Invercargill, New Zealand is a city of about 45,000 found at the bottom of the South Island. It is the largest town in the province of Southland. It is serviced by the port of Bluff. Some of the major industries in the area are farming and aluminium smelting.
At Tiwai (pronounced Tee-Why) Point is the aluminium smelter. Operated by Comalco, it was built in the 1971, after the construction of the Manapouri Hydroelectric Power Station.
The Mayor of Invercargill is Tim Shadbolt, a New Zealand icon in himself. At one stage he starred in a advertisement saying 'I don't care where as long as I'm mayor', a reference to the fact that he already been mayor of another town in New Zealand.
Another claim to fame for Invercargill is its netball team. The Southern Sting have won the national championship the last five years in a row.
The town has six high schools. One is co-educational Catholic. Two are co-educational state-run schools. And there are two single sex schools of each gender. Last but not least is Te Kura, a Maori language school.
Verdon College is the Catholic High School. It has about 520 pupils and is for students from Form 3 to Form 7. It is named after Bishop Verdon of Dunedin, the first Catholic Bishop to be consecrated in New Zealand. One of the teachers at Verdon College is Robyn Broughton, the coach of the champion Southern Sting netball team.
James Hargest High School is the largest school in the town, with about 1200 pupils. Mount Anglem College is the newest high school in Invercargill, created when two high schools closed and were forced to merge. It is named after the largest mountain on Stewart Island, the third largest island in New Zealand, located to the south of the South Island. Mount Anglem College operates for students from Form 1 through to Form 7.
Southland Boys and Girls High Schools, each have around 800 pupils. Boys High is known for its sporting prowess, especially in rugby, while Girls High is known more for it academics.
Te Kura is on the site of the now closed Cargill High School (named after Captain Cargill who forms the second part of Invercargil). It offers education in Maori, the other official language in New Zealand.