Nelson - the early years
Dorothy - 13/11/03
To many people Nelson is just a beautiful place where their families have
spent holidays for several generations, but exploring Nelson's past makes a
visit more interesting. Abel Tasman, Dumont D'Urville, the New Zealand
Company, Colonel Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Captain Arthur Wakefield,
Will Watch, Whitby, Arrow, the Wairau Incident,
the Fifeshire Rock, Haulashore Island, Cathedral Hill, C.T.
Monro the Father of Rugby in New Zealand, Nelson College and the Murchison
Earthquake, Nelson College for Girls and Kate Edger, - all these speak of
Europeans involved in the settlement of Nelson. Jim McAloon's book
Nelson A Regional History takes us further back to Maori
settlement in the twelfth century.
By mid September, nearly eighty ships had come into the Nelson Harbour,
there were than 2,000 people in the settlement, 250 good houses had been
built, and there were 230 whares and huts used for temporary accommodation.
Settlement by Maori
Jim McAloon in his book Nelson A Regional History gives a concise
account of what recent research tells us about early life in Nelson. A
review of carbon dating suggests that Nelson, like the rest of New Zealand,
was settled by the twelfth century. The Maori people took quickly to
gardening and hunting. The Nelson mineral belt was rich in argillite, a
dark stone which made fine tools. The Nelson Maori clearly traded their
tools from around the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, and these
tools have been found throughout the country, including Otago and South
Probably around the late sixteenth century the Ngati Tumatakokiri,
originally from Taupo, moved south and had occupied the Nelson area from
Wakapuaka to Karamea by 1642, the date of Abel Tasman's visit.
In the early 1800s the Ngai Tahu from Kaiapoi on the east coast and Karamea
on the west coast and the Ngati Apa from Rangitikei attacked the Ngati
Tumakokiri, but the Ngati Tumakokiri held on to some of their land.
A North Island tribe, the Ngati Toa, were led by the powerful chief, Te
Rauparaha. They made an alliance with the Ngati Rarua and the Ngati Tama
and these tribes moved south to Kapiti Island and Waikanae. They built up
a trading centre on Kapiti Island. The southern North Island tribes
supported by some South Island Maori sought to block their advance but were
unsuccessful. In 1828 forces from the North Island landed at Pelorus and
divided, with one force going to Kaikoura and the others to attack
settlements in Nelson. The latter defeated the forces of each settlement
they attacked. Their advance took them to Moutere and West Wanganui, with
the Ngati Rarua going as far as the Grey River on the West Coast.
After this there was a large gathering of the tribes at Te Awaiti in the
Sounds. A dispute arose about the area claimed by Te Rauparaha. He
claimed all the land as far west as the North Island tribes' conquests had
extended. Ngati Tama and Ngati Rarua acknowledged his territory only as
far as Wakapuaka.
The rivalry between the tribes resulted in further fighting and changes in
By the 1830s Maori were growing gardens and fishing, with villages
established along the coast, but Whakatu, later the site of Nelson city,
was only a fishing point, not a site for cultivation.
The first Europeans to sight Nelson district
In 1642 the Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman, anchored off Golden Bay, thinking
he had found part of the legendary great southern continent which the Dutch
East India Company had sent him to find. Four of his company were killed
by Maori, so Tasman called the bay Murderers' Bay, but the name for this
beautiful area was changed later to Golden Bay.
The next European visitors to Nelson were English - Captain James Cook and
his crew. What is now Tasman Bay Cook named Blind Bay in 1770, but he did
not explore the area.
Captain Dumont D'Urville in the French corvette Astrolabe was the
next known European explorer to visit Nelson. He stayed in the Nelson
area in January 1827, landing at the area called Astrolabe, across Blind
Bay from Nelson city.
Frederick Moore, a Wellington settler made trading and exploratory visits
in 1840 and 1841 and was able to provide the New Zealand Company with
essential information on the region.
The early years of settlement
Whakatu, the Maori name for Nelson, means 'peaceful haven' and Nelson
harbour has been a peaceful haven for visiting ships since the first three
vessels on an exploratory voyage arrived in October 1841 - the
Whitby, Will Watch, and Arrow. On board were
some surveyors and other men intending to settle in New Zealand.
The arrangements for the settlement had not begun smoothly. The New
Zealand Company settlement under the leadership of Colonel Edward Gibbon
Wakefield had already founded a settlement in Wellington, and were looking
for a larger area, but there was some doubt about where it should be
When the leader of the colonists, Captain Arthur Wakefield, arrived in
Wellington aboard the Whitby he found the other two ships there,
but they did not know where they were to settle - a rare situation for new
colonists. Nelson was viewed as a possible site.
Colonel William Wakefield, the New Zealand Company's principal agent in New
Zealand, had bought in 1839 a large area in the north of the South Island,
which he believed included Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds.
Te Rauparaha agreed to a settlement in Nelson. Captain Arthur Wakefield
met with representatives of the tribes and sorted out the terms for the
purchase of land.
