Ngā wai e rima - The Five Waters of Blenheim
The Ngā Wai e Rima exhibition, telling the story of the Māori and European names of five Blenheim waterways, opened in the foyer of Rangitāne House in July 2026.
The Māori names came from a cultural mapping project undertaken by local artist and filmmaker Keelan Walker, with Peter Meihana, Te Matahiapo Hynes and Judith MacDonald, exploring the traditional names of local rivers and waterways.
Research into the European names was undertaken by Council’s Heritage Marlborough team.
The waterways featured were Waikura | Taylor River, Waiariki | Fulton Creek, Takupukoko Creek | Doctors Creek, Pounaho | Murphy’s Creek and Ōpaoa | Opawa.
The exhibition complemented Keelan’s designs for building screens which featured around work sites during the Market Street Revamp Project (above image).
The artworks were also part of Space Create, a Council initiative to revitalise town centres into vibrant community hubs through art, performance and pop-up projects.
