Settlement and district on the Marlborough side of the Rai Saddle, 49 km north-east of Nelson. Sawmilling gave way to dairying, with a dairy factory operating from 1909 until 1980.
Meaning of place name
Named after Rae Saddle. A corruption of rae: headland, or furrowed. The correct spelling may have originated when Captain Drury gave istructions to the British Admiralty, misspelling the name as 'Rai'.
