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.The Jubilee History of Nelson by L. Broad.
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 (251), Saxton (206), Jollie (130). 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.Explanatory panel next to a model of the Government buildings in the Nelson Colonial Museum.
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 / County Established DisestablishedAreaUnless otherwise noted, area is per 1986 boundaries Headquarters Notes Amuri County 1876 1989 11,000 km2 Culverden Merged into Hurunui District Buller County 1876 1989 15,000 km2 Westport Merged into Buller District Cheviot County 1876 1989 847.28 km2 Cheviot Merged into Hurunui District Collingwood County 1876 1956 In 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 County 1876 1989 4,091 km2 Greymouth Merged, along with Greymouth Borough, to form Grey District Inangahua County 1876 1989 2,440.8 km2 Reefton Merged into Buller District Motueka Borough 1900 1989 47.9 km2 Motueka Merged into Tasman District Murchison County 1 April 1909 1989 Murchison Merged into Tasman District Richmond Borough 1891 1989 10.52 km2 Richmond Merged into Tasman District Takaka County 1904 1956 Takaka Created 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 County 1876 1989 7,547 km2 Richmond Merged into Tasman District Westport Borough 1873 1989 3.44 km2 Westport Merged 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 district includes Actual day Observance day Nelson Nelson, Tasman, Buller and parts of North Canterbury 1 February Monday nearest to the actual day
Superintendents
Nelson Province had four superintendents:
No. from to Superintendent 1 1 August 1853 Sep 1856 Edward Stafford 2 12 December 1856 28 January 1865 John Perry Robinson 3 Mar 1865 4 February 1867 Alfred Saunders 4 Apr 1867 1 January 1877 Oswald Curtis
Elected members
Name From To Electorate Acton Adams 1873 1876 Nelson John Barnicoat 1853 1861 William Cautley 1853 1854 Waimea Oswald Curtis 1857 1867 Nathaniel Edwards 1868 1869 Nelson Nathaniel Edwards 1875 1876 Nelson George Horne 1868 1869 Grey Joseph Ivess 21 January 1873 31 October 1876 Inangahua Carl Friederich Christian Kelling 1862 1869 Moutere Carl Friederich Christian Kelling 1869 1873 Waimea West Fedor Kelling 1857 1876 Waimea East David Luckie 1869 1873 James Mackay 1857 1861 Nelson Charles Parker 1853 1857 Motueka and Massacre Bay Albert Pitt 1867 1876 Nelson Richard Reeves 28 April 1876 31 October 1876 Grey James Crowe Richmond John Perry Robinson 1853 1865 Motueka and Massacre Bay William Robinson 5 October 1857 2 April 1859 Amuri Andrew Rutherford 1869 1871 Amuri Alfred Saunders 1855 1865 Waimea East John Sharp Waimea East John Sharp Amuri Edward Stafford 1 August 1853 September 1856 Samuel Stephens 19 June 1854 26 June 1855 Town of Nelson William Travers 1853 1854 Town 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
Subordinate boards Nelson Central Board of Education Nelson Board of Works
See also Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council
References
External links Nelson Province and Provincial District The Seal of Nelson Province Nelson and Marlborough Provinces Map Nelson Provincial Ordinances