUse New Zealand English from August 2019
Bluff from Stewart Island ferry
Bluff from Stewart Island ferry

Bluff (Māori: Motupōhue), previously known as Campbelltown and often referred to as "The Bluff", is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. 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 known to have entered the harbour was the Perseverance in 1813, in search of flax trading possibilities, with the first European settlers arriving in 1823 or 1824. This is the foundation for the claim that Bluff is the oldest permanent European settlement in the country. However, the missionary settlement at Kerikeri was both earlier and larger. The town was officially called Campbelltown in 1856, became a borough in 1878, and was renamed Bluff in 1917.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bluff, New Zealand (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bluff, New Zealand
Foyle Street, Invercargill City East End

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Wikipedia: Bluff, New ZealandContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -46.6 ° E 168.33333333333 °
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Address

Foyle Street 198
9814 Invercargill City, East End
Southland, New Zealand
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Bluff from Stewart Island ferry
Bluff from Stewart Island ferry
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Nearby Places

Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter
Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter

The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited. The facility, New Zealand's only aluminium smelter, is at Tiwai Point, near Bluff. It imports alumina and processes it into primary aluminium. The plant's alumina is supplied from refineries in Queensland and the Northern Territory of Australia. Around 90 per cent of the aluminium produced at NZAS is exported, mainly to Japan. The smelter was opened in 1971 following the construction of the Manapouri Power Station by the New Zealand government to supply it with electricity. It uses 13 percent of New Zealand's electricity, and is reported to account for 10 percent of the Southland region's economy. Rio Tinto has threatened to close the smelter several times, for example in 2013 and 2020, but to date closure has been deferred after renegotiation of the price it pays for electricity. As of January 2021, Rio Tinto announced that it had reached an agreement with its power supplier Meridian Energy to pay a lower price in return for keeping the smelter running until December 2024. In July 2022, NZAS signalled that it would once again offer to remain open if it could secure new power agreements on favourable terms. In May 2024, new twenty year electricity contracts were agreed with three suppliers, allowing the smelter to remain open until 2044. There are concerns regarding the environmental legacy of waste stockpiled at the site, near to an eroding beachline.