South Canterbury is steeped in history with a number of local museums taking you back in history to the days of the early settlers,
or to more recent times with Geraldine Vintage Car and Machinery Museum or Pleasant Point Museum & Railway. One noteworthy historical point revolves around a local farmer, Richard William, who, in 1903, became airborne in a high-wing monoplane he designed and built himself, rivaling the Wright Brothers as the first man to fly (some world aviation authorities still say he was, and try telling a local he wasn't!). There is a replica of his aircraft mounted near the site of the first flight (just north of Timaru).