A historic place for local Maori, Cable Bay has also featured highly in early European history of the area, being the site of the terminus of the trans-Tasman telegraph cable which came ashore here in the early part of the 20th century.
The Cable Bay Café premises was built as tearooms in the 1920s by the Wiffen Family for weekend visitors from Nelson, after the closure of the trans-Tasman Cable Station at the bay.
