Clik here to view.
The Nelson Volunteer Fire Brigade
The early years from 1858-1868The history of Nelson's early Volunteer Fire Brigade is difficult to trace. The earliest reference dates to September 18581 , when a meeting was planned to organise a Fire...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The voyage of the SS Lyttelton
London to Wellington in 462 daysThe Nelson waterfront is now the domain of the chardonnay set, but from the deck of the recreational fishing berth you'll see an old boiler, near the Aotearoa mural,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fairfield Graveyard
The Fairfield graveyard, along with the popular Fairfield house was for a long time thought to be haunted (as are most graveyards).Nelson Cemeteries. Nelson City CouncilClick image to enlargeOn the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shelbourne Street Gaol
Unwanted, Unneeded, Unremembered: The Life of the Nelson Gaol 1850-1898The Nelson Gaol built at Shelbourne St in 1850 is little known or remembered as part of modern day Nelson society. But at its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Samuel Stephens (1803-1855)
New Zealand Company Surveyor, Politician and QuakerSamuel Stephens sailed from England on the Whitby in 1841 with Arthur Wakefield, and they became close friends. As they sailed near the entrance of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Graves of Fairfield Park
Fairfield Park, one of Nelson’s first cemeteries, was created in 1851 and over 78 people were buried here before it closed in 1910. It had various names, including Old Trafalgar Street Cemetery, or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Women Decision-makers of Nelson 1956-2018
Like many cities in New Zealand, the present geographic boundaries of Nelson City Council have enlarged somewhat over the years. Originally Tahunanui, Stoke, Atawhai and the Whangamoa Riding were part...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Women Decision-Makers Nelson and Tasman 1944-2018
Foreword to the bookWomen decision makers Nelson and Tasman 1944-2018 cover imageIt came as a surprise in this Suffrage 125 year to find that there was no one record and few details of all the women...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Laura Ingram, JP, MBE
Motueka Borough Councillor 1944 - 1947Laura Ingram, 1977. Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection: GCW3 3916_fr24. In 1944 thirty-two year old primary school teacher Laura Ingram became...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Women Decision-Makers of Tasman 1944-2018
In 1893 when women gained the right to vote in central and local government elections there were several local authorities in the Tasman area. Gradually these have been amalgamated, culminating in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fred Gibbs
F. G. Gibbs' life never lacked adventure, drama and determination and, as Gibbs enthusiast Nigel Costley writes, Nelson would have been much poorer without him.F G Gibbs. The Nelson Provincial Museum,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pioneers Park
Opened officially as Pioneers Park in 1929, the name unofficially dropped the 's' in the mid 1930s and today is known by both names. Over the decades the Park has been used for a variety of local...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alton Street
Maori heritageThe earliest human footprints across the Mahitahi floodplain, upon which Nelson City now sits, belong to the tangata whenua and manawhenua tribes of Whakatu. What is now Alton Street was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Renwick House
Renwick House was originally called Newstead, and was the home of Sir David Monro from 1864. Monro was an active member of the Nelson Institute as well as a doctor, famous botanist and politician....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Appo Hocton
Jumped ship to become first Chinese Immigrant to New Zealand It was an unconventional arrival for New Zealand's first Chinese immigrant in 1842. Wong Ah Poo Hoc Ting, approx.1820-1920, and who became...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nelson's Dress Circle
The streets around Brougham Street and Upper Collingwood Street are often known as Nelson's Dress Circle, due to their elevated position and the number of large old houses sited there. This story is a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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...
View ArticleClik here to view.
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,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dr Thomas Renwick
A busy settler in early Marlborough and NelsonDr Thomas Renwick was born in Dumfries, Scotland in 1818, trained as a doctor in Edinburgh and undertook a voyage to India and back in 1840-41 as the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Renwick family
A slice of early colonial lifeThe Marlborough Museum Archives collection has digitised hundreds of letters donated by Annie Ball, which relate to the life of Dr Thomas Renwick’s family.Renwick family...
View Article