Travel Guide Timaru

Located on the shores of Caroline Bay, along the east coast of the country's South Island, Timaru is the largest town in South Canterbury, with a population of 29,000. Meaning "place of refuge"(Te Maru), the Maori of the Ngai Mamoe were the first to settle here, before being pushed further south by the Ngai Tahu. In the late 1830s, whalers established a station here, and the first permanent settlers were the Rhodes brothers, who took over a large strip of land covering 60,700 ha in 1852. In 1859, the Strathallan was the first European ship to bring large numbers of new arrivals. The town grew steadily thereafter, but was largely destroyed by fire ten years later. Rebuilt in the Victorian style still recognizable today, it still lacked a suitable harbour, and between 1866 and 1868, no fewer than twenty-eight ships sank close to its shores. An artificial harbour was built in the 1870s, giving the area a new lease of life, and preserving its industrial vocation.