By splitting the Marlborough Province off with its large farms, it was easier for these landholders to control the provincial council.

[3] When the province was formed, Sir Thomas Gore Browne, the Governor of New Zealand, named it after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

[5] In a symbolic way, government buildings in both Blenheim and Picton burned down some months after the abolition of the provincial system.

[5] Marlborough was not systematically settled like other regions, but capital-rich settlers from the Nelson area spilled over who wanted to invest in large land holdings.

Frederick Weld was the first in 1847 to land sheep at Port Underwood, a sheltered harbour which forms the north-east extension of Cloudy Bay in the Marlborough Sounds.