c950

• A local story tells of Kereopa escaping Kupe by causing the Boulder Bank to grow boulders in front of  Kupe's pursuing canoe. 

c1200

• Maori quarry argillite stone from the eastern Nelson mineral belt

1642

• Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman sails into Golden Bay and clashes with Ngati Tumatakokiri 

1700s

• Rangitane build a network of canals and channels to harvest fish in the Vernon Lagoons

1770

• Captain Cook makes his first visit to Ship Cove

1805

• The great victory of Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar; after whom the town, later City, of Nelson is named in 1842.

1810

• Ngati Apa establish themselves across the top of the south after Tumatakokiri's comprehensive defeat

1824

• Taranaki Alliance tribes start their conquest of the S. North Island and N. S. Island; Te Puoho ki te Rangi, part of the alliance, settles in northwest Nelson following their success.

1827

• Dumont D'Urville passes through Tasman Bay
• John Guard establishes the first shore whaling station in the Tory Channel

1838

• The New Zealand Company is formed

1839

• The Missionaries, Bumby and Hobbs, visit Marlborough, bringing Christianity to the Maori of the region.

1840

• Samuel Ironside establishes the Cloudy Bay Mission - beginning the story of churches in Marlborough
• Treaty of Waitangi outlaws the taking of slaves

 1841

• Captain Frederick Moore arrives on a New Zealand Company ship to "discover" and survey Nelson Haven for settlement.
• Founding of the Nelson Literary and Scientific Institute (out of which Nelson Public Libraries and the Museum later develop) , on board the New Zealand Company ships bound for Nelson

1842

• The Fifeshire, carrying the first European settlers arrives in Nelson Haven (Feb 1) - and is wrecked
• Charles Elliott opens NZ's first bookshop in Nelson and Nelson's first newspaper,  The Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle
• Nelson's first road is formed from the Haven to town; Saltwater Creek is bridged
• "Native tenths" selected by the New Zealand Company
• First sermon preached in Nelson by Bishop Selwyn in Nelson
• First public school opened in Nelson on town acre 208
• Nelson Literary and Scientific Institute opens its first reading room in Trafalgar Street (the forerunner of the Nelson Library and Museum)
• The first publican's licence is issued in Nelson, the start of a boom in licencing in Nelson to house devotees of the demon drink.
• The Redwood family arrive on the George Fyfe, in December

1843

• Wairau Affray - death of Arthur Wakefield, Cotterell and other settlers. Fort Arthur redoubt built at Piki Mai, Nelson
• William Fox becomes Resident Agent in Nelson
• First German settlers arrive in Nelson Province aboard the St Pauli
• Matthew Campbell and others establish the Nelson School Society
• Formation of Nelson Yacht Club
• Settlement of Wakefield begins
• First Wesleyan Church opens, later becoming St Johns Methodist Church in a new location.

1846

• Kehu, Brunner and  Heaphy explore the Buller River
• Nathaniel Morse and Dr John Cooper bring sheep to the Wairau Valley

1847

• James Wynen sets up the first business in the Beaver - what is to become Blenheim

1848

• Thomas Marsden builds the first house at, what is now, Isel Park
• Rev. Tudor opens a school conducted in English at Motueka for both Maori and Pakeha - part of the documented history of Maori and education in the region
• Morrison & Sclanders issue private bank notes as the Nelson Bank

1850

• Opening of the Shelbourne Street Gaol in Nelson. It closed in 1898
• First Catholic Church built on Manuka Street Nelson - to become St Marys

1851

• Founding of Nelson Baptist Church

1852

• Wiremu Kingi Te Koihuareceives the Pakawau purchase money

1853

• Nelson Provincial Council formed
• Governor Grey transfers 918 acres of the best Maori-owned horticultural land in Motueka to the Church
• Appo Hocton naturalised in Nelson - the first naturalised Chinese New Zealander
• New Zealand's first Quaker Meeting house opened on Town Acre 667
• Woodstock Homestead of Stoke is built. Its land becomes one of first commercial orchards in NZ and marks the beginning of orcharding in the region

1854

• The town of Richmond, settled since 1842 as Waimea East, is named
• Samuel Stephens elected to represent Nelson in the General Assembly
• Completion of Sunnyside, later known as Warwick House
• Motuweka flat is sold by Kurahaupo to the New Zealand Company - to become Havelock

1855

• Broadgreen House, Nelson, is completed
• Apples (569 bushels) first feature as cargo at Port Nelson
• Thomas Renwick buys the Delta Dairy at Waihopai; an area which later becomes Renwick
• Discovery of gold in the Baton Valley
• Buxtons opens in Trafalgar Street Nelson

1856

• Aorere goldrush
• Nelson Education Act passed and the  Nelson Education System is established ; Nelson College, New Zealand's first State Secondary School is opened
• Father Garin builds St Marys in Nelson
• Original Anchor Inn built on Haven Road near Auckland Point, Nelson
• Motueka's first harbour is closed and the facility moves to its current location

