[2] Caroline Bay beach is a popular recreational area located close to Timaru's main centre, just to the north of the substantial port facilities.

Beyond Caroline Bay, the industrial suburb of Washdyke is at a major junction with State Highway 8, the main route into the Mackenzie Country.

This provides a road link to Pleasant Point, Fairlie, Twizel, Lake Tekapo, Aoraki / Mount Cook and Queenstown.

Timaru has been built on rolling hills created from the lava flows of the extinct Mt Horrible volcano, which last erupted thousands of years ago.

However, other authorities allege that Timaru originates from a literal translation of the combination of tī, a cabbage tree and maru, meaning 'shady'.

[4] Māori waka seem to have employed the site of Timaru as a place to rest on journeys up and down the eastern coastline for many years before the arrival of the first Europeans in the 19th century.

During the 17th or 18th century the resident Ngāti Mamoe were driven southwards into Fiordland by an invasion of the Ngāi Tahu, who came from the North Island.

[5] European settlement began with the construction of a whaling station in 1839 by the Weller brothers of Otago at Patiti Point, close to the present town centre.

Following the loss of a number of vessels off the coast, the breakwater design by Engineer John Goodall was adopted and work started on the redevelopment of the artificial port in 1877,[11] which eventually caused sand washed south down the Pacific shoreline to build up against the northern mole.

Timaru continued to expand during the 20th century, with much of the development taking the form of wooden colonial style bungalows set in individual sections of land.

Timaru is part of the parliamentary electorate of Rangitata, represented by James Meager of the New Zealand National Party.

[37] Timaru is one of the major cargo ports of the South Island, with a number of light manufacturing plants associated with the export and import trade.

The South Canterbury Museum is the main museum for the region, containing exhibits relating to physical geography and the environment, fossil remains, Māori rock art, the early settlement of the district, local maritime history, scrimshaw, the E P Seally natural history collection, and information about Richard Pearse, a local inventor and his attempts at manned flight in the first years of the 20th century.

It holds a collection of New Zealand, Pacific, Asian and European art works from the sixteenth century to the present day and includes a sculpture garden.

The Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden at Caroline Bay Park [41] is a major feature of the Timaru Piazza development.

The parkland of the Bay Area contains a mini golf course, a roller skating rink, a maze and staging for musical events.

To the south of the city centre are the Timaru Botanic Gardens, first laid out in 1864, with a notable collection of roses and native tree ferns.

To the west is the Centennial Park Reserve, opened in 1940, that includes a tranquil 3.5 km walkway following the wooded valley of the Otipua Creek.

[43] The Theatre Royal at 118 Stafford Street was home of much of Timaru's live entertainment up to 2019, however it is currently closed for renovations.

[44] Timaru has a comprehensive range of community sporting facilities designed to international standards for rugby, tennis, yachting, Hardcourt Bike Polo, swimming, netball, motor racing, cricket, golf, hockey, croquet, pistol shooting, trap shooting, bowls and horse racing.

[47] Further information: List of schools in Canterbury, New Zealand The Timaru Herald is the local daily newspaper for the district and has been published since the mid nineteenth century.

[48] The region also supports a weekly community newspaper, The Timaru Courier, which has a circulation of over 24,000 copies and is delivered free every Thursday to local households.