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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...
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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....
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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...
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Wakamarina Gold
"In the month of April, 1864, Nelson was aroused from the most depressed commercial state....to the glittering prospects of a well-paying goldfield...situated in the Province of Marlborough," reported...
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Rutherford and Pickering at Havelock School
In the last quarter of the 19th Century and the first quarter of the 20th Century, Havelock School was involved in the early education of two stellar minds, who were both involved in far-reaching...
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Life in Linkwater
John Collins did a bit of everything to make a living on his Cullensville hill country farm: milking cows, shearing sheep, mustering and mussel harvesting.John Collins at Linkwater Cemetery. [Lucy...
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Cullensville
The abandoned town of Cullensville, which sits at the head of the Mahakipawa Valley about two miles inland from the eastern arm of the head of the Pelorus Sound, was once a thriving goldmining...
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Ralph Watson and the Everetts of Nelson
At Home and Away during World War I: A Tale of Two FamiliesAlbert Edward (Bert) Everett was born in Nelson in 1857 and was the fifth of ten children. He came from a prominent Nelson family with civic...
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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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Education in Marlborough
Marlborough's early schools faced a tough beginning. The first school was established by Nelson settlers, but after separation in 1859, Marlborough's education system suffered from a lack of money....
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Endeavour Inlet and the Antimony Mine
Endeavour Inlet was so named by Captain James Cook after his ship Endeavour, which anchored in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1770. At the time this, and other bays near the entrance to the Sound, were...
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Samuels Rose Garden
The garden at Broadgreen House, Stoke There’s a story behind every name. This one could be called ‘Pie cart helps deliver roses’, but in a roundabout way.Stephen James (Jim) Samuels was a man of many...
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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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Allports Island
The correct name for this island, in front of Waikawa Bay, is Motu Ngarara (Lizard Island), although for some years it was known as ‘Goat Island’ when Thomas Allport leased it and ran sheep and goats...
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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...
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Patricia Tindle
Nelson City Councillor 1974 - 1986 and Deputy Mayor 1980 - 1986Patricia (Pat) Tindle began a twelve-year tenure on the Nelson City Council, in 1974, aged 37. By 1980, as a top-polling Councillor, she...
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The first meeting - Abel Tasman and Māori in Golden Bay
When the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman sailed into Golden Bay in 1642, a mutual cultural misunderstanding may have been one reason for the brief violent encounter with local Māori.Abel Tasman in...
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Dame Cath and Sir Greg of Mapua
Dame Cath gets a right royal roasting for knighting ‘Sir Greg’A mock knighthood of Mapua’s Greg Olsen at a historic gathering in Golden Bay to celebrate the achievements of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman...
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Betsy Walter/Betsy Eyre MBE JP
Nelson City Councillor 1956 - 1962 ; 1965 - 1976 Deputy Mayor 1959 - 1962, 1965 - 1971In 1956, twelve years after Laura Ingram was elected to the Motueka Borough Council, Betsy Walter (later Eyre)...
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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...
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