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Asbestos and the Chaffeys
A place to hide was what the Chaffeys sought when they moved to the Cobb Valley in Nelson's remote northwest mountains. It was their desire for solitude, and asbestos that kept them there.. In 1913...
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Lowther Broad
Lowther Broad was District Court Judge for Nelson and died in Nelson on 16 August 1892, aged 52 years. He was the fourth son of the Rev John Broad, Baptist minister of Hitchin, Hertfordshire,...
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Wangapeka Gold
Gold was known in the Wangapeka district from the late 1850s.1 However, although an award was paid in 1861 to prospectors for the discovery of gold in the area, the decision by administrators in the...
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Baton Valley Gold
Good as Gold: The BatonThe remote Baton Valley, at the base of Mount Arthur, once had two hotels, a shop, Post Office and a racecourse.It is thought the river and valley were named after a runaway...
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Aorere gold
A few specks of gold, found in the Aorere Valley by a musterer in October 1856, saw more than 2000 men flood into Massacre Bay over the following three years. The gold rush was short-lived, but the...
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The Nelson Contingent at Parihaka
The Nelson Company of VolunteersIn mid-June 1880 the grateful citizens of Nelson and outlying settlements gave prizes to the volunteers for their sharp-shooting at the range. The firing was beset with...
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Sergeant William Mason
New Zealand's early police officers were well known in the towns which they watched over. Often they would go out of their way to gain the public's trust and friendship to allow them to do their duties...
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George and Susan Landon-Lane
George and Susan Landon-Lane lived for much of their married life in New Zealand. The story of their earlier lives in England is an interesting one.George Landon-Lane. Image supplied by authorIn early...
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Whittington Landon-Lane
Whittington Landon Lane was born to Susan and George"Mizpah" Lane on the 14th of July, 1859 supposedly in the port town of Picton. A very eccentric name to come out of Marlborough, but his father's...
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Edward Landon-Lane (1871-1945)
Edward, (or Ted as he was affectionately known) was a common face in Marlborough's early days and especially in his later life when he lived down at the Wairau Pa. Many of his descendants can still...
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Edward Laney the baker and his daughter Ann
In the early years of Nelson life was tough for all. Days were long and hard for the settlers trying to build a town and a new and better life in a place that was very different from European shores....
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Bartlett's Creek Cottage
Cob homes were a popular building type in the greater Marlborough area with well preserved examples such as Riverlands Cob Cottage and the Molesworth homestead. Tucked neatly away up the North-bank of...
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Early Renwick
Scottish town on the Wairau Plain Scotsman, Dr Thomas Renwick, was the ship's surgeon on the Thomas Harrison, which arrived in Nelson in 1842. He bought Dumgree in the Awatere in 1848, and the Delta...
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Early Marlborough Settlers
An overview..There was plenty of opportunity for an able man (supported by an equally able wife) in the early days of a colony. All of the people listed below had their fingers in many pies: business,...
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William Eyes
The rise and fall of a colourful and controversial colonistA cast of hardworking ‘alpha’ men dominated the early days of settlement in the Wairau. And none was more keen to get to the top than William...
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William Adams
A leading voice in the separation of the ProvincesEton and Oxford educated barrister, William Adams was a leading voice for the Wairau’s discontented settlers and became the province’s first...
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Henry and George Dodson
Pragmatic and political early Spring Creek settlersNew Zealand provided plenty of opportunities for four of Joseph and Isabella Dodson’s nine children1 to shine, with Thomas and Joseph settling in...
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The separation of Nelson and Marlborough
The separation of Marlborough from Nelson came about when the opinions of two very different groups, small-holders and large pastoral run-holders, were in accord, even though this was for very...
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Takaka's Second and Third Libraries
The Council building on Commercial Street, Tākaka. The library was housed in a dark and small office on the right hand side of the door.On 3 June 1947 the matter of establishing a library service was...
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Nelson's war memorials
ANZAC Day on 25 April each year is a time to remember those who died in war. Nelson has many memorials, which reveal some of the stories of those who died. To visit the memorials, download either the...
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