Timaru is honest about what it is: a working port town with grain silos on the waterfront and container ships in the harbour. It is not trying to be Queenstown. That said, there is more here than the quick glance from the highway suggests — a genuinely good art gallery, a museum with an extraordinary aviation story at its centre, a beach that fills up properly in summer, and a fine basilica that surprises people who weren't expecting much.
The art gallery alone is worth a stop. The South Canterbury Museum gives you the Richard Pearse story in full — and if you haven't heard it before, it's one of those pieces of history that makes you reassess what you thought you knew. Caroline Bay is pleasant on a summer afternoon, and the town centre is compact enough to walk in an hour. If you're passing through on SH1, allow half a day; if you're staying overnight, a full day is enough to see everything comfortably.