Blenheim History
Blenheim | Regional Information | Activity Highlights | Scenic Highlights | History
Blenheim is New Zealand's largest grape-growing and wine-making region, and has offered safe harbour to travellers for centuries.
Blenheim History Overview
For centuries, Blenheim has offered safe harbour to travellers. First to Māori traders and war parties; then to European explorers, such as Captain James Cook and Dumont D'Urville; and now to visitors seeking new landscapes and rejuvenating experiences.
If you arrive in the region by sea or air, the intricate detail of the Marlborough Sounds engages your interest immediately.
Early History
Māori legend describes the entire South Island as Maui's waka (canoe), wrecked on a reef during a fishing expedition. The shattered bow of the canoe became the Sounds.
In the 1840's, Captain Cook sighted New Zealand and European colonisation began.
Early history of the region involved close ties with Nelson. However the European settlers to the Marlborough region wanted independence from Nelson, and in 1859 Malborough became a seperate province.
Today Blenheim is a vibrant wine growing region, with numbers swelling in the summer months.
Pelorus Bridge
Pelorus Bridge crosses a valley that was once the site of a massacre of the Ngati Kuia and Ngati Apa tribes by the Māori chief Te Rauparaha. These tribes came from the North Island coast, west of Wellington.
The first Europeans to arrive in 1843 found a few remaining Māori people producing flax for Te Rauparaha. The original route to Nelson went through the reserve site and over the Maungatapu Saddle. Later, the path that the road follows today was discovered, and a bridge was built across the Pelorus River around 1860.
The Pelorus Bridge location was set aside for a future township, but in the early 1900s this was changed to preserve the area's natural beauty. The present bridge was built in the 1950s.
The Pelorus Bridge is located about halfway between Blenheim and Nelson, and crosses the Pelorus River. The beautiful scenic reserve here has some of the most accessible examples of mature native forest in the Marlborough region.
Blenheim Accommodation
Blenheim is a popular tourist destination and offers a wide range of accommodation options:
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Useful Blenheim Links
To help plan your Blenheim holiday choose from the main categories below:
- Blenheim Accommodation
- Blenheim Tours
- Blenheim Attractions and Activities
- Blenheim Transport
- Blenheim Dining
- Blenheim Shopping
- Blenheim Visitor Information
Blenheim Region Information
Regional Information
Key information and facts about the Blenheim region.
Activity Highlights
Major activities and attractions in the Blenheim region.
Scenic Highlights
Major natural attractions in the Blenheim region.
History
History of the Blenheim region.
Blenheim Tourism Operators
Choose from our accommodation, attractions, tours, transport or visitor information categories below to find a tourism operator in Blenheim.