Canvastown is a locality at the point where the
Wakamarina River joins the
Pelorus River, in
Marlborough
Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to:
Places Australia
* Marlborough, Queensland
* Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993
* Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
, New Zealand. runs through the area.
Rai Valley 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 Co ...
Pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
, 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. Steam
dredges
Dredging is the Digging, excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing Water feature, water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial ...
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 Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
'' (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 sout ...
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 ''wikt:wh ...
'' (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 and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.
Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...
to upgrade the marae, creating four jobs.
Notable people
*
Vanessa Weenink (born 1978), National Party politician; grew up in Canvastown
See also
*
Maungatapu murders
References
External links
Local history
{{Marlborough Region, state=collapsed
Populated places in the Marlborough District