Blenheim, New Zealand in the context of "Kāi Tahu"

Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island. Its takiwā (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Māhanga and Kahurangi Point in the north to Stewart Island / Rakiura in the south. The takiwā comprises 18 rūnanga (governance areas) corresponding to traditional settlements. According to the 2023 census an estimated 84,000 people affiliated with the Kāi Tahu iwi.

Ngāi Tahu originated in the Gisborne District of the North Island, along with Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Kahungunu, who all intermarried amongst the local Ngāti Ira. Over time, all but Ngāti Porou would migrate away from the district. Several iwi were already occupying the South Island prior to Ngāi Tahu's arrival, with Kāti Māmoe only having arrived about a century earlier from the Hastings District, and already having conquered Waitaha, who themselves were a collection of ancient groups. Other iwi that Ngāi Tahu encountered while migrating through the South Island were Ngāi Tara, Rangitāne, Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri, and Ngāti Wairangi – all of which also migrated from the North Island at varying times. During the 19th century, hundreds of thousands of Europeans – mostly British – migrated to New Zealand. After European arrival, Ngāti Toa (allied with Ngāti Tama) and Ngāti Rārua invaded Ngāi Tahu's territory with muskets. Some European settlers intermingled with native iwi populations, and today, most families who descend from Ngāi Tahu also have Ngāti Māmoe and British ancestry.

41°53′S 173°40′E / 41.883°S 173.667°E / -41.883; 173.667

Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (Māori: Te Tauihu-o-te-waka, or Tauihu), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. It is administered by Marlborough District Council, a unitary authority, performing the functions of both a territorial authority and a regional council. The council is based at Blenheim, the largest town. The unitary region has a population of 50,800 (June 2025). It borders the Nelson Region and Tasman District to the west, and the Canterbury Region to the south.

Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of about 9,000. The iwi is centred around Porirua, Plimmerton, Kāpiti, Blenheim and Arapaoa Island. It has four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua City, and Whakatū and Wairau in the South Island. Ngāti Toa's governing body has the name Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.

The iwi traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. Ngāti Toa lived in the Kāwhia region of the North Island until the 1820s, when forced out by conflict with other Tainui iwi, led by Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (c. 1785 – 1860), who later became the first Māori King (r. 1858–1860). Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Koata, led by Te Rauparaha (c. 1765 – 1849), escaped south and invaded Taranaki and the Wellington regions together with three north Taranaki iwi, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Mutunga. Together they fought and conquered the people of Wellington, Ngāti Ira, who practically ceased to exist as an independent iwi.After the 1820s, the region conquered by Ngāti Toa extended from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson.

Picton (Māori: Waitohi) is a town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located near the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, 25 km (16 mi) north of Blenheim and 65 km (40 mi) west of Wellington. Waikawa lies just north-east of Picton and is considered to be a contiguous part of the Picton urban area.

Picton is a major hub in New Zealand's transport network, connecting the South Island road and rail network with ferries across Cook Strait to Wellington and the North Island. The Picton urban area has a population of 4,850 (June 2025), making it the second-largest town in the Marlborough Region behind Blenheim. It is the easternmost town in the South Island with a population of at least 1,000 people.

Spring Creek is a small town in Marlborough, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs past the settlement to the west, and the Wairau River flows past to the east. Picton is 22 km to the north, and Blenheim is 6 km to the south.

The first European settlers were George Dodson, William Soper, and Dr Vickerman, in 1850. There was a major flood in 1926, when the Wairau River burst its embankments.

The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for 170 kilometres (110 mi) from the Spenser Mountains (a northern range of the Southern Alps), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in inland Marlborough.

The river's lower reaches and surrounding fertile plain provide the basis for the Marlborough wine region. The river has its outflow into Cook Strait at Cloudy Bay, just north of Blenheim in the island's northeast. The Wairau River meets the sea at the Wairau Bar, an important archaeological site.

Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and Blenheim are sited. The Alpine–Wairau Fault runs along the length of the valley.

Wairauite is an iron-cobalt alloy which is named after the valley.