Where did “up north” come from

I keep hearing the north shore (Oahu) being referred to as “up north” - is this just a transplant term? I don’t think I have ever heard a local person use this term. Up until a few years again it was just “north shore” or “the country” - now I hear transplants saying “I’m going up north” vs “I’m going to the north shore”

Where did this lingo come from? And does anyone else find this term irritating? Like these transplants have claimed the north shore as theirs?