Timaru i-SITE Visitor Centre

The friendly staff at Timaru i-SITE Visitor Centre are happy to share their local knowledge and expert advice to help you get the most out of your stay in and to give you the little gems of local knowledge that make a trip really special. For those who want to arrange themselves there is information, or for those who want more help, staff are happy to help with bookings. With souvenirs for sale as well, this really is the one stop shop!

Halfway between Christchurch and Dunedin, Timaru is a great place to break your journey. The town is relatively young, and had no European residents before 1839, when a whaling station set up by brothers from Sydney started to attract residents to the port town. The subsequent whaling industry has something to say about early relations between Maori and European settlers: the town's name means 'The Place of Shelter' in Maori.

Thirty vessels were wrecked attempting to berth near Timaru from the 1860s-1880s, so an artificial harbour was built. Timaru's harbour today is vital to the economy of this largely argricultural town.