page_title: Mapua, New Zealand
section_title: Before 1930
hierarchical_section_title: Mapua, New Zealand / History / Before 1930
caption_attribution_description: English: Archives New Zealand Reference: AAFZ 6329 W3302 Box 27
context_page_description: Mapua or Māpua is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is to the west of Nelson on State Highway 60 and on the coastline of Tasman Bay. According to the 2013 New Zealand census, Mapua, together with Ruby Bay, has a population of 2,013, an increase of 135 people since the 2006 census.
  With a thriving wharf and commercial area, Mapua has grown in popularity for visitors, with numbers swelling the region over the summer months. A large fair and market is held every Easter Sunday. Up to 30,000 people visit the town on this day to enjoy rides, stalls, and other attractions. The local schools and playcentre benefit from the fair, which is their primary fundraising activity.
context_section_description: Middens, tools and human bones found at Grossis Point and around the northern edges of the Waimea inlet suggest small seasonal Māori settlements were located here, with a major pā (fortified settlement) located on the Kina Cliffs to the north. The pā remained in use in the period of early European settlement of the Mapua district; the public can visit the site. The lack of evidence of cannibalism and the rarity of weapons suggest that the Māori living in this district were peaceful and seldom were involved in wars. In the late 1820s, Maori from the North Island (led by the Maori Chief Te Rauparaha) came to the South Island with warriors armed with muskets. Te Rauparaha took over Marlborough before sending half his army west to take over Tasman Bay and Golden Bay. Due to the invaders' considerable advantage in weaponry and skill, they soon overcame the local Maori populations. After a battle, most of the invaders moved on, leaving only a small local population of Māori in the region.
  The first land-sale to a European in Mapua involved 166 acres, bought in 1854 by Captain James S. Cross for 60 pounds.
  The first European resident of Mapua, James Heatly, worked as a fisherman and hunted rabbits which he brought to Nelson to sell. The port area was originally known as the Western Entrance, and the township dubbed Seaton Township (by a surveyor who had been subdividing part of the town). Mr F.I. Ledger helped plan out the town and later named it "Mapua" which was also what the New Zealand telephone guide named it. Mapua means "abundance" or "prolific" when interpreted into English. By 1915, a substantial wharf could cope with larger ships coming into the harbour for the apple trade, which was booming at this time. The poor roads in the area meant that shipping the apples out was the only option, however eventually a road was built around the Ruby Bay bluffs, linking Nelson with Motueka. A shop, first opened in 1921 to service the locals, stood on the same plot of land as the present-day shop.
caption: Campbell's Orchard, Mapua
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