1857

• First wharf in Nelson built by William Akersten, a marine surveyor 
• Commissioning of the Waterman Cup for the newly formed Nelson Yacht Club
• Seymour Square in Blenheim is named, and becomes the focal point of the growing town

1858

• Nelson's Christ Church becomes a cathedral and Nelson becomes a city
• First reference to the existence of Nelson's volunteer fire brigade
• James MacKay and Captain Lockett are the first Europeans to walk in the area of Mount Arthur and the Tablelands

1859

• Marlborough becomes a Province in its own right, separating from Nelson Province
• Appointment of Marlborough's first teacher - the beginning of education in the region
• Ferdinand von Hochstetter, geologist, arrives in Nelson
• Enclosure of Nelson's 'ditch' to create a proper sewer along Trafalgar St.
• Opening of Picton Library - with Blenheim opening its Library the following year.

1860

• Start of Taranaki Wars, which left a lasting legacy of bitterness between Maori and Pakeha in Te Tau Ihu- and brought an influx of Taranaki refugees to Nelson
• Opening of Bishop's School, Nelson
• John Gully, artist, arrives in Nelson

1861

• Opening of Wakapuaka Cemetery, Nelson
• Alexander Duncan opens the first steam sawmill at the Grove, Okiwa

1862

• Opening of Dun Mountain tramway
• First house built in Fountain Place

1863

• Huria Matenga rescues crew from the wreck of the Delaware
• John Danforth Greenwood appointed headmaster of Nelson College
• Birth of Felix Tanner, inventor, sometime of Wakefield

1864

• Wakamarina Gold rush
• First successful ascent of Mount Tupuae-o-Uenuku,  by Nehemiah McRae

1865

• Opening of Picton Hospital - the Wairau Hospital moves to Blenheim in 1878
• First mailboat service in the Marlborough Sounds

1866

• Maungatapu murders
• Blenheim becomes the Provincial capital of Marlborough - since 1859 it had been Picton
• Cook Strait Cable laid across to Whites Bay
• Birth of Fred Gibbs, astronomer, headmaster of Nelson Central School and man of adventure.

1867

• Fire destroys Dr Bush's windmill in Millers Acre, Nelson
• Plans begin for a Theological College in Nelson - to become the Bishopdale Theological College

1868

• Establishment of Hampden Street School, Nelson
• Foundation of the Nelson Rugby Club
• Foundation stone of All Saints Anglican Church in Nelson is laid
• Murder and suicide at Molesworth - Ivanhoe Augarde
• First dam at Brook Valley is completed as part of the waterworks scheme - the area later to become Brook Waimarama Sanctuary

1869

• Baigents Timber yard opens in Nelson
• Mary Ann Muller, suffragist, publishes an Appeal to the Men of New Zealand
• Jewish settlers open the Jewish Synagogue in Nelson
• Blenheim gazetted as a Borough
• Nelson Hospital opens on its present site
  

1870

• New Zealand's first game of rugby is played at the Nelson Botanics
• Founding of the Anchor Shipping & Foundry Company

1871

• Birth of Ernest Rutherford at Spring Grove, near Brightwater
• John Ribet opens his Upper Buller Accommodation House, before exchanging this for the Kawatiri Hotel

1872

• Birth of Constance Barnicoat in Richmond - journalist, interpreter, mountaineer, traveller and British imperialist
• Wreck of the City of Newcastle at the head of Tory Channel

1873

• Work on the Nelson Railway begins
• David Herd plants the first vineyard in Marlborough

1874

• Adamant and Cospatrick leave England; Adamant arrives safely in Nelson, the Cospatrick is wrecked

1875

• The Nelson Provincial Council abolished
• Blenheim to Picton section of the Main Trunk Railway is opened
• Union Steam Ship Company established in Dunedin, and operating out of Nelson from 1875-2005

1876

• Nelson to Foxhill rail opened
• Trans-Tasman cable laid from La Perouse (Australia) to Cable Bay
• Melrose House built
• Fellworth House built
• James Marsden inherits the Isel Estate and develops a successful farming business.

