Canvastown is a locality at the point where the

Wakamarina River The Wakamarina River is a river of the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally northeast from its origins in the Richmond Range to reach the Pelorus River at the settlement of Canvastown Canvastown is a locality at ...

joins the

Pelorus River Te Hoiere / Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of South Island of New Zealand in the region of Marlborough. It flows from the Richmond Range into Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its m ...

, in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, New Zealand. runs through the area.

Rai Valley Rai Valley is a rural settlement in Marlborough Region, Marlborough, New Zealand. It is located on , northwest of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenheim and east of Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson. The Rai River runs past the locality to join the Pelorus R ...

is 17 km to the northwest. Havelock is 10 km to the east. The town was founded in 1864, after gold was discovered in the Wakamarina Valley. Up to 6000 miners came to make their fortunes. Where there had previously been a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

Pā, streets of tents sprang up providing accommodation, restaurants and taverns to a population of about 3000 people. About of gold was recovered in 1864. The surface gold was worked out within two years and most of the miners moved to new gold discoveries on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. Steam

dredges Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

continued to work the river into the 20th century. Canvastown School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 5 and a roll of 29. The school was built in 1877 and celebrated its 125th Jubilee in 2002.

Marae

Te Hora Marae is located in Canvastown. It is the ''

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

'' (meeting ground) of

Ngāti Kuia Ngāti Kuia is a Māori iwi of the Northern South Island in New Zealand. They first settled in the Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, and later spread to the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and Tasman districts to Taitapu on the West Coast, and as far south ...

and includes Te Hora ''

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''whare'' ( ...

'' (meeting house). In October 2020, the Government committed $32,318 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade the marae, creating four jobs.

References

External links

Local history
{{Marlborough Region, state=collapsed Populated places in the Marlborough Region

Marae

See also

References

External links