Timeline
- Mists of time: The founding father of the Ngāti Kuia arrives in the South Island in his canoe Te Hoiere
- 1642: Abel Tasman sails past D'Urville Island.
- Late 17th century: French and Russian explorers arrive.
- 1770s: Captain James Cook arrives.
- 1827: Jules Dumont d'Urville has a disconcerting ride through French Pass in the French Navy corvette Astrolabe.
- 1838: HMS Pelorus, carries out the first survey. The sound is named in honour of this survey.
- 1864: Gold is discovered in the Wakamarina Valley, and briefly Havelock becomes a boom town.
- 1865: Milling of native timber begins
- 1870: A flax mill starts operating on the Ruapeka Stream
- 1888: First appearance of the dolphin Pelorus Jack.
- c. 1900: The timber camps are giving way to dairy and sheep farms.
- 1912: Pelorus Jack dies.
- 1939: The last native timber mill closes. Only two small areas of native timber remain
- 1942: Coastal fortifications are constructed on Maud Island to protect Cook Strait, and the entrance to the sound.
- 1953: NZS Amokura, New Zealand's first naval ship, is towed into St Omer Bay in Kenepuru Sound, an arm of Pelorus Sound, and retired on the beach, where her remains lie to this day.
- 1960s: There is a general decline in wet fish and scallop harvests, as some wild fisheries collapse due to overfishing.
- Late 1960s: Mussel farming begins.
- 1981: The first specially designed mussel processing factory is established at Havelock.
Read more about this topic: Pelorus Sound