The ships then sailed to Blind Bay and anchored in the Astrolabe roadstead.
After exploration in the Nelson area some of the crew, acting on
information from a local Maori, found the Nelson Harbour after an
expedition rowed along the Boulder Bank and one of the party climbed on it
and saw the sheltered water behind it. The Arrow sailed into the harbour
on November 1 1841 and chose Whakatu as the site for the settlement. It
was named Nelson after Admiral Lord Nelson and a number of street names are
associated with his naval campaigns in the Napoleonic wars.
Captain Wakefield chose the summit of Church Hill to erect the pole which
marked the base of his survey and laid off from it Trafalgar and Nile
Streets to be the two main thoroughfares. The Maori name for the hill is
Pikimai, meaning "Come up here". Two days after his arrival Wakefield held
divine service on Church Hill.
First colonists arrive
On 1 February 1842 the settlement of Nelson was founded with the arrival of
the first ships of settlers - the Fifeshire on 1 February followed
by the Mary Ann, Lord Auckland and Lloyds.
Those who have visited Nelson in summer can well imagine how appealing the
area for their new homes must have seemed, but their first homes were
tents, or rough raupo or wattle huts and the native rats were there in
When the Fifeshire sailed out of Nelson four weeks after arrival
it was wrecked on Arrow Rock. In the early years ships had to enter or
leave the haven by sailing between Arrow Rock, later called Fifeshire Rock,
and Haulashore Island. The channel is very narrow and the tides are very
rapid so ships required an experienced pilot to navigate this channel
safely. In 1906 a cut was made in the Boulder Bank creating Haulashore
Island and this has been widened and deepened several times since then and
is regularly dredged.
Church Hill was the site of the New Zealand Company's storerooms and
barracks, the office of the Examiner, the Courthouse and the
Literary and Scientific Institute.
Shortage of land
There were land problems as there was insufficient land to fulfil
contracts and to grow food, so surveyors went to survey land in the Wairau
area (now Marlborough). Te Rauparaha and his brother-in-law disputed the
ownership of this land and Maoris interfered with the survey. When this
was reported in Nelson the magistrate Mr Thompson issued a warrant for the
arrest of both Maori chiefs - an action which would be meaningless to the
Maori. Captain Wakefield went with a detachment from Nelson to sort out
the situation, and the result of delays and misunderstandings was the
Wairau Incident in which Captain Wakefield and some twenty leading settlers
The Wairau Incident caused alarm in Nelson and Church Hill was fortified.
For some months the settlers retired there with their families at nights.
The news of what had happened and uncertainty about how far the fighting
might spread meant that further immigration was suspended.
With no new settlers bringing capital to Nelson the settlement developed
only slowly and those who stayed there suffered from food shortages.
The fighting did not spread, however, and conditions began to improve later
in the 1840s. In the population records issued by the New Zealand Company
in 1850 Nelson was the second largest town in New Zealand - Wellington
5479, Nelson 4047, New Plymouth 1412, Otago 1482, Canterbury 301. Auckland
is not listed.
Nelson given the status of a city
In 1853 the Nelson Provincial Government was established. Nelson was
granted the status of a city, by virtue of the creation of a Diocese of
Nelson by Letters Patent under the seal of Queen Victoria. It was New
Zealand's second city. A Board of Works was set up under the town of
Nelson Improvement Act. Their work resulted in the city having a water
supply, a gas works, Wakefield Quay, several bridges over the Maitai River,
many miles of streets and a partly completed sewerage system.
Industries were established soon after the settlement was founded - a
brewery in 1843 and a flax mill, a tannery, solar salt works and a woollen
mill by 1845.
Pioneer houses preserved
Houses were built on the land around Church Hill and pioneers' houses in
South Street have been maintained for their charm and their historic
interest. South Street is preserved as it was 130 years ago. At least three
of the houses were built in the 1860s. Some of the houses in South Street
are offered for holiday rental.
At 12 Nile Street West close to South Street is The Little Manor, another
beautifully preserved cottage from the 1860s. This combines luxury
furnishings and antiques with modern plumbing and appliances.
Church services were regularly held on Church Hill, at first in the
surveyors' mess room. Bishop Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand,
viewed Church Hill in 1842 and considered it to be the perfect site for a
Cathedral. Then in 1843 he bought two huts which were converted into a
church, and services were held there until 1851. He was also responsible
for the Church acquiring the land. The first church on the hill, described
in the Nelson Examiner as "a neat wooden building in the early
English style, of the form of a cross", was built in 1851, and was opened
by Bishop Selwyn. After alterations in 1886 it was consecrated as the
first Cathedral in 1887. The old building was condemned by the City
Council in 1921, but a lot of money had to be raised before the new
Cathedral could be built.
