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Nelson Pottery

Nelson/ Tasman's ground-breaking pottery 

Mirek Smisek 1967 The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection,
L7694 fr8 Click image to enlarge

There is some evidence that the use of clay may date back to early Māori settlement, but the history of clay use in the Nelson region is a European one. Brickfields were in existence as early as 1842 and many brickmakers and bricklayers were listed among the early immigrants. As building began, clay mining and brick making were widespread activities throughout the region.¹

While clay was used for bricks, insulators, tiles and flower pots, there was no clay suitable for throwing pots when Czech refugee, Mirek Smisek  arrived in Nelson in 1952.²  Smisek was the first fully professional studio potter in New Zealand, teaching pottery and producing his own work from 1956.³

To blend a suitable clay for potting, Smisek sought the help of Ian McPherson who, with his father William, had clay mining licences in Golden Bay and on the West Coast. McPherson experimented for a year to produce a suitable potting clay.⁴

The philosophy of English writer and potter, Bernard Leach, regarded as the father of British studio pottery, had considerable influence on Nelson's studio pottery scene, with Smisek being an admirer.⁵

Mr & Mrs Davies at Onekaka, Feb 1963. The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection, 3574 fr3
Click image to enlarge

Cornish potters May and Harry Davis also incorporated Leach principles in their work.⁶ In 1962 they emigrated to Nelson, on hearing about the raw materials available for pottery, and established the Crewena Pottery at Wakapuaka. Soon their domestic ware was setting new standards in New Zealand's rapidly expanding pottery movement.⁷

Jack Laird, 1969 The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C
Wood Collection, L9495 fr8
Click image to enlarge

Jack and Peggy Laird arrived from England in 1964, part of an influx of people from the northern hemisphere looking for a better life. They established Waimea Craft Pottery which employed 17 potters at its peak.

The Lairds set up a Labour Department-approved apprenticeship scheme which offered many potters training in a workshop environment. Well known Brightwater potter, Royce McGlashen, served a five year apprenticeship at Waimea, during which he estimates he threw thousands of pots.⁹

Between 1956 and 1976, the number of studio potters multiplied nationwide, with Nelson eventually having the most potters per head of population and gaining an international reputation as a centre of excellence in studio pottery.¹⁰

Waimea Craft Pottery, 1969
The Nelson Provincial Museum, Geoffrey C Wood Collection, 6034 fr5 3
Click image to enlarge

By the mid-1970s, pottery had become an important part of Nelson's economy.  Tourists looking for unique gifts and souvenirs, as well as restrictions on imported pottery, meant many local potters were able to sell their work with ease.¹¹

Examples of 21st Century Nelson pottery by (left to right): Sue Dasler, Katie Gold and Estuary Arts, Parapara. Photo by Wayne Stronach
Click image to enlarge

Pottery was also a popular hobby. In 1954, Smisek taught five classes a week at the Nelson Technical School.  In the 1970s, Waimea College provided funding for twelve classes in the Tasman region.¹²

In 1973, Craft Potters was established in a Hope orchard by a group of amateur enthusiasts.¹³ By 1975, Craft Potters had 140 members and was operating five fulltime classes. There were three pottery groups in Nelson city alone.¹⁴ Pottery clubs offered a creative outlet and became a focal point for a hobby that some turned into a job and a way of life.¹⁵

Nelson's pottery industry has been commercially viable from the earliest days.¹⁶ Cheap pottery imports have had an impact, but Nelson remains renowned for its pottery and ceramics, and pottery continues to grow as a vital and innovative, creative industry.¹⁷

2009 

Sources used in this story

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