Mataura: Water, Sport and History

Mataura offers a range of different attractions: Tulloch Park focuses on water play, play and sport, while Clematis Cottage and the former railway station reflect the town’s history. If you’re looking for hotels in Mataura, you can use these highlights to organise your trip around your interests. The wider Gore District offers further landscape, activity and cultural themes.

Tulloch Park: Water, Play and Sport

The fully fenced water play area at Tulloch Park includes tipping buckets, interactive water channels and a slip-resistant surface. Next to it is a modern, inclusive playground with equipment for children of all abilities. The park therefore offers different kinds of play side by side, without limiting them to the same age or interest group.

For active pursuits, there is a 70-metre, grade 2 pump track. It can be used with a bicycle, scooter or skateboard. The park also has two full-sized rugby fields, one of which has training lights. Water play, wheeled activities and team sports are distinct attractions you can take into account when planning your visit.

Getting to and finding your way around the park

Tulloch Park has two entrances: one directly off State Highway 1 and one on Glendhu Road. The facilities include a large sealed car park with designated spaces for people with limited mobility. Park facilities, seasonal water operations, access and parking conditions may change; check the latest information before your visit.

Clematis Cottage and the former railway station

Clematis Cottage is one of the few unaltered cottages still standing in Mataura. In the wider Gore District destination, the Mataura Museum is housed in a cottage dating from the 1880s, locally known as Clematis Cottage. Its collection includes local photographs dating from the 1870s onwards and an extensive archive on the town’s history. The museum also features the former Mataura Paper Mill and the Alliance Group meatworks.

The former Mataura Railway Station also makes a distinctive architectural statement: it is a notable example of a railway station designed in the Troup era and is located on Main Street. Together, Clematis Cottage and the museum’s exhibits offer a picture of different aspects of the town’s history—from preserved buildings to its former industries.

Landscape and trails in the Gore District

The Hokonui Hills are a major landscape feature of the Gore District. Dolamore Park covers 95 hectares of native podocarp forest; walking and cycling trails wind through regenerating native bush. Croydon Bush gives an impression of the forest, grassland and bush communities that once characterised the Southland landscape. These examples give the regional setting a different character from Mataura’s park and history attractions.

Trails in the Gore District also vary in activity and route. The Hokonui Water Race Trail is a 6 km mountain biking route. The Waikaka Way Walkway follows the Waikaka River and continues to Toronto Street. The Mataura River is internationally known for brown trout fishing and has almost 150 kilometres of easily accessible water.

Culture and regional themes

In the Gore District, art, music and industrial history complement the landscape and trail attractions. The Eastern Southland Gallery holds a John Money Collection and features a permanent exhibition of Ralph Hotere’s work. Tussock Country is New Zealand’s largest country music festival. Hokonui Moonshine is now a major tourist attraction, based on the Gore District’s former illicit whisky industry. These regional themes sit alongside Mataura’s specific places and broaden the picture of the wider destination.

Discover more destinations: Gore

For the wider travel overview: Gore District.