The foundation stone for the present Cathedral was laid by the Governor
General, Sir Charles Fergusson, in 1925. The new Cathedral was built of
and the building was partially completed by 1932. It could not be finished
until more money was raised, and during the 1930s Depression money was
scarce. A temporary roof and ceiling were added to the nave and the
chancel and much of the furniture and fittings of the old Cathedral were
used to maintain links with the past. It was consecrated by the Archbishop
of New Zealand on 3 December, 1932.
Completion of the Cathedral
There were changes to the planned design of the building while money was
being raised for its completion. After the Murchison earthquake, when the
clock tower on Nelson College was destroyed, the plan to build a Gothic
tower was dropped. The first part of the building was constructed from
solid marble, but prices had so escalated that the rest of the building was
constructed from concrete blocks veneered with a plaster made from marble.
A tower was erected at the north end of the church as a separate
At the dedication of the building in 1965 the Queen was represented by the
Governor General, Sir Bernard Fergusson, son of the Governor General, Sir
Charles Fergusson, who had laid the foundation stone in 1925. The
Cathedral was consecrated in 1972.
Beautifying Church Hill
Alfred Domett, one of New Zealand's early premiers, and Joseph Webb worked
on beautifying the Hill with trees in the early 1860s. Thomas Cawthron
donated the steps from Trafalgar Street in 1913.
Nelson College - a school for boys - was founded in 1856. It began with
eight boys attending school in an old building in Trafalgar Square. Then
the school moved to buildings in Manuka Street and then in 1859 the
foundation stone was laid on the present site in Waimea Road and the
college moved into the new buildings in 1859. It became a boarding school
to suit the sons of families too far away for them to travel to the town.
Boys were admitted from the age of nine. Fees were charged, but
scholarships were available to gifted pupils.
In 1879 another wing was added to the school with extra dormitories and
In 1887 Ernest Rutherford (later Lord Rutherford) entered as an Education
Board Scholar from Havelock.
In 1904 a new gymnasium was built, but on 7 December of that year the
College was destroyed by fire. After years using any accommodation which
was available the school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1906 and
classes resumed in 1907 although the rebuilding was not finished.
In 1924 a Scriptorium was built as a memorial to Nelson College boys who
had been killed during World War 1.
In the 1929 Murchison earthquake the school buildings were seriously
damaged. Amazingly only two boys were injured by the falling masonry.
Again there was a need for temporary accommodation. New boarding houses
were built and the main building was rebuilt and opened in 1941. The
Scriptorium had also been damaged by the earthquake and eventually had to
In 1868 the Nelson Football Club, the oldest in New Zealand, was founded.
The Nelson Examiner reported on the first football match played in
Nelson Province at Victory Square on Saturday, June 19, 1869, between
sixteen players from Nelson College and an equal number from the Nelson
A Nelson College Old Boy, C. J. Monro, returned from a trip to England and
suggested the adoption of the Rugby Code. He was known as "the father of
Rugby in New Zealand". In 1870 he organised the first inter-provincial
Rugby fixture in New Zealand between Nelson and Wellington. The first
inter-College Rugby match in New Zealand was played between Nelson College
and Wellington College in Wellington in 1876. Wellington won this match,
but Nelson won the return match.
Education for girls
Concern that girls were being deprived of secondary education led to the
opening of Nelson College for Girls in 1883 - a seondary school for day
pupils and boarders. The first headmistress was Kate Edger who in 1877
gained a B.A degree from the University of New Zealand. She was the first
woman in the British Empire to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. (A
Canadian woman had graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1875.)
Kate Edger was a brilliant scholar who specialised in mathematics and
Latin. She was appointed in 1877 to teach at the newly opened Christchurch
Girls' High School (CGHS), and while teaching there she gained a Master of
Arts degree from Canterbury College and was capped in 1882 with her sister
When Kate Edger became headmistress at Nelson College for Girls she was
only twenty six. She remained in her position for eight years - years that
presented all the problems associated with establishing a new school. Her
experience at CGHS stood her in good stead. In addition to coping with
problems presented by unsuitable buildings and a new boarding
establishment, she taught English grammar, composition and literature,
physical science, Latin, geography and singing. She prepared girls for
university scholarships. She gave not only of her skills, but spent part
of her salary on equipment and on one occasion to assist a senior girl who
could not afford to stay at school she financed a scholarship out of her
own salary. Her sister Lilian was also on the staff.
Such women gave the College a good start.
Both Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls have greatly increased
their rolls over the years and are highly regarded secondary schools
As the province and the city of Nelson prospered beautiful homes were built.
One of the finest, Melrose, built in 1876, has been bequeathed to the city
of Nelson and is used by groups in the community and for private social
functions. The Nelson City Council maintains the spacious grounds.
For many visitors Sunny Nelson is mainly a place to relax on holiday. It
is sometimes known as 'Sleepy Hollow'. However, reading of its early
history and of the setbacks faced by successive generations, both Maori and
Pakeha, enhanced my appreciation of this beautiful town, built by the hard
work of early settlers and those who followed.