Blenheim’s historic port celebrated
The sculpture of the historic scow A.S. Echo at Riverside Park, where the refurbished Echo masts and the newly installed storyboards sit
A storyboard telling the colourful past of Blenheim’s original trading port has been installed at Riverside Park as part of the Marlborough Mile project.
It completes the installations at Riverside Park and sits alongside the refurbished masts from the historic scow A.S. Echo and a sculpture of the scow.
The Riverside Park area has great historical significance as a bustling port and vital transport corridor for boats plying the waters to Wellington. The A. S. Echo was one of those boats.
The Marlborough Mile project began in 2017 when the Blenheim Business Association (BBA) noted the CBD had few connections with the wider characteristics of the Marlborough region.
The concept provides spaces to meet as well as providing history about the province, according to BBA chair Lynette Rayner.
“When completed, the Marlborough Mile will form roughly a 'mile long' pedestrian walking circuit that uses interactive designs, sculpture, art and landscaping to physically connect a series of public spaces and key sites in Blenheim’s town centre.”
The agriculture site in Market Place, featuring bronze statues of a farmer and his sheep, has proved popular and other sites include the climate site in Adams Place, and the aviation site in Liz Davidson Place.
Other sites in progress are viticulture in Bythell Place and aquaculture at Stadium 2000. Storyboards will be installed at all sites.
