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

The Edwin Fox

The timber ship Edwin Fox, carefully preserved in Picton, is the world’s only surviving Australian convict ship and the last remaining wooden New Zealand immigrant ship - a piece of world heritage that was almost left to disappear into the mud of Picton Harbour.
The Edwin Fox was built in India in 1853 of teak and named after a prominent London businessman.

After serving in the Crimean War, she carried goods like Indian Pale Ale and tea. In 1856 the British Government chartered her as a convict ship to Fremantle, Western Australia.

Then in 1873, company Shaw Savill & Co. bought her to take migrants to New Zealand. Four voyages carried 751 settlers to Lyttelton, Nelson and Wellington. A decade later, the Edwin Fox was converted to a floating freezer hulk for mutton at Port Chalmers, before being towed to Picton in 1897. She was later used as a coal hulk before being abandoned to the mud.

Th Edwin Fox Restoration Society came to her rescue in 1965, buying her for a shilling, but she was beached in Shakespeare Bay until 1986 when she was towed to her new home on Picton Foreshore.

In 2000 the former Historic Places Trust gave the Edwin Fox Ship a Category I registration and in 2013 The Governor General of New Zealand presented the society with a World Ship Trust Award for the project.

Two years later the ship was filmed by BBC show Coast and has since achieved TripAdvisor Hall of Fame status.

Today, she is looked after by the Marlborough Heritage Trust and open to the public, who can enter the vast hull and learn more about the stories she holds. Visit the Edwin Fox Museum in Picton.