This thesis is an attempt to assess the degree of differentiation between two regions, Otago and Southland, to be found in the styles of four types of artefact; Bird-spear points, One-piece fish-hooks, Composite hook points, Adzes. In order to assess the significance of these differences the comparison has been made not only between the two regions mentioned above but also with a set of samples from the northern North Island used as a bench-mark. The data has been collected in the form of non-metrical (presence/absence) and metrical (continuous or ratio-type) variables specific to each artefact type. The method of analysis of the data is concerned with the study of the relative frequencies of these ranges of variables. This is supported by Chi� and Student�s T tests. As well as seeking to establish the degree of differentiation between the material cultures of the regions the interpretation also seeks to distinguish between causal factors for these differences (for example, variations in functional requirements, differing or limited access to material types, etc.).

This thesis is an attempt to assess the degree of differentiation between two regions, Otago and Southland, to be found in the styles of four types of artefact; Bird-spear points, One-piece fish-hooks, Composite hook points, Adzes. In order to assess the significance of these differences the comparison has been made not only between the two regions mentioned above but also with a set of samples from the northern North Island used as a bench-mark. The data has been collected in the form of non-metrical (presence/absence) and metrical (continuous or ratio-type) variables specific to each artefact type. The method of analysis of the data is concerned with the study of the relative frequencies of these ranges of variables. This is supported by Chi� and Student�s T tests. As well as seeking to establish the degree of differentiation between the material cultures of the regions the interpretation also seeks to distinguish between causal factors for these differences (for example, variations in functional requirements, differing or limited access to material types, etc.).

This thesis set out to evaluate and compare two communism cation channels at Southland, the company magazine and the grapevine. Data were obtained through a survey in the Summer, 1975, magazine. Following an introduction, explanation of data-collection procedure of the survey, overview of communication in formal and informal organizations, and analysis of the survey data, conclusions were drawn that the magazine is an effective formal communication tool, but that it cannot serve all the formal communication needs of the company, and that expansion of the company's formal communication program is needed. Even so, the formal communication tool, The Southland Family, remains a more effective channel of.communication than the grapevine.

Irthing Road is situated 20 kilometres north of the small town of Lumsden in Northern Southland, New Zealand. Irthing Road is accessed from State Highway 97 and leads north-west for 7 kilometres up the Irthing Creek Valley. The research site is situated 4.4 kilometres from the Irthing Road - State Highway 97 intersection and the area is at 300 metres elevation above sea level on gently south sloping Quaternary alluvial deposits. The study was initiated by Environment Southland and Southern Geophysical Ltd with the intention of investigating the potential uses of near surface geophysics in the mapping of shallow groundwater contamination, specifically agriculturally sourced nitrates and leachates. The changes in land use and the introduction of high density grazing of dairy cattle on free draining soils in Southland has created cause for concern around the ease at which large volumes of contaminants could potentially gain access to the shallow groundwater system. The investigation of the Irthing Road field site included: (1) background research into historical land use changes that may have affected the area 2) a study of the Lumsden area geological and hydrogeological setting 3) six trips to the field site throughout the year to collect near surface geophysical data using a Geonics Ltd EM31-MK2, Dualem Inc. DUAL-EM 421s, and Sensors & Software pulseEKKO Pro GPR system; 4) ground- water testing conducted by Environment Southland; 5) an evaluation of the geophysical and groundwater data sets to identify whether leachate concentrations were high enough to register an anomalous response 6) the identification of how the groundwater system at the Irthing Road field site behaves 7) a conclusion as to the effectiveness of all three near surface geophysical techniques in this application. The major conclusions that emerged from this study are: (1) the groundwater system is transporting a large volume of water beneath the site and this leads to such effi- cient removal of contaminants that the concentrations are not high enough to register a response in the geophysical data 2) the groundwater system is highly sensitive to rain- fall and this is a contributing factor to the variation within the geophysical data 3) the Geonics Ltd EM31-MK2 and Sensors & Software pulseEKKO Pro GPR system returned highly consistent results and have great potential in further contaminated groundwater applications 4) Environment Southlands' DUAL-EM 421s needs more consistency, how- ever the device has a lot of potential once reliability can be ensured 5) further research is needed to determine the contamination ow paths and destinations at a larger, regional scale.

