Guide

Heritage, Culture & Arts

Marlborough’s rich history runs wide and deep, from the earliest Polynesian settlers on Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe/Wairau, Bar to the European pioneers who built towns and planted our first grapevines.

These people, the way they lived, and how they dealt with history’s major events has shaped Marlborough into what it is today.

Those stories are all here, waiting to be discovered all over again in the places where they happened or in our galleries, museums, art and theatre productions.

Aviation

Marlborough has been at the centre of important historical aviation events on many occasions, on both a national and international scale. That legacy continues strongly today, with the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre at its heart.

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Historic Sites

Much of Marlborough’s history has been preserved, or restored, exactly where events happened. From Meretoto/Ship Cove, the site of Captain James Cook’s frequent Marlborough visits and first encounters between Māori and Europeans, to the remains of the Perano Whaling Station, the wooden immigrant ship Edwin Fox and the ancient fortified pā of Te Rae o Karaka/Karaka Point, you can learn more about, and visit, these historic sites.

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Maritime

With almost 4,000km² of coastline in the Marlborough Sounds alone, our region has played an integral role in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s maritime history. From the earliest known Māori settlers to arrive on our shores to a thriving whaling industry, and the many ships that wrecked along our rugged coastline, there are countless tales from the sea.

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Our Land

Long before Marlborough’s world famous wine industry took hold, the land provided for its people in many ways. Read how early Māori thrived around the plentiful riches of the Wairau Lagoons, how flax was turned into money and how Te Waiharakeke/Blenheim received its first nickname, Beavertown.

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Our People

Did you know the man who split the nuclear atom was schooled in Motuweka/Havelock? Woven throughout our history are many intriguing stories of those who lived in times gone by and created Marlborough as we know it today.

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Our Stories

Underpinning our nation’s early beginnings are the ancient stories, legends and myths passed down through generations of Māori. Here is a selection of the legends that describe how Marlborough came to be.

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Our Towns

From Rai Valley to Ward, each Marlborough settlement had its own fascinating and unique beginnings. Learn about the heritage of our villages and towns.

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Culture

Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku, New Zealand's largest peak outside the Southern Alps, is the sacred mountain of local Marlborough Maori iwi and a visible symbol of the rich tapestry of Marlborough's culture. The annual Marlborough Book Festival forms one of these vibrant threads.

Discover Marlborough's culture
Arts

Marlborough is home to a host of artisans, public art, galleries, musicians and theatre performances. Join the Marlborough Arts and Crafts Trail, check out the Artisan Market on Saturdays, and watch local performances.

Marlborough's Arts guide

Beryl Bowers Events Coordinator

"I am so lucky to live here with the mountains and the bush clad hills reaching the sea. The beauty of this region is amazing and nowhere else in the world have I seen such stunning scenery."

My insider guide to Marlborough

Arthur Clouston

Marlborough’s rich aviation history includes the landing of a record-breaking UK to New Zealand flight by a Kiwi pilot who learned to fly with the Marlborough Aero Club.

On 20 March 1938, Arthur Clouston landed his DH.88 Comet at Omaka Aerodrome, the same place he had learned to fly.

Clouston and co-pilot Victor Ricketts had left England on March 15, arriving in Sydney three days and nine hours later. In doing so they broke previous records, which remained until 1946. The next day they headed for Marlborough, to enable Clouston to see his family for the first time in 18 years. Their flight from Sydney to Te Waiharakeke/Blenheim took seven hours 27 minutes; this record remained until 1945. After a night with his family he headed back to London the following day.

Born in Motueka in 1908, Clouston moved to the UK after learning to fly at Omaka, and joined the pre-WW2 Royal Air Force. He went on to become a test pilot; one of his experiments was to study the effect of ice on aircraft performance by flying into clouds and waiting for two inches of ice to form on the wings and propeller; plummeting towards the ground until the ice melted and he gained control again.

After his record-breaking flight to Australia and New Zealand, Clouston was approached by a Jewish businessman representing a group of wealthy industrialists and offered £1m to assassinate Hitler by bombing Hitler’s car from his Comet during a parade in Berlin. The pilot declined and rejoined the RAF at the outbreak of World War Two, rising through the ranks to Group Captain over the course of the war, finishing his career as Air Commodore and Commandant of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down in England.

Clouston Gardens in Springlands, Blenheim, carries the pilot’s name.