# 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 the creation of Marlborough Province in November 1859, then abolished in 1876, along with all the provinces of New Zealand.

## Area

Nelson Province initially covered the entire upper South Island. The Marlborough Province split away from the 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 were expended benefiting the Marlborough region. There was considerable conflict between Superintendent John Perry Robinson's policies of supporting smaller land holders, and the objectives of the large pastoral run-holders 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. The new Marlborough Province was gazetted on 4 October 1859.
For perspective, the Marlborough Province took with it the areas of Nelson Province that would later form five administrative areas when the provinces were dissolved in 1876: Blenheim Borough, covering 17.7 km$^2$ (6.8 sq mi); Picton Borough, covering 4.2 km$^2$ (1.6 sq mi); Kaikoura County, covering 2,348 km$^2$ (907 sq mi); and Marlborough County, covering 10,478 km$^2$ (4,046 sq mi), which includes the former Sounds County, the area immediately surrounding the borough of Picton, which amalgamated with Marlborough County prior to 1913 due to insufficient population to ever form its own county council.

## 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 (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.
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 become Grey County was partly in Nelson Province and partly in Canterbury Province (the Canterbury portion was transferred to a newly created Westland Province in 1873). 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, but the West Coast gold rush then straddled that boundary, with a population boom also straddling the boundary. In 1866, there had been a proposal for the portions in Canterbury Province, including the urban area of Greymouth and the rural area south, to be annexed and solely administered by Nelson Province.

### 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 | Disestablished | Area | Headquarters | Notes |
| Amuri County | 1876 | 1989 | 11,000 km$^2$ | Culverden | Merged into Hurunui District |
| Buller County | 1876 | 1989 | 15,000 km$^2$ | Westport | Merged into Buller District |
| Cheviot County | 1876 | 1989 | 847.28 km$^2$ | 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 km$^2$ | Greymouth | Merged, along with Greymouth Borough, to form Grey District |
| Inangahua County | 1876 | 1989 | 2,440.8 km$^2$ | Reefton | Merged into Buller District |
| Motueka Borough | 1900 | 1989 | 47.9 km$^2$ | Motueka | Merged into Tasman District |
| Murchison County | 1 April 1909 | 1989 | | Murchison | Merged into Tasman District |
| Richmond Borough | 1891 | 1989 | 10.52 km$^2$ | 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 km$^2$ | Richmond | Merged into Tasman District |
| Westport Borough | 1873 | 1989 | 3.44 km$^2$ | Westport | Merged into Buller District |

## 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

The 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

## Adjacent provinces

* Marlborough Province – northeast
* Canterbury Province – southeast
* Westland Province – southwest