The black-billed gull (Larus bulleri) is a small gull that nests in dense colonies on gravel-bedded rivers in southern New Zealand. This dissertation describes research undertaken in Southland in 2004-2006 that investigates black-billed gull population decline and its causes. Historical ground counts of nests were calibrated with aerial photography of colonies and population trends analysed. The decline in breeding birds on Southland's four main rivers was equivalent to 6.0%/year (SE 1.8) or 83.6% in 30 years justifying the species' present listing as Endangered. Aerial monitoring is a poor index of the breeding population and major temporal variation was identified in counts. All re-sighted second-year birds exhibited natal dispersal and -70% left the natal catchment. Forty one percent of birds banded as adults also dispersed to other catchments. Breeding dispersal is apparently unrelated to previous breeding success and the availability of the previous year's colony site, and dispersing birds did not move as groups. Southland's black-billed gulls constitute a single inter-mixing population. Black-billed gulls selected sites on islands and banks according to availability, and selected rivers consistent with the number of gravel patches. Site vulnerability to floods varied significantly. Re-use of colony sites was positively influenced by use in previous years, the extraction of gravel, site stability and low weed cover. Widespread introduced weeds on colony sites preventing nesting and may have increased flooding risk. Colony size was related to colony area, which was related to gravel patch size. Investigation of historical changes in breeding habitat availability in Southland indicated a major reduction in gravel habitat on the Lower Oreti River between 1976 and 2002 due to river works including gravel extraction. On the Waiau River, Manapouri Dam construction in 1970 initially increased gravel areas, since reversed in the mid Waiau, and caused a 75% decline in the number of islands. Gravel patch sizes are still declining on the Lower Oreti and possibly the Mid Waiau. Hundreds of gravel patches remain on Southland rivers. Over 5000 nests in 21 colonies were monitored during incubation. Colony nest success was most influenced by colony location, averaging 90.1% (SE 2.1) on islands within rivers, and 66.8% (SE 2.2) on riverbanks, indicating that terrestrial predators exert the greatest influence on productivity. Breeding success, the mean number of fledglings produced per nest by colony, varied between 0 and 0.88 fledglings (mean 0.32, SE 0.08). Both parameters were positively related to colony size. The three smallest colonies failed to breed successfully, suggesting the presence of an Allee effect. Deterministic matrix models were used to investigate population trends using survival and productivity estimates for the closely related Kaikoura red-billed gull (L. novaehollandiae scopulinus). Adult survival, followed by breeding success and survival of first year birds, had the greatest influence on population projections. Improvements in most parameters are probably required to reverse the decline of Southland's black-billed gulls. Predation and disturbance by introduced mammals and the native black-backed gull (L. dominicanus) had the greatest impact on black-billed gull productivity. Most human disturbance is insignificant compared to predator disturbance, but illegal shooting of large numbers of adult gulls has major impacts in smaller sub-populations. Damming and excessive water abstraction reduces island habitat due to lowering of flows. Major climatic events such as droughts, and chemical ingestion through a diet dominated by agricultural invertebrates, are potential major threats about which little is known. Management actions including the collation and analysis of all unpublished black-billed gull count datasets, a thorough test of the accuracy of aerial monitoring, trialling of decoys to attract colonies to nest on islands, predator control at bank colonies, targeted weed control on high quality sites, advocacy and education and further research are recommended.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the creative process behind Southland Paper Mills, the South's first newsprint factory. The thesis describes the conditions leading to the need for southern newsprint. It then chronicles, through the use of company records, the difficult challenges southern newsprint pioneers faced. The thesis follows the company history from the gem of an idea during the mid 1930's through the first decade of the Southland's existence. The paper concludes with the formative years of the company in the 1940's.

