Nelson Province


Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura, Marlborough, and Tasman districts, along with Nelson City, Grey District north of the Grey River, and the Hurunui District north of the Hurunui River. It was reduced in size by Marlborough Province splitting off in November 1859. It was abolished in 1876, along with all the provinces of New Zealand.

Area

Nelson Province initially covered the entire upper South Island. Marlborough Province split off from Nelson Province on 1 November 1859 because the majority of the income of the provincial council came from land sales in the Marlborough region, but the funds were mostly used in the Nelson region. Land sales in Nelson and Marlborough netted the Nelson Provincial Council £33,000 and £160,000, respectively. Of that, £200 was expended benefiting the Marlborough region. There was considerable conflict between Superintendent John Perry Robinson's policies of supporting smaller landholders, and the objectives of the large pastoral runholders in the Wairau Valley. The New Provinces Act 1858 allowed for parts of a province to break away if the area was large enough, and enough voters supported such a move. The petition was signed by almost all settlers in the Wairau; only six withholding their support for a split. Marlborough Province was gazetted on 4 October 1859.

History

The Nelson Provincial Council was established with fifteen members, and the province was divided into electoral districts for the election of the Superintendent and members of the council. The seven districts were: Town of Nelson, five members; Suburban Districts, one member; Waimea East District, two members; Waimea West District, one member; Waimea South District, two members; Motueka and Massacre Bay District, two members; Wairau District, two members.
Three candidates, Edward Stafford, Francis Jollie and John Waring Saxton, ran for election as Nelson's first superintendent on 1 August 1853. Stafford won, with vote counts being: Stafford, Saxton, Jollie. Stafford is remembered for his free, secular and compulsory education system that became the model for New Zealand, with this 'Nelson system' introduced to all state primary schools in 1877.
Nelson was the designated seat of government and Superintendent John Perry Robinson laid the foundation stone for the Provincial Government buildings in Nelson on 26 August 1859. The building was in Albion Square in Bridge Street. It was designed by visiting architect Maxwell Bury and modeled on Aston Hall near Birmingham, although the Government buildings were built in timber, whereas Aston Hall was in stone. When the buildings were demolished in 1969, amidst much controversy, they were run down and had stood empty for some years. The Nelson District Court building now stands on the site.
During the First Taranaki War in 1860 nearly 1,200 Taranaki settlers, including women and children, were relocated to Nelson. The Nelson Provincial Council funded the building of cottages known as the "Taranaki Buildings" to house them. Upon the cessation of hostilities the war refugees were offered free passage back to Taranaki. The majority took up the offer, but some chose to remain in Nelson.
From 1853 to 1873, the area that would later become Grey County was partly in Nelson Province and partly in Canterbury Province. The boundary between the provinces had been set as a straight line from the head of the Hurunui River to Lake Brunner at a time when the area was virtually uninhabited. The West Coast gold rush of the 1860s straddled that boundary, with a population boom also straddling the boundary. In 1866, there had been a proposal for the portion in Canterbury Province, including the urban area of Greymouth and the rural area south, to be annexed and solely administered by Nelson Province. The Canterbury portion was transferred to a newly created Westland Province in 1873 and the other portion remained in Nelson Province until the abolition of the provinces in 1876.

Abolition

Nelson Province was abolished under the Abolition of Provinces Act 1875, with its former area then being administered by a number of newly constituted boroughs and counties, effective 1 January 1877.
Borough / CountyEstablishedDisestablishedAreaHeadquartersNotes
Amuri County1876198911,000 km2CulverdenMerged into Hurunui District
Buller County1876198915,000 km2WestportMerged into Buller District
Cheviot County18761989847.28 km2CheviotMerged into Hurunui District
Collingwood County18761956In 1903, the New Zealand Government voted to reduce the original Collingwood County to its western Aorere area, with the eastern area being constituted as Takaka County, effective April 1904. The two counties were re-amalgamated in 1956 to form Golden Bay County, which merged into Tasman District in 1989.
Grey County187619894,091 km2GreymouthMerged, along with Greymouth Borough, to form Grey District
Inangahua County187619892,440.8 km2ReeftonMerged into Buller District
Motueka Borough1900198947.9 km2MotuekaMerged into Tasman District
Murchison County1 April 19091989MurchisonMerged into Tasman District
Richmond Borough1891198910.52 km2RichmondMerged into Tasman District
Takaka County19041956TakakaCreated from eastern portion of original area of Collingwood County in 1904. Re-amalgamated with Collingwood County to form Golden Bay County, which merged into Tasman District in 1989.
Waimea County187619897,547 km2RichmondMerged into Tasman District
Westport Borough187319893.44 km2WestportMerged into Buller District

Demographics

In 1851 the statistics of the area that was to become the Nelson Province was 4,587 and by 1869 it had a population of 22,501.

Anniversary day

New Zealand law provides for a provincial anniversary day.
Provincial districtincludesActual dayObservance day
NelsonNelson, Tasman, Buller and parts of North Canterbury1 FebruaryMonday nearest to the actual day

Superintendents

Nelson Province had four superintendents:
No.fromtoSuperintendent
11 August 1853Sep 1856Edward Stafford
212 December 185628 January 1865John Perry Robinson
3Mar 18654 February 1867Alfred Saunders
4Apr 18671 January 1877Oswald Curtis

Elected members

NameFromToElectorate
Acton Adams18731876Nelson
John Barnicoat18531861
William Cautley18531854Waimea
Oswald Curtis18571867
Nathaniel Edwards18681869Nelson
Nathaniel Edwards18751876Nelson
George Horne18681869Grey
Joseph Ivess21 January 187331 October 1876Inangahua
Carl Friederich Christian Kelling18621869Moutere
Carl Friederich Christian Kelling18691873Waimea West
Fedor Kelling18571876Waimea East
David Luckie18691873
James Mackay18571861Nelson
Charles Parker18531857Motueka and Massacre Bay
Albert Pitt18671876Nelson
Richard Reeves28 April 187631 October 1876Grey
James Crowe Richmond
John Perry Robinson18531865Motueka and Massacre Bay
William Robinson5 October 18572 April 1859Amuri
Andrew Rutherford18691871Amuri
Alfred Saunders18551865Waimea East
John SharpWaimea East
John SharpAmuri
Edward Stafford1 August 1853September 1856
Samuel Stephens19 June 185426 June 1855Town of Nelson
William Travers18531854Town of Nelson
Thomas Henry Wigley

Legislation

  • Nelson Education Act 1856
  • Nelson Improvement Act 1856
  • Nelson Institution Act 1859
  • Nelson Waterworks Act 1863
  • Nelson Waterworks Act Amendment Act 1875