Our History
Timaru District History
Caroline Bay is one of Timaru's claims to fame. When development of the harbour began in earnest in the late 1800s a sandy beach was formed to the north and Caroline Bay soon earned a reputation as one of the safest beaches in New Zealand. The name Timaru is taken from the Maori " Te Maru", meaning " The Place of shelter" it could also be a derivation of "Ti Maru"' the Sheltered Place of The Cabbage Tree" (Ti) because of the abundance of Cabbage trees in the vicinity.
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The first recorded history of South Canterbury began in March 1839 when a group of whalers landed at Timaru. Although these whalers were the first Europeans to visit the area, it wasn't until 1851 that George and Robert Rhodes established a run at the southern limits of the Canterbury Plains. George Rhodes and his wife arrived on horseback in 1854 to live and other runholders soon followed.