1877

• Wreck of the Queen Bee
• Lights are switched on at the Brothers Islands Lighthouse

1878

• Opening of the Theatre Royal, Nelson
• Tyree Brothers open their Nelson photographic studio

1879

• Newman Brothers first mail and passenger transport run

1880

• Establishment of Freeth Winery - the first winery in Marlborough 

1881

• Discovery of copper at Aniseed Valley
• Construction of the Whekenui, or Tory Channel, Leading Lights
• Samuel Kirkpatrick forms his jam company in Nelson

1882

• James Rutherford, father of Ernest, establishes a flax mill at Ruapaka, near Havelock.
• Parihaka Prophets, Te Whiti and Tohu, under house arrest in Nelson
• Hampden changes its name to Murchison

1883

• Completion of Fairfield House, Nelson
• Nelson College for Girls opens, with Kate Edger as first Principal

1884

• George Moonlight goes missing in the Glenhope area

1886

• Stranding of the Hawea on Rocks Road
• Grounding of the SS Lyttelton in French Pass - the paddle steamer which took 462 days to voyage from London to NZ

1887

• First telehones reach Blenheim

1888

• The road over Takaka Hill is opened
• Trafalgar Park, Nelson, opened
• Marlborough Rugby Club founded
• Consecration of St John the Evangelist Hira
• Gold is discovered at Cullensville

1891

• Formal opening of Nelson's Queen's Gardens

1894

• The Nelson School of Music is launched in the Philharmonic Hall. The current building was opened in 1901.
• Tophouse Murder

1896

• Lyell reaches its heyday as a mining town

1897

• The Edwin Fox arrives in Picton
• Nelson Golf course opens - shortly followed by Nelson Golf Club

1898

• Bishop Suter Art Gallery, Nelson, opens
• The Nelson Scenery Preservation attempts to preserve some forest in the Rai Valley area

1899

• Opening of Rocks Road
• Discovery of the Rabbit Island skeletons
• The first "Salisbury" footbridge is built across the Aorere River - and the first of several to be swept away by flooding

 1900

• Formation of the Nelson Fishing Company and introduction of freezing to the industry in Nelson
• Marist Brothers leave St Mary's Orphanage, Stoke, as a result of "scandal"
• Charles Lowe arrives in Riwaka and transforms the raspberry and tobacco industries

1901

• Takaka Sluicing Company is set up to mine for gold at Waikoropupu Springs
• RIMS Dalhousie visits Nelson - the Indians come to town!
• Henry Duncan buys Dodson's brewing company and enters a well established Nelson industry.

1902

• Awatere road/ rail bridge opened (replaced 2007)

1903

• Cleghorn Rotunda built in Blenheim

1904

• Nelson Technical Institute established (now NMIT)
• Giacomo Persico arrives in Nelson to become Nelson's first Italian tomato grower
• Stranding of the Lutterworth
• A huge fire in Collingwood nearly destroys the township
• Photographing the fire at Nelson College starts FN Jones' photographic career in Nelson
• Pelorus Jack is protected by Act of Parliament
• A boys home is established in Richmond, which continues to serve children with special needs, as Salisbury School

1905

• Motueka Harbour Board formed - one of the Tasman/ Golden Bay ports
• Flaxbourne estate is the subject of an important case under the controversion Lands for Settlement Act, 1894

1906

• The Cut in Nelson's Boulder Bank completed, which allows improved access for Port Nelson shipping
• Explosion of Symon's Memorial, Nelson
• Death of Isaac Jacobsen, early colonial builder, architect, geologist and prospector
• Opening of Nelson Boathouse

1907

• First School Journal published -complete collection held at Renwick Memorial Library

1908

• Golden Bay Cement Company established at Tarakohe
• Stoke Freezing works is registered - to become one of the region's major employers

1909

• Wreck of the Penguin in Cook Strait
• SS Rakaia steams through the Cut

1910

• Closure of Fairfield graveyard by Nelson City Council
• Thomas Robinson moves to Nelson to develop his orchards, to become Robinson Bros.

1911

• Perano family found a whaling industry at Arapawa Island (existed to 1964)
• Tahunanui is formally named

1912

• Thomas Cawthron finances the construction of the church steps in Nelson
• The area bound by Haven, Halifax and Rutherford Streets is reclaimed. Miltons Acre Reserve is formed
• Winearls Settlement in Nelson (Elliott Street) surveyed to create homes for workers. The beginnings of State Housing resulting from the Workers' Dwellings Acts of 1905 and 1910
• The first fruit packing shed is installed at Mapua - marking the start of a thriving industry at  Port Mapua

1913

• The Chaffeys arrive in the Cobb Valley

1914

• First infantry volunteers from Nelson (the 12th Company) leave for World War I (August 15) on troop ships out of Port Nelson.
• Merchant ships also begin to play their part in the war: NZ waves the Red Duster
• Sister Ethel Lewis goes to the frontline of the Serbian Campaign - marking the start of Marlborough nurses involvement in the world wars

1915

• Brownlee's sawmills relocate to West Coast, having exhausted the Marlborough forests over 30 years of operation
• Passing of Discharged Soldiers settlement Act affects the ownership of many farm estates in Marlborough
• Death of William Arthur Ham of Ngatimoti - the first NZ soldier to die in WWI.
• The first Daffodil Day is held in Nelson - supporting WWI troops
• Te Rangi maternity hospital opens in Nelson

1917

• Auctioning of Nelson's embroidered and autographed  Red Cross Flag to raise funds for NZ troops in WWI.

