Stories from the Top of the South

Welcome to The Prow, a website featuring historical and cultural stories from Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough.

The Prow, or Te Tau Ihu, is the Māori name for the top of the South Island: Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Maui. Te Tau Ihu is the mythical prow of Maui's waka, or canoe, from which he fished up the North Island.

http://www.theprow.org.nz/ features concise stories about the people, places and events unique to Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough. There are stories about explorers, early Māori life, the effect of European settlement on local iwi and the struggles and triumphs of the European settlers. Each of the stories includes extensive lists of, and links to, resources for further research in libraries, museums, on the web or out in the region itself.

We invite you to join our voyage and discover more about the region's history. The Prow has embarked with a number of fully researched stories, but there are many more to be told. You are welcome to add your own story, or to comment on our stories.

The Prow is a collaborative venture between the Nelson City, Tasman and Marlborough District Libraries, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and The Nelson Provincial Museum. Images are supplied by supporting institutions, please check their terms of use.

Prow Features

Colonial summers

Our seasonal feature...

Top of the South Timeline

Find a story or an event using our timeline feature

Newsletters

Issue 2 (Aug.2009) is now available! We aim to have 3-4 issues per year.

Submit a story

Have you got a great story to tell about days gone by in the Nelson, Marlborough, Tasman regions? Then consider submitting a story. If you would like to attend a workshop to find out how to do this, please contact us.