Story: Marlborough places

Pilot house, Wairau Bar

Pilot house, Wairau Bar

This pilot house at Wairau Bar was built in 1868, when many ships used the lower Wairau and Ōpawa rivers, and needed guidance crossing the bar from or into Cloudy Bay. The house was the home of pilot James Bulliff, his wife Clara and their children for 18 years. Bulliff’s successor moved into a new house next door, but the original building was in use for many years. It remains Marlborough’s best-preserved survivor of the coastal shipping days of the 19th century.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Malcolm McKinnon

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How to cite this page:

Malcolm McKinnon, 'Marlborough places - Lower Wairau', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/31846/pilot-house-wairau-bar (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, updated 18 Jun 2015