1918

• Charles Lowe builds New Zealand's first flue-curing barn on his Harakeke tobacco farm
• Foundation of the Blenheim Operatic society

1920

• First Cook Strait flight arrives at Dillon's Point, near Blenheim
• Onekaka Iron & Steel Company Ltd formed

1921

• Cawthron Institute is founded
• First plane lands in Nelson; a converted WWI trainer  which flew from Wellington and landed in Marsden's paddock at Stoke 

1922

• Opening of Ngawhatu psychiatric hospital (it closed in 1922)

1923

• Great Flood in Blenheim
• Building of Marsden House, Nelson

1927

• Nelson's Municipal Pool (now Riverside Pool) opens
• Auckland Point School opens
• Commissioning of the Waihopai Power Scheme bringing power to the people of Marlborough

1928

• Southern Cross arrives at Woodbourne after the first Trans-Tasman flight
• Toss Woollaston arrives in the Nelson region
• Opening of Bainham General Store

1929

• Murchison Earthquake
• Opening of Pioneers Park, Nelson

1931

• Mapua Fruit-growers chemical plant set up by Arthur McKee
• Maurice Gee is born in Whakatane

1937

• Eileen Duggan, Marlborough poet, is awarded an OBE

1938

• Opening of Nelson airport at Tahunanui - a milestone in Nelson aviation history

1939

• New Zealand Hop Marketing Board is  established in Richmond

1941

• Roding Waterworks opens 
• Riverside Community opens - the first of several "communes" in the Golden Bay region
• Territorials arrive to help with the wartime apple harvest - marking the start of seasonal workers in Motueka

1942

• Abel Tasman National Park established
• Jim Eyles makes his first archaeological discoveries on Wairau Bar
• George Skellerup is granted a licence to manufacture salt at Lake Grassmere

1944

• Opening of the Mount Robert Skifield (it closed 2003)

1946

• Nelson artist Jane Evans (1946-2012) is born

1948

• The first bach on the Ligar Bay road reserve is built

1951

• Wellington to Lyttelton Yacht Race proves disastrous for most vessels; but is a triumph for the Nelson Yacht Tawhiri.
• Opening of Whekenui School (it closed again in 1962)
• The van Geldermalsen's arrive in New Zealand, one of many Dutch settler families to the region in the 1950's.

1955

• Nelson rail line is closed

1956

• Nelson's first and New Zealand's first fulltime craft potter Mirek Smisek began working in Nelson 

1957

• Stanley Whitehead becomes Nelson's Member of Parliament [Labour] - later to become Speaker of the House and earn a knighthood

1960

• Chez Eelco opens in Nelson
• St Andrews Church, Wakapuaka, sold as a farm building, and removed from site.

1960's

•  Port land reclamation begins - reclaiming land from the haven

1962

• Roll on Roll off ferry service Picton-Wellington starts - brainchild of Sid Harling who becomes Mayor of Blenheim the same year
• Opening of Nayland Kindergarten

1965

• New Zealand Sea Products Export Ltd. opens in Nelson (later to become Sealords)

1966

• Nayland College opens

1967

•  Nelson's current Cathedral building opened

1968

• Jens Hansen (of the Lord of the Rings ring) opens his silversmith's shop in Nelson
• Inangahua earthquake

1972

• Nelson born Rod Dixon wins the bronze medal in the 1500m at the Munich Olympics
• Nelson gets a free public library service - the Library having been founded as part of the Nelson Institute in 1841

1984

• Hoglunds Art Glass opens in their first premises in Richmond

1987

• First WOW show in Spring Grove
• Maitai Dam opens
• Founders Park, Nelson, opens
• Death of A.R. Kingsford

1988

• Closure of the Griffins Factory, a Company which had been a feature of Alton Street since the 1860's

1990

• Elma Turner Library opens
• Te Awatea Hou built

1995

• Whakatu Marae opens
• Miyazu Gardens opens

1996

• Grant Palliser's first sculpture for Nelson City Council (the Oracle outside Stoke Library) is commissioned

2000

• Death of Janice Manson in a car accident

2005

• Nelson Provincial Museum opens in Nelson city
• Trafalgar cycleway along Nelson Haven opens

2007

• Huangshi Chinese Garden opens as part of Queens Gardens in Nelson
• Emma Heke forms Red Heke film productions

2008

• Opening of the new Aratuna Normanby Bridge

2009

• Reopening of the 1970's built Trafalgar Centre, after major renovations. Home to many local legends.

2011

• Devastating floods hit Nelson and Tasman, causing numerous slips

2013

• The Seddon earthquakes shake the Top of the South - followed by a 7.8 quake with major impact on Kaikoura, November 2016. Marlborough's east coast has a history of quakes.