The first known European visitor to the coast near Motueka in
1827 was French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, of the French corvette
Astrolabe. He explored and described much of the Tasman Bay shore line. Three
ships carrying the New Zealand Company's Nelson expedition, led by Captain
Arthur Wakefield, anchored at Astrolabe Roads, north of Kaiteriteri Beach in October
1841. Kaiteriteri was selected as a site for the first settlement but was later
abandoned in favour of Nelson Haven. The exceptional fertility of the soil and
the suitability of the surrounding land for small farm settlement were the main
reasons for the establishment of the second town of the Nelson settlement at
Motueka in 1842. Motueka was created as a borough in 1900.
