Clik here to view.
Kokowai
Kōkōwai (red ochre), obtained from clays rich in iron and aluminium silicates, was highly prized by Māori; depending on chemical composition, reds, oranges, yellows and browns were produced. Onekaka...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ferdinand Hochstetter (1829-1884)
Just how did a German geologist come to survey the Nelson region's mineral resources, gift a major mineral and fossil collection to the Nelson Institute and lay the foundation of what would become The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dun Mountain Railway (1862-1907)
The Dun Mountain Railway was officially opened amidst great fanfare on Monday 3 February, 1862. From the port, across the city, the horse-drawn tramway then climbed from Brook Street to a height of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Early prominent Marlburians
Two doctors and a shopkeeper were key figures in turning Blenheim from a settlement notorious for a spirit of lawlessness into a bustling market town.1Dr Stephen Lunn Muller (1814 -1891)Dr. S.L....
View ArticleClik here to view.
James Sinclair
Fiery, ambitious Scotsman was ‘King of the Beaver’Born in Caithness, in the north of Scotland,1 James Sinclair was described as a clear-headed, strong-minded Scotsman, who, by his dominating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wairau Hospital
Caring for the Marlborough communityIn 1865, Marlborough’s first hospital was opened in Picton, the provincial capital of the district. Within ten years it was noted that half of the patients admitted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mrs France and Billy Carr's Hardware Store
Billy CarrBilly Carr's hardware store was a prominent building in Blenheim for many years from the time it opened in 1881. Many people back then had their own stories of Billy Carr. The following is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brightwater's School for Boys - 1888-1889
The brick school In 1887 Spring Grove School was overcrowded and run down, it was also the only school in the Brightwater area that educated senior boys. Instead of just upgrading the existing school,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brightwater's School for Girls - 1880-1889
In the late 1870s the population of Brightwater grew very quickly. Schools in the area included Spring Grove School and River Terrace School. Both schools were very overcrowded and a long way for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spring Grove School
Spring Grove School and the TeeTotal GoatsIn 1845, when Brightwater was still part of Spring Grove, there were a growing number of pākeha families settling on Section 34, or the ‘TeeTotal’ section as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reverend brothers Arthur and Reginald Hermon
Bishopdale Old Boys“Young men must be found for the ministry, and they should be fit and proper men. They must be men who feel called to the work, and above all they should be those in whose hearts was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Te Rangi Recollections
This document of Nelson's Te Rangi maternity hospital recollections was gathered at a meeting at Elma Turner Library in December 2014.The mothers and childrenMargaret GoodmanMargaret was one of four...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Branford Park
Branford Park lies alongside the northern banks of the cherished Maitai River close to the city of Nelson. The park has a history of conflicting rights and needs which created a decade of legal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nelson Suter Art Society
One Hundred and Twenty Years of Art in the Nelson RegionNelson has always been a community entrenched in, and fascinated by art. For 120 years, the Nelson Suter Art Society (NSAS), formerly The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stoke Sports
Before the 1940s the main winter sport in Stoke was hockey and, in summer, tennis was played on the ground adjacent to the Stoke Memorial hall. Rugby football was not played at Stoke in those early...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Zealand's first rugby club
On 30 May 1868 a notable event occurred in the small town of Nelson: the formation of The Nelson Football Club which, within two years, became the Nelson Rugby Football Club. This was something that in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Havelock
Havelock was a goldrush town which, for a short time, nurtured two of New Zealand’s greatest scientists: Sir Ernest Rutherford and Sir William Pickering.The SS Manaroa leaving Havelock. [The Manaroa...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nelson Provincial Buildings
These days, a glance along Nelson's skyline reveals our city’s prominent buildings; the Clock tower, the Rutherford Hotel and the Cathedral. Rewind one hundred years, however, and you would discover...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ernest Rutherford's early life
Ernest, known as Ern within the family, was born at Spring Grove, near Brightwater in rural Nelson, on 30 August 1871. He was the fourth of twelve children by his parents, Martha and James. Martha, who...
View Article