Page "South Island" Paragraph 29

When Britain annexed New Zealand in 1840, the South Island briefly became a part of New South Wales.

This annexation was in response to France ’ s attempts to colonise the South Island at Akaroa and the New Zealand Company attempts to establish a separate colony in Wellington, and so Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840 ( the North Island by treaty and the South by discovery ).