Guide

Heritage, Culture & Arts

Marlborough’s rich history runs wide and deep, from the earliest Polynesian settlers of the Wairau Bar to the first European pioneers who built our towns and planted our first grapevines.

These people, the way they lived their lives 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.

Marlborough has a wealth of arts and culture, from art galleries to museums through to concerts and theatre productions.

Follow the Marlborough Arts and Crafts Trail, enjoy a glass of wine while listening to live music at a vineyard or on stage at Marlborough's new ASB Theatre.

  1. Classic Fighters
  2. Marlborough Airport Heritage
  3. Omaka Aerodrome Heritage
  4. Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre
  5. Picton Airport Heritage
  6. Maud Island Heritage
  7. Wairau Bar Heritage
  8. Pelorus Heritage
  9. Karaka Point Heritage
  10. Kakapo Bay Cemetary Heritage
  11. Horahora Kakahu Island Heritage
  12. Molesworth Station Heritage
  13. Mt Taupae-o-Uenuku
  14. Perano Whaling Station
  15. Ship Cove/Meretoto Heritage
  16. Wairau Affray Heritage
  17. Wairau Lagoons Heritage
  18. Cape Campbell Heritage
  19. Cape Jackson Heritage
  20. Cook Strait Ferries Heritage
  21. Mikhail Lermentov Heritage
  22. Opawa River Heritage
  23. Pelorus Jack Heritage
  24. Wine Heritage
  25. Antimony Mining Heritage
  26. Farming Heritage
  27. Gold Mining Heritage
  28. Arthur Clouston
  29. Sir Edward Chaytor
  30. Captain Cook
  31. Sir Edmund Hillary
  32. Elizabeth Lissaman
  33. Lord Ernest Rutherford
  34. James Sinclair
  35. Blenheim Heritage
  36. Havelock Heritage
  37. Picton Heritage
  38. Rai Valley Heritage
  39. Renwick Heritage
  40. Seddon Heritage
  41. Ward Heritage
Steve Austin

Steve Austin Marlborough Museum

“Marlborough is incredibly rich in terms of heritage nationally and internationally, and we are in the process of discovering even more.”

My insider guide to Marlborough

Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Blenheim was built by aviation enthusiasts who wanted to share their passion with others.

The museum’s roots were laid in the late 1990s with the arrival of two Chinese Nanchang trainers, which caught the public’s interest and the establishment of the Marlborough Warbirds Association.

Soon other heritage aircraft were drawn to Marlborough’s ideal flying weather and environment, and people began asking to see the growing collection stored at Omaka.

In 1997, discussions on how to allow public access began and the New Zealand Aviation Museum Trust was established.

The result is a permanent exhibition of one of the world’s largest collections of World War One aircraft, both static and flyable, and rare memorabilia, owned by The Hobbit director Sir Peter Jackson.

The Knights of the Sky exhibition brings human stories from the Great War to life in captivating scenes created by internationally acclaimed WingNut Films and Weta Workshop.

A new exhibition hall will open in mid-2016, featuring aircraft, memorabilia and stories from World War Two.

The Centre is open 7 days a week and closed Christmas Day only.

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