Last updated October 2026
Roslyn Bush is a lightly populated farming locality on the northeastern outskirts of Invercargill, in Southland District rather than Invercargill City. It sits on the Southland Plains near State Highway 98, the highway that runs between Makarewa and Dacre.
Like other Southland places with Bush in the name, it takes its identity from forest that early settlers cleared for farms. Te Ara groups it with Longbush and Myross Bush as a triangle of close farming settlements. There is no town centre: the landscape is paddocks, shelter belts and rural roads, with everyday services in Invercargill.
Practical Information
- Getting there
- By road on State Highway 98 between Makarewa and Dacre. Local access includes Roslyn Road and Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road. No railway station, and no scheduled bus service was confirmed.
- Schools
- No primary school in the locality. The former Roslyn Bush School was later used as Roslyn Bush Playcentre. The nearest primary school is Myross Bush School.
- Nearby landmarks
- State Highway 98; the former school site on Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road, associated with Roslyn Bush Playcentre.
About Roslyn Bush
Roslyn Bush is rural Southland in the plainest sense. The land is low and open, part of the broad plains inland from Invercargill. Before European settlement those plains carried podocarp forest, scrub and wetland. Settlers named districts after the bush they cleared, and the name Roslyn Bush remained after most of that forest had gone.
What is here now is a working farm district, not a village with a main street. Official and local sources do not record a shopping strip, pub or civic centre in the locality itself. People passing through see farm gates, shelter belts and the straight roads that serve the paddocks. Day-to-day shopping and most services are in Invercargill.
The name is easy to mix up with Ryal Bush, a separate settlement between Invercargill and Winton, closer to State Highway 6. Roslyn Bush is the northeastern locality, near State Highway 98. The shared Bush ending is the only real link. Council notices and place records treat them as different places.
Community facilities are thin on the ground. A primary school once stood in the locality. It closed and was converted into a playcentre for younger children, and later directory listings still record Roslyn Bush Playcentre on Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road. Families should check directly with Playcentre for current sessions. Primary-age children generally go to Myross Bush School.
No separate Māori name for the locality was confirmed in the New Zealand Gazetteer record cited for Roslyn Bush. The wider Southland plains sit in Murihiku. This page does not assign a specific hapū or marae to the locality, because that link was not verified.
Getting Around
Roslyn Bush is a drive-to locality. State Highway 98 is the through route, running between Makarewa and Dacre on the northeastern side of Invercargill.
Roslyn Road and Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road are the local names that appear in address listings for the area. There is no rail stop, and no public bus route to the locality was confirmed, so a private vehicle is the practical way in and out.
Southland District Council looks after local roads. The state highway is part of the national highway network, not a city-council street. Rural roads here are working farm roads as much as visitor routes: stock, milk tankers and farm machinery are part of ordinary traffic. There is no verified public car park or visitor hub.
History and the Bush Settlements
Te Ara describes the Southland plains before European settlement as bush: mataī, rimu, lowland beech, kānuka and mānuka, with tussock, swamp and bog in the low ground.
Early settlers named their districts after the bush they cleared. At least 18 places in the region still carry Bush in the name. Some remain small settlements. Others survive mainly as the name of a farming district.
Roslyn Bush belongs to that pattern. Te Ara places it in a triangle of close farming settlements with Longbush and Myross Bush, on the country northeast of Invercargill. Longbush, on State Highway 1 near Woodlands, was named for a long stretch of native bush.
Myross Bush is described as a rich farming district that once had a school, hall, post office and church, with the school and hall remaining. Roslyn Bush kept the school memory in a different form: the primary school closed and the site was turned over to a playcentre.
That is the visitor experience as well as the history. This is not a scenic reserve or a heritage precinct with a marked walk. It is cleared farm country whose name still points back to the forest.
Anyone wanting native bush remnants, picnics or formed tracks is better served by reserves inside Invercargill, such as Thomsons Bush, than by expecting a public bush walk here.
Where to Learn More
New Zealand Gazetteer: official place-name record for Roslyn Bush, the source cited for the locality.
Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand: overview of Southland’s bush settlements, including Roslyn Bush, Longbush and Myross Bush.
Wikipedia: Roslyn Bush: short locality summary citing the Gazetteer and an Education Review Office note on the playcentre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Roslyn Bush part of Invercargill?
No. It is a locality in Southland District, on the northeastern outskirts of the city. Invercargill City Council does not administer it.
How do you get to Roslyn Bush?
By road. State Highway 98, between Makarewa and Dacre, is the main route past the locality. Local roads include Roslyn Road and Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road. There is no railway station.
Is Roslyn Bush the same place as Ryal Bush?
No. Ryal Bush is a different settlement between Invercargill and Winton, near State Highway 6. Roslyn Bush is northeast of the city, near State Highway 98.
Is there a school in Roslyn Bush?
There is no operating primary school in the locality. The former school was converted into a playcentre. The nearest primary school is Myross Bush School.
Is the playcentre still open?
Wikipedia records the conversion of the old school into a playcentre, and later business directories still list Roslyn Bush Playcentre on Kennington-Roslyn Bush Road. Hours were not confirmed here, so check with Playcentre before visiting.
Does Roslyn Bush have shops or a town centre?
No shopping centre or main street was identified. Day-to-day shopping is in Invercargill.
Is there public transport?
No scheduled bus or train service to Roslyn Bush was confirmed. Travel is by private vehicle.
What is there to see or do?
It is a farming locality, not a visitor attraction. The interest is the open plains and the pattern of bush-clearance settlements. For formed walks and native bush remnants, use reserves in Invercargill rather than expecting a public track here.
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