...where our history reflects a deep pride in building a new settlement, a new New Zealand!

The Nelson Tasman region is rich with history that dates back to the settlement of the indigenous Maori tribes from 1350AD and stories unfold as to how they lived in harmony with Papatuanuku (Mother Earth), the tides, the seasons and the whenua, the land.

In the 1830s and 1840s the first ships and families from England, Germany and the Netherlands entered Tasman Bay and established a formal settlement. This is early European New Zealand, ahead of its time. Take a stroll along Rocks Road and Wakefield Quay and learn who our early forefathers were and which ships they arrived on.

Explore and seek out the many historical homes and museums that help create a sense of yesteryear as stories unfold from our first families.

Local Museums

A contemporary new museum, the Nelson Provincial Museum, in the centre of Nelson city showcases our early Māori and European culture. The museum houses the largest photographic collection in the country and this accurately documents regional life for more than a century. Changing exhibitions and contemporary culture is also on show. Our pioneer history is also captured in small rural museums at Collingwood, Motueka, Takaka and Murchison. At the waterfront in Mapua learn about early coastal shipping. Steam enthusiasts can get ‘fired up’ about history at the Pigeon Valley Steam Museum.