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John Kidson (senior) 1808-1875

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:47:04 +1200

Gardener, Nelson settler, participant in Wairau Affray and New Zealand Company agitator

John and Amelia Kidson both had secure jobs in England - he was a gardener at the Royal Gardens (now Kew) and she was a lacemaker to Queen Victoria. However, the Industrial Revolution of the 1840s created great unemployment in England, so the Kidsons decided to emigrate to Nelson for a better future for their family. They arrived on the Bolton on 15 March, 1842.

John Kidson, The Nelson Provincial Museum, 68443-3
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On 10 April, 1843, Kidson wrote to the Reverend Harry Dupuis: "I have been hear 13 months, and ham happy to say it is a helthey climet. The harbours abound with fish, and there is plentiful supply of potatos from the natives, tho very Dear; but I have got good gardin, plenty of things growing."

This letter was, however, interrupted. Kidson was enlisted to help crew the boat which transported Arthur Wakefield, Frederick Tuckett and co. to the Wairau Valley to investigate Maori resistance against men surveying there.

Kidson's statement about the Incident (given verbally and transcribed) was published in the Nelson Examiner on 23 December, 1843: "I thought I should have made a stand and faced the enemy, but there was no getting our men together - they kept slipping off one at a time, until there were few left besides the gentlemen and they talked of giving themselves up."¹

There were "100 fighting men, and on our side 49 in hall, and half of them never fiered a gun in thare lives I ham sartin shore; ford I had to lode thare Peaces for them," he later wrote to Rev Dupuis.

Kidson managed to escape and was pursued by three Maori and a dog. "I again took up my gun, and seeing one about to throw what appeared to be a spear, I leveled at his navel and brought him down." He waded through swamps and rivers, climbing a tree to wait for the moon to rise and finally reached Ocean Bay the next afternoon.

Kidson returned to the scene of the battle a few days later to bury the dead with the Reverend Samuel Ironside, a Port Underwood missionary. As the New Zealand Company boat had been taken by Maori, Kidson and four others walked back to Nelson via the Tophouse.

In August 1843, Kidson resumed his letter to Reverend Dupuis in England: " The Peapel are leaving the colany fast and my wife wishes she wass back, but I fear that will never be......"

The Kidsons saved to buy a piece of land, with John working at the Company store and Amelia preparing bird skins to be sent home to England. In 1850, Kidson signed the Memorial of Mechanics and Labourers² claiming compensation from the New Zealand Company for unfulfilled promises.

By 1853, the Kidsons and their 11 children were living on freehold land in Brook Street. Kidson worked as a gardener for resident magistrate, John Poynter, for several years and his son John (jnr) became lighthouse keeper on the Boulder Bank- living there for 30 years and rescuing many people.

Note - Wairau Affray
At the time of the Wairau Affray, the Government was paralysed by the numerical superiority of Maori (about 6000 European settlers and 120,000 Maori) and knew that the survival of the Colony depended on Maori goodwill. Governor of New Zealand, Robert Fitzroy illustrated this difficulty when he said about the Wairau Incident: "The Europeans were wrong and had no right to build houses upon land who's ownership was disputed. But that, the very bad part of the Wairau affair was the killing of men who had surrendered."

This article is paraphrased from a series of columns written by Joy Stephens and published in the Nelson Mail in 2007

Anzac Old boys - World War II

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:23:52 +1200

Grenville McFarland with the College Rugby team
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Three of the young men from Nelson College who lost their lives in World War II, as recorded in the Nelsonian, the Nelson College Magazine.

Grenville James McFarland, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Pilot Officer Grenville James McFarland RAF¹

Killed on air operations 12 May 1940

"McFarland entered the school in 1933 as a Country House boy. He passed Matriculation in 1936, and then had two years in the Sixth Form. He first became prominent as a cricketer, playing in the 2^nd XI when the first visit to Greymouth occurred in 1935. He had three years in the 1^st XI, being Vice-Captain in 1938, and a Nelson representative for two years. He first made his mark as a fast bowler, but gradually developed into so good a bat that he scored a century in his last club match at College. He was also a sound footballer, securing his 1^st XV cap in his last year.

His good all-round abilities and his strong character won him a House prefectship in 1936 and a school prefectship in the following year. In 1938, on being made Head of the school, he came in to board at Fell House. He proved an exceptionally successful Head Boy. His sound and forceful character made him an ideal prefect, and these strong qualities in his personality were tempered by a genial good-humour and ready wit that won him easy popularity.

He was interested in flying from an early age, and qualified for his pilot's certificate while still at school. After leaving school he had a few months

at home, and then left for England in March 1939, to take up a commission in the Air Force."

