Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff Motupōhue (Māori)
Town
Bluff from Stewart Island ferry
Coordinates: 46°36′S 168°20′E / 46.600°S 168.333°E / -46.600; 168.333
Country	New Zealand
Region	Southland Region
City	Invercargill
Electorates	Invercargill Te Tai Tonga (Māori)
Government
• Regional council	Southland Regional Council
• Local authority	Invercargill City Council
• Community board	Bluff Community Board[1]
• Mayor of Invercargill	Nobby Clark
• MPs	Penny Simmonds (New Zealand National Party) Tākuta Ferris (Te Pāti Māori)
Area [2]
• Total	10.14 km2 (3.92 sq mi)
Population  (June 2024)[3]
• Total	1,840
• Density	180/km2 (470/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	9814
Area code	03

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 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").^[4] According to the 2018 census, the resident population was 1,797, a decrease of 6 since 2013.^[5]

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^[6] 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.^[7]