Invercargill Thistle is a former New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 football club based in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 city of Invercargill

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

. The team was founded in 1936 and continued as a separate team until 1969, when it became part of the short-lived Invercargill United team. It operated again as an independent team from 1974 to 1988 before amalgamating with other sides to become Southland United. On the demise of that side it again operated independently from 1991 to 1997, joining with a revived Southland United side from that season.

During the 1960s Thistle was one of the southern South Island's stronger teams, reaching the semi-finals of the Chatham Cup

Chatham Cup

The Chatham Cup, currently known as the ASB Chatham Cup for sponsorship purposes, is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's football...

 on two occasions, in 1967

1967 Chatham Cup

The 1967 Chatham Cup was the 40th annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.The competition was run on a regional basis, with 17 regional associations holding separate qualification rounds. The winners of each of these qualification tournaments, along with the second-placed...

 and 1969

1969 Chatham Cup

The 1969 Chatham Cup was the 42nd annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.Early stages of the competition were run on a regional basis. In all, 89 teams took part in the competition...

. The team spent one season in the New Zealand National Soccer League

New Zealand National Soccer League

The National Soccer League is a name given to competitions in which New Zealand's top soccer clubs play each other, at least two times, on a home and away basis . At the completion of the competition, the best-performed team is declared as the New Zealand champion...

 in 1982

1982 New Zealand National Soccer League

The 1982 New Zealand National Soccer League was the thirteenth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington comfortably won the league for a fifth time, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Hanimex North Shore United...

.