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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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.

Read More
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

Marlborough Airport Heritage

Marlborough Airport, located at Woodbourne 8km west of Te Waiharakeke/Blenheim, is the region’s main airport.

The airport was one of the first in New Zealand, and also one of the first to accommodate turboprop aircraft.

The airfield gained attention in 1928 when the Blenheim Borough Council prepared land and built a temporary hangar at Woodbourne Farm for an important visitor - pioneering aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his Fokker trimotor monoplane, Southern Cross.

Kingsford Smith and his crew of three used the field as their departure point for the return leg of their historic trans-Tasman crossing in 1928.

But the Southern Cross was not the first famous plane to land in Blenheim. In 1920, the first flight across Raukawa/Cook Strait touched down on a Dillons Point farm, with Captain Euan Dickson carrying New Zealand’s first air mail between the South and North Islands aboard his Avro 504K.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force built a base at Woodbourne during World War 2. RNZAF Base Woodbourne remains today as a training and heavy maintenance facility, and shares the airport with civilian services, including Airbus. The terminal building was extended in 2014/15 to cope with larger passenger numbers and larger aircraft.

Air New Zealand, Sounds Air and charter airlines all operate from the airport.