The sooty shearwater (also known as the muttonbird, Titi, Puffinus griseus) is a long-lived super-abundant, burrow nesting petrel, harvested by Rakiura Maori from breeding colonies, located in southern New Zealand. The harvest is culturally defining and enormously important for Rakiura Maori. The work in this thesis contributes to the Kia Mau te Titi Mo Ake Tonu Atu Research Project being undertaken by Rakiura Maori and the University of Otago, towards assessing ongoing sustainability of the harvest and future threats. Analyses of eight muttonbirder harvest records spanning, 1938 to 2004, show that harvest rates demonstrate, systematic commonalities in seasonal patterns and broad-scale consistency in trends of chick abundance and quality across harvested islands. If co-ordinated and well replicated, harvest records offer Rakiura Maori a low-cost and effective monitoring tool of sooty shearwater reproductive success and long-term population abundance. Hunt tallies provide additional evidence of a dramatic reduction in sooty shearwater abundance from the late 1980s that was also detected by counts from boats off the western seaboard of the USA. A conservative estimate of overall decline in hunt success across diaries, for the period 1972 to 2004, is 1.89 % (CI₉₅ 1.14 to 2.65) per annum, a total reduction of 39.2%. The harvesting records show a sooty shearwater mortality event occurred just prior to the 1993-breeding season at the same time as a severe negative anomaly in both the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Southern Oscillation Indices. The hunting diaries show a decoupling of chick size with harvest success in the early 1990s. This resulted from a decline in harvest success and an increase in its variability, while chick size remained correlated with changing chick abundance and maintained its pre-1990 average. Long- lived seabirds maintain high survival by skipping breeding and abandoning breeding attempts when oceanic conditions deteriorate, increasing variability in chick abundance is also evidence of pressure on adult survivorship. The multiple diaries confirm these were major demographic events not confined to a single island. My survival estimates for The Snares and Whenua Hou were very high 0.952 (0.896-0.979) compared to earlier estimates for this species. Transience at the colonies is high due to the presence ofjuvenile and pre-breeding birds. Both naturally high survival and the large number of transient pre-breeders indicate sooty shearwater are more resilient to harvest than earlier survival models suggested. There was no evidence for directional change in sooty shearwater breeding phenology over 49-years of harvest. Climate fluctuation/change is therefore apparently not altering egg-laying. Peak fledging occurred fairly consistently in the 2nd of May (IQR = 2.91 days). Yearly variability in emergence occurs primarily due to provisioning and localized fledging conditions. Larger chick size was strongly correlated with delayed fledging and is consistent with the traditional ecological knowledge of the birders. There was no evidence for chicks becoming smaller or that years with starving chicks were more common, so increasing mismatch of breeding with optimal forage was not indicated. The past proportion of birders over the last 20 years (1985 - 2005) has been ~2% all of Rakiura Maori. Approximately 376 birders participated in the 2006 season with an estimated of overall harvest intensity 19.4% (CI₉₅ = 13.8 - 24.2%) and a total catch of 381,000 (CI₉₅ = 262,257 - 487,186) chicks. This study found evidence that catch rates reduced with increasing birder competition partially mitigating effects on harvest pressure. The combined effects of potential climate change on bird abundance and increased harvester competition suggests that the proportion of Rakiura Maori whom choose to bird is likely to decrease as tallies reduce and cost recovery becomes more difficult. Rakiura Maori have for many years cherished and maintained their islands and implemented protective measures to safeguarded titi breeding habitat. Future harvest management will have additional issues to contend with, but Rakiura Maori are necessarily confronting these issues as the titi culture rests on the maintenance of their taonga. The information presented in this thesis shows that combining science and traditional knowledge is a powerful tool for managing harvest sustainability.

This project investigated the business, environmental and social sustainability of dairy farms that include dairy support land. Seventeen farmers were interviewed using Yin’s case study method (Yin, 2003). The interviewees were selected from a list provided during a series of focus groups done with rural professionals prior to continuing with the main body of the research. Those interviewed saw that the primary role of dairy support land is to protect the dairy farm from external factors. Dairy farms are vulnerable to externalities due to high fixed costs and the relationship between cow condition and milk production. The ability of dairy support land to manage externalities relates to quantity of feed grown, therefore feed grown is perceived as the most appropriate measure of performance. For dairy support land to be sustainable, it must be well resourced. On a fully resourced DSL unit, there will be time to plan and carry out essential tasks and environmentally important developments such as riparian fences and stockwater systems are likely to be in place. If the dairy support land unit is not fully resourced it will become a liability to the overall system as the supply of feed becomes unreliable, cows calve in poor condition and dairy farm staff and management are overextended. Poorly resourced dairy support land is also unlikely to have environmentally friendly developments in place. The case studies also demonstrated that the fundamentals of sustainability and practice remain constant across a variety of soil and climatic conditions in Canterbury and Southland.