South Island's diving aid (5)
I believe the answer is:
scuba
'diving aid' is the definition.
(as in scuba diving)
'south island's' is the wordplay.
'south' becomes 'S' (abbreviation).
'island' becomes 'Cuba' (Cuba is an example).
's'+'cuba'='SCUBA'
(Other definitions for scuba that I've seen before include "breather" , "Skin-diving apparatus" , "Sort of diver" , "Apparatus for divers" , "Diving equipment" .)