Kew, Southland Map

About Kew, Southland

Kew is a locality in the Southland Region of New Zealand. It has a population of approximately 2,070. It sits at an elevation of around 7 m above sea level. It lies approximately 3 km south of Invercargill, the regional capital. Kew is located at 46.4284°S, 168.3501°E. It observes New Zealand Time (NZST/NZDT). Statistics New Zealand classifies the area as a small urban area.

Kew settles into the Southland landscape like a quiet thought, its broad, low-lying terrain gently yielding to the prevailing winds that sweep in from the distant New River Estuary. It lies 3.2 km south of Invercargill (from Invercargill: bearing 180°T), and is situated 4.5 km south of Rosedale. The land here is a patchwork of greens, from the deep, verdant hues of established pastures to the softer, brighter shades of young crops, all stitched together by the silver threads of drainage ditches and the occasional dark line of shelter belts. The air carries a subtle dampness, a constant reminder of the proximity to water, and in the early morning, a pearly mist often clings to the ground, softening the edges of the scattered farm buildings and the distant, hazy rise of land. The Waihopai River, a vital artery, meanders through the wider region, its slow, deliberate flow a constant presence, occasionally glimpsed as a glint of pewter through the reeds and grasses that line its banks.

The history of Kew is intrinsically tied to the fertile plains and the promise of agricultural prosperity. For generations, the economy has been shaped by the dairy herds that graze these rich soils, their rhythmic milking a familiar soundscape that underpins the local rhythm of life. Beyond the cows, sheep and beef farming also contribute to the region's character, with wool sheds and shearing gangs playing their part in the annual cycle. While not a bustling centre, Kew holds a quiet dignity, a place where the land dictates the pace and the community finds its strength in shared endeavour. The Waihopai Embankment Walkway, a few kilometres away, offers a chance to connect with the natural flow of the river, a place where the land's enduring story is quietly told.

About This Kew Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Kew, Southland, New Zealand at coordinates -46.42842, 168.35009. Use the Map and Satellite buttons to switch views, the plus and minus buttons to zoom, and Fullscreen to fill the screen.

Search Maps opens a second, independent map with four things the embedded map cannot do. It searches OpenStreetMap for any New Zealand town, suburb or landmark by name. It offers LINZ topographic maps as a base layer — the official Topo250 and Topo50 sheets, switching scale automatically as you zoom, and the standard reference for tramping, hunting and back-country travel. It offers LINZ aerial imagery down to 5cm resolution in urban areas. And it can take a single GPS fix from your device and report your position as both an NZTM2000 grid reference and plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what New Zealand search and rescue services work from. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the coordinates remain correct even where the map itself cannot load.

My Location & Navigate starts the vector-tile navigator: live turn-by-turn driving directions from your current position to any destination, with spoken guidance, lane hints and automatic re-routing.

Live weather conditions with current observations and a 7-day forecast are powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time New Zealand and world news feeds keep the page current, while an editorial description provides background on Kew.

Kew sits within the Southland Region. Location data is drawn from the GeoNames geographical database and verified by coordinates, ensuring the correct Kew is identified even where the name is shared across multiple New Zealand localities.