Southland

SIT's return to independence has Southland's MP and Mayor talking workforce, local decision-making, and a raft of new programmes arriving in 2026 and 2027.

A tentative trial date of April 2029 has been set, with name suppression continued while mental health and medical assessments are completed.

Applications close November 6. Community groups, iwi and not-for-profits in Southland can apply for $500-$5,000 to fund one-off preparedness projects.

Five Southland landmarks are going pink this month, and for the first time, ILT Stadium is joining them. The Gore Brown Trout Sculpture, Invercargill's Band Rotunda, Feldwick Street Gates and Gala Street Fountain are all part of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ's Global Illuminations campaign through October

At last, work is underway on the upgrade of the old Mataura Railways Station building In August last year, then minister of railways the Rt Hon Winston Peters announced that additional funding would be provided for the refurbishment of the historic building and that ownership would be transferred from KiwiRail

Laura Allen has taken the top prize at this year's ILT Southland Art Awards, with her work *34 years of Age* claiming the Supreme Award at a ceremony held at Invercargill's transitional public art gallery on Friday October 2. Now in its third year, the awards

The first motor race meeting of the 2026/2027 season at Teretonga Park in Invercargill takes place over the weekend of 17/18 of October. The Saturday action will feature the annual round of the South Island Endurance Series, this year with the added bonus of being the final round

From small beginnings seventy years ago the Eastern Southland Car Club has much to celebrate when it marks its 70th anniversary with a function at the Croydon Lodge in Gore on Saturday 10 October. The night will bring together some of the earlier members of the club alongside many of