Published by the Timaru City Council in 1984 by Win Parks
Discovering Timaru : past & present.
Date 1984
By Parkes, Win; Timaru (N.Z.). City Council
Identifier ISBN
Publisher [Timaru, N.Z.] : Timaru City Council, 1984.
Format 24 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) ; 30 cm.
Blog By Roselyn Fauth
This gives a wonderful review of Timaru from the 1984 lens. I hate to imagine the effort Win had to go to in the early 80s to research and pull this together. No computers, physical archives to fossick through. We are so lucky that this treasure exists and I have found it a wonderful refrence book to learn about where I live. As an 80s kid myself, this is like a snapshot of how I remember the area growing up. Thank you Win. This book is a treasure, and I love it so much. This is the first book I would like to review for the WuHoo Book Club.
This opening chapter sets the scene beautifully by grounding Timaru’s story in its natural landscape and geological origins. It explains how volcanic eruptions two to three million years ago created basalt flows that formed reefs and gave Timaru its only natural shelter along an otherwise open coast. Early settlers quarried this exposed lava to build the moles that shaped today’s port and reclaimed Caroline Bay.
Timaru is described as both a “place of shelter” (its name’s origin) and the hub of South Canterbury—halfway between Christchurch and Dunedin, and closely tied to its surrounding rural communities and iconic backdrops like Aoraki/Mt Cook.
What I love about Timaru is relationships. I never thought that while I was at school I would later reconnect with my teachers – but that’s exactly what has happened.
One of those teachers is Win Parks. I first got to know Win better when I was figuring out my career pathway. She had this clever software in the early 2000s that matched my skills and interests to possible jobs. Her advice quietly shaped what I do today: encouraging curiosity, creativity, and storytelling. It’s led me to use my art, graphic design, marketing and web skills to help share local stories.
While I’ve supported many clients over the years, my real passion has always been telling the story of Timaru: who we were, who we are, and who we can be.
The Book That Sparked It All
Win’s book, Discovering Timaru, was published in 1982, just a year after I was born. It’s been a constant reference point in my work – inspiring countless WuHoo Timaru heritage hunts, playground activities, and storytelling projects. With Win’s permission, I’m excited to bring it to you in a new way: as a Book Club series where we explore Timaru’s places chapter by chapter.
How We’ll Explore Together
This series isn’t just about nostalgia, I think it can also be about looking at our places with fresh eyes. We’ll follow the paths set out in Win’s book, while bringing in what I’ve learned through:
- The Explorer Mindset: finding layered connections and side stories hidden in plain sight.
- Tangible Things: slowing down, noticing details, and seeing how physical places hold deeper meaning.
As we go, I’ll reference information as it’s recorded in Win’s book, especially where it includes Māori placenames or history. These sections are drawn from a 1982 European-authored publication, and it’s important to recognise that mana whenua hold their histories and traditions orally. I’ll share what’s in the book clearly as cited information, so we know the source, while respecting that there is always more to learn beyond the written word.
Why This Matters
>Heritage is not static. It’s alive in our streets, parks, coastline, schools, and even in everyday routines. This book offers a window into how Timaru was seen in 1982, and together we can ask:
- How have these places changed since then?
- What’s missing from these older narratives?
- How do we connect these stories to our lives now?
From volcanic cliffs and whalers’ try-pots to the planting of Ashbury Park and the history of Timaru Girls’ High School, these chapters will help us reflect on our shared landscape—and the relationships that shape it.
Some of the Fun Facts You’ll Discover in This Series:
- Timaru sits on ancient lava flows from eruptions two to three million years ago.
- Caroline Bay’s name may come from a whaling ship, the Caroline, which collected oil here in the 1830s./li>
- Victorians used horse-drawn bathing machines at Caroline Bay for modest sea swims.
- Timaru bluestone built our breakwaters and early bridges, quarried from cliffs still visible today.
- The Alexandra lifeboat once capsized regularly but saved countless lives before retiring to display beside Willow Walk.
- The Caroline Bay merry-go-round and its Garrol barrel-organ have been running since the 1920s.
- Timaru’s first mail came by coach long before rail connected the town to Christchurch in 1876.
- A single kerosene streetlamp still survives from the days before electric lighting lit Stafford Street in 1907.
- NZ’s only red panda lived at Hadlow Game Park in the 1980s, delighting local families.
- Moa bones were discovered beneath lava in Centennial Park’s quarry, linking deep time to harbour building.
- Richard Pearse Airport honours our aviation pioneer, often debated as one of the world’s first to fly.
- Ashbury Park’s trees were planted by Belfield Woollcombe in 1859 and still stand today.
Your Invitation
Over the coming weeks, I’ll share chapter-by-chapter blogs filled with facts, questions, and ways to explore these places yourself.
First up: we’ll begin with the Introduction and Waterfront Walk, tracing Timaru’s volcanic beginnings, the meaning of its recorded Māori name TeMaru, and the early days of Caroline Bay.
Let’s rediscover with the history lens from the 80s Timaru together.
Book Club Blog 1:
Discovering Timaru
Introduction & Waterfront Walk
When I opened the first pages of Win Parks’ Discovering Timaru, I was instantly reminded how much I love seeing our city through fresh eyes. Even if you’ve walked Caroline Bay countless times, there’s something powerful about pausing, noticing the details, and considering how layered our landscape really is.
Volcanic Beginnings
According to the book, Timaru’s story starts not with settlers but with volcanic eruptions two to three million years ago. Those eruptions created the lava flows and basalt reefs that once offered the only natural shelter between Oamaru and Banks Peninsula. Over time, the exposed lava was quarried to build the breakwaters and moles that shaped today’s port and reclaimed Caroline Bay from the sea.
