List of South Islanders
This is a list of Famous South Islanders:
A
- Alexander Aitken – mathematician/statistician, writer, mental calculator, musician
 - Ronald Algie – politician
 - Fred Allen – rugby union player
 - James Allen – politician
 - James Allen – rugby union player
 - Rewi Alley – supporter of Chinese communism
 - Peter Arnett – TV journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner
 - Basil Arthur – politician
 - Ian Athfield – architect
 
B
- David Bain
 - Alison Ballance – author and film-maker
 - Rick Barker – politician
 - James Baxter – poet
 - Francis Bell – first New Zealand-born Prime Minister
 - David Benson-Pope – politician
 - Todd Blackadder – rugby player
 - Ben Blair – rugby player
 - William Brassington – stonemason and sculptor
 - Kelly Brazier – rugby player
 - John Britten – designer of the Britten motorcycle
 - Donald Forrester Brown – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Nigel Brown – painter
 - Gerry Brownlee – politician
 - Kerry Burke – politician
 
C
- Dan Carter – rugby player
 - Nathan Cohen – world champion and Olympic champion rower
 - Thomas Cooke – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Warren Cooper – politician
 - Michael Cullen – politician
 - G. H. Cunningham – plant pathologist
 - Allen Curnow – poet
 
D
- Alan Dale – actor
 - Lianne Dalziel – politician
 - Stephnie de Ruyter – politician
 - Bob Deans – rugby union player
 - Bruce Deans – rugby union player
 - Robbie Deans – rugby player and coach
 - Rod Dixon – runner
 - Rod Donald – politician
 - Sarah Dougherty – early settler
 - Jimmy Duncan – rugby union player, coach and referee
 - Peter Dunne – politician
 
E
- Andy Ellis – rugby union player
 - Thomas Ellison – rugby union player and lawyer
 - Bill English – politician
 
F
- Bob Fitzsimmons – world boxing heavyweight champion
 - Corey Flynn – rugby player
 - George Forbes – Prime Minister
 - Tom Fyfe – mountaineer
 
G
- George Gair – politician
 - Daryl Gibson – rugby player
 - Charles Gifford – teacher and very successful promoter of astronomy
 - George Gillett – rugby union player
 - Sir Harold Gillies – pioneering plastic surgeon
 - Robin Gray – politician
 - Arthur Guinness – politician
 - Stewart Graeme Guthrie – police sergeant posthumously awarded the George Cross
 
H
- Sir Richard Hadlee – cricketer
 - John Hall – Premier of New Zealand
 - William Hall-Jones – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 - Adam Hamilton – politician
 - Bill Hamilton – developed the modern jetboat
 - Scott Hamilton – rugby union player
 - Mark Hammett – rugby union player
 - Dame Joan Hammond – violinist, soprano
 - Joseph Hatch – Invercargill businessman, "harvester" of penguins
 - Rudy Heeman – inventor
 - Louise Henderson – painter
 - Graham Henry – rugby union coach
 - Jack Hinton – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Frances Hodgkins – painter
 - Sidney Holland – Prime Minister
 - Sir Fred Hollows – eye surgeon
 - Andrew Hore – rugby union player
 - Ned Hughes – rugby union player
 - Alfred Hulme – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Denny Hulme – world champion racing driver
 
J
- Chris Jack – rugby player
 - Rowena Jackson – ballerina
 
K
- Phil Keoghan – TV presenter
 - Norman Kirk – Prime Minister
 - Terry Knights – awarded the Military Cross for service in Iraq
 
L
- Robert Lawson – architect
 - Richard Loe – rugby player
 - Jack Lovelock – runner
 - Isaac Luck – architect
 - Len Lye – sculptor, experimental film maker
 
M
- Laurie Mains – rugby union player and coach
 - Justin Marshall – rugby union player
 - Aaron Mauger – rugby union player
 - Ivan Mauger – six time Motorcycle speedway world champion
 - Nathan Mauger – rugby union player
 - Colin McCahon – painter, museum curator, teacher
 - Richie McCaw – rugby union player
 - Leon MacDonald – rugby union player
 - Thomas Mackenzie – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 - Shona McFarlane – painter
 - Michael McGarry – football player
 - Duncan McGregor – rugby union player
 - Sir Archie McIndoe – pioneer plastic surgeon
 - Cameron McIntyre – rugby player
 - Peter McIntyre – painter
 - Andrew Mehrtens – rugby union player
 - Henry Monson – gaoler
 - William Sefton Moorhouse – prominent Canterbury politician and settler
 - Benjamin Mountfort – architect
 - Burt Munro – speed record breaker
 - Colin Murdoch – inventor of the disposable syringe
 
N
- Edgar Neale – Mayor (1941–1945) and MP (1946–1957) for Nelson
 - Henry James Nicholas – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Tane Norton – former All Black captain
 
P
- Geoffrey Palmer – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 - Richard Pearse – early aviator and inventor
 - Francis Petre – architect
 
R
- Bill Rowling – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 - Bic Runga – singer, songwriter
 - Ernest Rutherford – 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, scientist and winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 
S
- Richard Seddon – Prime Minister of New Zealand
 - George 'Johnny' Sellars – pioneering parachutist
 - Henry Sewell – Premier of New Zealand
 - Kate Sheppard – suffragist
 - Jenny Shipley – New Zealand's first female Prime Minister
 - Edward Stafford – Premier of New Zealand
 - Billy Stead – rugby union player
 - Robert Stout – Premier of New Zealand
 - Grahame Sydney – painter
 
T
- Sir Angus Tait – businessman and electronics innovator
 - Brad Thorn – rugby union and rugby league player
 - Reuben Thorne – rugby union player
 - Richard Travis – awarded the Victoria Cross
 - Brian Turner – poet
 - Glenn Turner – cricketer
 - Greg Turner – golfer
 
U
- Charles Upham – World War II soldier (one of three awarded the Victoria Cross twice)
 
V
- Petrus Van der Velden – painter
 - Sir Julius Vogel – Premier of New Zealand
 
W
- Miles Warren – architect
 - Richard James Waugh – minister, historian, aviation chaplain and writer
 - Robert Webster – discovered the link between human flu and bird flu
 - Ian Wedde – poet
 - Hayley Westenra – singer
 - Tony Wilding – tennis player
 - Geoff Williams – painter
 - Jeff Wilson – sportsman
 - Shelton Woolright – musician, best known as the drummer of Blindspott
 - Alex Wyllie – rugby union player and coach