"Waimate" a Waimate Island Travel Page by rozehill

Just 45 kilometres south of Timaru and a mere seven kilometres from SH1, Waimate is a community known for its charm, beauty and friendliness.
In the beginning Waimate was not much more than a boggy swamp. The first Maoris in the district named their settlement Te Waimatemate, meaning slow-moving or sluggish water. It was the nearby Hunter Hills, with a profusion of game and wildlife, which first attracted settlers and, with an abundance of fish in the streams, the area was a hospitable place to set up home. For centuries it was a seasonal camp for the Maori, occupied only for certain months of the year.