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Brenda Green
1980-1983Richmond Borough Councillor Brenda GreenBrenda was born and bred as the saying goes, in England. After leaving school she trained as a florist and worked for an upmarket flower shop in London....
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Vinings in the motor industry
Vinings in the motor industry throughout the decadesW.G. Vining, photo supplied by authorClick image to enlargeWhen William Graeme Vining boarded a ship bound for New Zealand in 1892 he had no idea...
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Enga Washbourn
At the Bay Enga Washbourn's heart was in Golden Bay. "She absolutely loved it," her son Jeremy Goulter says. Long treasured family connections with the bay inspired her to write Courage and Camp Ovens,...
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The Path to Nuclear Free Nelson
The campaign to declare New Zealand nuclear free in the 1980s began at the local level throughout the country. In September 1983 Nelson City was declared a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone. This is the story...
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A communal lifestyle
During the 1970s, many alternative lifestylers established communes to escape materialism and the pressures of society. They were attracted to rural Tasman and Golden Bay by the beautiful environment,...
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Guinness comes to the Top of the South
The renowned Irish Guinness family and their equally famous stout have a strong connection to the Nelson, Tasman, and Golden Bay regions, dating back to the 1850s. The links were discovered by Tauranga...
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Rifleman John William Brunning
A Long Lost BrunningTucked away at the bottom of a page in a Motueka community newspaper was a small item headlined "Long lost Brunning". It featured the intriguing mystery of a Great War Certificate...
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Croquet in Nelson
Croquet was introduced to the Nelson area by the German immigrants who arrived on the Saint Pauli and settled in the Moutere district. Croquet became the accepted pastime of colonists and Sunday...
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Sarau
Growing Sarau from the German Roots upThe 12,000 mile voyage of the St. Pauli from Hamburg, Germany to Nelson, New Zealand, in 1843 resulted in the eventual establishment of the village of Sarau in the...
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German settlement in Nelson
Nelson's earliest German settlers faced disappointment and hardship and were driven away from the Moutere Valley by poor soil and constant floods. The close-knit, industrious communities re-established...
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Fellworth House
History of the houseDignitaries, eminent scientists and many more, have passed through the doors of Fellworth House since it was built in 1876. The opulent 620 square metre home was designed for one of...
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New and altered geographic names of Te Tau ihu
On 1 August 2014 a number of new or altered geographic names took effect as a result of the following Treaty Claims settlements:Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau Claims Treaty of...
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Elma Turner MA MBE
Nelson City Councillor 1972 - 1989 Elma Turner 11 June 1983. Nelson Provincial Museum, Nelson Mail Collection: 4092In 1972, aged 68, Elma (Tilly) Turner began a 17-year term on the Nelson City...
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Alison Boswijk
Nelson City Councillor 2007 - 2013 and Deputy Mayor2010 - 2013I stood for Council as part of a group called "Hands Up" led by Kerry Marshall who was elected Mayor. All six of us were elected which was...
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The Edwin Fox
Overlooking Picton township, showing the ships Edwin Fox and Maori, Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-031025-F. Click image to enlargeThe Edwin Fox is a vessel of great cultural and historical value to...
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Ernest Guy Giblin
Ernest Guy Giblin, 1892-1916, is one of the eight Stoke men known to have died in World War One. He is commemorated on the Stoke Memorial Gates.Ernest Guy Giblin. Courtesy of J and D Giblin.Click image...
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Cousins Clifford and Weld make their mark
In August 1847 Charles Clifford and his cousin, Frederick Weld drove 3000 sheep from Port Underwood to Flaxbourne: "Crossed the Bluff River with sheep. Had to throw them all into the water, a day and...
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Jesse Ernest Hounsell Memorial Sundial Tahunanui
The site currently occupied by Natureland at Tahunanui Beach Reserve is located within an elliptical circle. You used to be able to drive completely around this circle and it was always referred to as...
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Wakefield's Libraries
From the Nelson Examiner, 23 July 1856Local IntelligenceOPENING OF THE WAIMEA SOUTH LITERARY INSTITUTION. On Thursday last, the first building erected in Waimea South for a Literary Institution was...
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Maurice Gee
Esteemed writer calls Nelson homeMaurice Gee was once described by Britain’s Sunday Times as ‘one of the finest writers at work, not only in New Zealand…but in the English-speaking world.’1Maurice Gee,...
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