It’s easy to forget how much of Timaru’s coastline is engineered. Next time you’re at Caroline Bay, look up at the cliffs and imagine the sea lapping at their base before the sand slowly built up behind the harbour walls.
Te Maru – A Place of Shelter
According to Discovering Timaru, the name Timaru comes from Te Maru, recorded here as meaning “place of shelter.” This was a stopping place for Māori travelling along the coast, its reefs offering safe landing for waka (canoes). It’s important to note this is as documented in this 1982 publication, and deeper stories of Te Maru remain with mana whenua and oral tradition.
What I love about this is how it reframes Caroline Bay: before seaside promenades and sound shells, this was a place known for its shelter long before Europeans arrived. That sense of protection —whether from the reefs or later the engineered moles—has always defined Timaru.
The Waterfront Walk
Win’s Waterfront Walk begins near Caroline Bay’s aviary and takes about 40 minutes. Here’s what stood out:
Whaling Days: In the 1830s and 40s, the Weller Brothers ran a whaling station at Patiti Point. Large iron trypots were used to boil whale blubber into oil.
Creating Caroline Bay: Before the harbour works of the 1880s, the sea met the cliffs. The construction of the moles caused sand to drift in, slowly forming the beach we know today.
Seaside Leisure: By the 1890s, Caroline Bay was attracting crowds. By 1905, volunteers built cliff paths, planted trees, and funded the band rotunda, where concerts became a summer staple.
Bathing Machines: Victorian visitors used wheeled huts to preserve modesty as they entered the sea, hard to picture compared to today’s swimmers!
Fun Facts from This Chapter
- Timaru’s port was literally carved from lava quarried west of the town.
- The name “Caroline Bay” likely comes from the whaling ship Caroline.
- The railway brought holidaymakers in the 1890s, making Caroline Bay a summer destination.
- Every year, 30,000 cubic metres of sand still move along this coast, reshaped by the moles.
- The Edwardian sound shell concerts trace their roots to the 1905 rotunda and early holiday music competitions.
Explorer Mindset Reflection. Walking Caroline Bay today, I see how human hands and natural forces have co-authored this landscape. The cliffs still bear the scars of quarrying. The sand we relax on exists because of redirected currents. And beneath it all lies a much older story, volcanic flows, reefs, and Māori journeys. This chapter challenges me to ask: how many of our everyday places hold these invisible layers? It’s why I love pairing reading with walking. The book becomes a map of clues, and the city itself is the exhibit.
Book Club Questions
- Did you know Caroline Bay was man-made over decades of sand drift?
- Have you ever noticed the drinking fountain near the sound shell, a relic from the Edwardian era?
- How does knowing Timaru sits on ancient lava change how you picture our coastline?
Blog 2:
Willow Walk & “Place of Shelter”
There’s something calming about Willow Walk. I’ve strolled under its arching branches more times than I can count—on my way to Caroline Bay, cycling shortcuts, or quiet moments needing fresh air. But until I read this chapter of Win Parks’ Discovering Timaru, I hadn’t realised just how much history is hidden in its shady, winding path.
A Walk Born in 1903
According to Discovering Timaru, Willow Walk was first laid out in 1903 as an esplanade—an Edwardian vision of leisure where townsfolk could promenade. By 1912, swings and seesaws were added, but not without controversy: Timaru debated whether Sunday play equipment should even be used! By the 1920s, willows lined the track, creating the leafy charm we still enjoy today. What strikes me is how community choices a century ago still shape how we move today. Next time you walk there, notice the willows—they’re living evidence of a civic project that’s lasted generations.
Te Maru – Recorded “Place of Shelter”
In this chapter, Discovering Timaru notes the recorded Māori name Te Maru, translated here as “place of shelter.” It describes the reefs offshore as providing safe landings for waka during long coastal journeys. This is how the book frames it: through a European-written lens in 1982, reflecting documented sources of that time. Oral histories of mana whenua carry far deeper connections, but even this reminder reframes the area: before settlers, this was already a known coastal waypoint.
Maritime Peril & the Alexandra Lifeboat
Close to Willow Walk stands the Alexandra lifeboat, imported from England in 1864. This six-oared “unsinkable” lifeboat capsized multiple times in Timaru’s heavy surf, including during the 1882 Benvenue disaster, where nine lives were lost attempting rescues in ferocious seas. Seeing it now, safely grounded and preserved, is a reminder of how dangerous Timaru’s coast once was, and of the courage of those who worked these waters.
Fun Facts from This Chapter
- Willow Walk’s trees were planted in the 1920s by community volunteers.
- The Alexandra lifeboat served for 20 years but capsized repeatedly in heavy surf.
- Te Maru is recorded as meaning “place of shelter,” linking this coast to early Māori travel.
- Public debates over swings in 1912 show how leisure and morality mixed in Edwardian Timaru.
Explorer Mindset Reflection: Reading this, I realised Willow Walk is more than a green space: it’s a thread connecting Māori travel, European settlement, maritime rescue, and Edwardian civic ideals. These stories run underfoot every time we walk here—we just don’t often stop to see them.
Book Club Questions
- Did you know Willow Walk’s swings once caused a Sunday debate?
- Have you visited the Alexandra lifeboat and thought about its role in the Benvenue disaster?
- How does seeing Te Maru recorded here as a “place of shelter” change your sense of this coast’s timeline?