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The Golden Waikoropupu
Legends of taniwha protecting the healing waters of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest cold water springs, tales of hardship in the backbreaking search for gold, and the story of how the prospectors’...
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Piki mai
The hilltop overlooking Whakatü is known to Mäori as Pikimai, which translates as ‘climb hither'. Piki mai was a staging point for the pakohe (argillite) industry, the nearest quarries being in the...
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Elliott Street heritage precinct
Elliott Street in Nelson is one of the earliest, and most complete examples, of state housing in New Zealand. The special heritage area includes homes that date from the 1860s through to the 1940s,...
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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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Maori and Whaling
Ancient archaeological finds in Te Tau Ihu include whale tooth pendants, whalebone amulets and other adornments, and simulated whale teeth made from local serpentine. It is not clear whether Maori...
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Sunnyside and the Fells
The house called Sunnyside, located in Nelson's "dress circle", and completed in 1854, was built for Alfred Fell, a prominent, mid-19th century Nelson citizen. The house forms the basis of the larger,...
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Mayors of Nelson
Mayoral Memorial Walk Mayoral memories walk, Nelson City Council.Click to enlarge or download as PDFThis walk maps the early history of the Nelson City Council under the leadership of some Mayors who...
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Ropoama's Spring
Ropoama Te One, a rangitira of Te Atiawa, was one of the signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi, and one of the main signatories to the Waitohi Purchase, by the New Zealand Company, in 1850.After the...
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Maternity care in Nelson - Te Rangi
Te Rangi HospitalTe Rangi Hospital, where hundreds of Nelsonians drew their first breath, opened in 1915. The hospital was located on Collingwood Street, on the block between New and Halifax Streets,...
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Starting school in Hauwai
In October 1941 when I was due to start my schooling, we lived at Hauwai, a tiny settlement beside the railway station of that name, on the south side of Lake Grassmere. This was before the development...
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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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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...
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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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Joseph Ward
Diarist, runholder, forthright politicianBorn in Staffordshire in 1817, Joseph Ward arrived in Nelson in December 1842 with his parents-in-law Henry and Mary Redwood. He had married his cousin Martha,...
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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...
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A Nelson brewing family
The beginning of brewing in NelsonBreweries were among the earliest businesses established after the settlement of Nelson began in 1842. Poalo and Pelham were the first, in October 1843, quickly...
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Skiing at Mt. Robert
Skiing is not just a sport, it's a lifestyle. Ever since 1944 Mt Robert was filled with skiers enjoying the great outdoors. They were members of the Nelson Ski Club. Traditions, rituals and fun...
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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...
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Nelson Yacht Club
Ever since 1843, when crowds gathered on a wet and windy summer day to watch the first official boat racing in Nelson, port officials have enjoyed a close alliance with the city's yachting clubs. In...
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