Frank Edward Creasy, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Private Frank Edward Creasy ²

Son of Mrs E M Creasy, entered Nelson College in 1929, staying for four years. During this time he was active both in and out of school and became known as a steady likable character. After leaving school he managed his mother's orchard at Mahana. He enlisted in 1940 and was called up for active service in June, 1943. He was killed by a flying fragment of shell during the attack on Cassino on 18 March 1944. He married Miss Hazel Daly of Wellington, and leaves two little boys.

Flight Lieutenant Alan Harold Ching³

Alan Ching, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Alan entered College in 1936 and left early in 1940, having passed Matriculation. He was a good cricketer, being captain of the 2^nd XI when he left. After working in the State Advances Corporation for a short time, he went into camp with the 12^th N.M.W.C. Regiment, from which he transferred to the Air Force. He trained in New Zealand and Canada, and after being commissioned served in the Central Mediterranean Forces until 1944, when he returned to England. He lost his life while returning to rescue his pilot from a blazing plane after getting out safely himself. He received severe burns and died after a week in hospital.

William Ching, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Flight Sergeant William Michael Ching³

William attended College form 1937 to 1941. He had a good all-round record, for besides passing Matriculation he was a school prefect, a CSM and a member of the 1^st XI. He entered Christchurch Training College in 1942, but left at the end of the year to enter the RNZAF. After courses at Taieri, Ohakea and Rotorua air stations, he completed his training in Canada. On reaching England he was at first engaged on Lancasters as navigator, and then transferred to Pathfinders, taking part in 13 raids. In December 1944 he was reported missing over Heilbronn, and his death is now presumed.

William and Michael were brothers.

A P.O.W.'s journey

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:52:44 +1200

Hamish Neale was born in Grove Street, Nelson, in 1914, the middle child of a family of seven. His father owned Neale and Haddow, Grain and Seed Merchants of Nelson (1868-1986¹). The family moved to Stoke to live in Whareama in Neale Avenue - which had been built for an English couple and was equipped with servants' quarters, not children's bedrooms.

Hamish attended Nelson College. After qualifying from Otago Medical School in 1937, he worked as a house surgeon at Wellington Hospital, where he met his wife to be, Gwyneth Laver, a nurse, who he was not to see for six long years. They re-met in 1945 and enjoyed 60 happy years of marriage together.

A P.O.W's Train Journey

V.E. Day parade in Trafalgar Street, Nelson in 1945 to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. The Nelson Provincial Museum, Kingsford Collection, 160560
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When World War 2 was imminent in 1939, Dr Hamish Neale joined the Territorials and transferred to Burnham Army Camp. After the outbreak of war, he volunteered for the Special Forces and shipped to Egypt with the 4^th Field Ambulance, a unit in the 1^st Echelon and worked at the Second Tenth General Hospital in Cairo.

He continues:

In 1941, when Greece was threatened by Mussolini's Army and the Nazis, the 2^nd NZ Division was deployed south of Salonika in the north of Greece. The Division retreated after the German onslaught and the collapse of the Greek Army - it was a fighting retreat down to Attica where many of us were taken prisoner, and those who were not were evacuated to Crete.

Along with British Prisoners of War, we were held for a couple of months in the neighbourhood of Athens. Then shifted in cattle trucks- 1000 to each train load- to Germany and Poland.

An hour or so north of Athens, the train stopped and we were all ordered out. We were ordered to march past some tar-drums into which we must put any objects which could be used as weapons. There were wild and barbarous threats such as: "Anyone found with such an item in his possession will be hanged from these trees here."

Later the train stopped because bridges and tunnels had been blown up as we retreated in the earlier battles. So now we marched for a day over the Brailos Pass and down again to the plains about Lamia in Thessaly. Then we were loaded onto another train, eventually arriving in Salonika where we were unloaded and marched to a Greek Army Camp where we were kept for a few weeks.

There was one meal a day which consisted of a good thick barley soup with here and there a strand of meat. The meal was served by the Serbs who had been taken prisoner before us and had been the camp cooks ever since.

Mules and donkeys were used extensively for transport by the Greeks and Yugoslavs and we believed that the cooks supplied with one of these deceased animals would gut and skin it, cut off its legs and throw the rest into the big soup cauldron. Fossy was an English surgeon, and a very good one too, but when not at work he had a tendency to drift off into metaphysical spheres where he became inaccessible to my more pedestrian mind! So we were sitting there in silence when Fossy began shoveling around a large bit of meat in his soup- lucky devil I thought - as it kept slipping off his spoon. Finally we both peered into his tin, and there we met the reproachful gaze of a mule's eye! I didn't wait to see, but I suspect Fossy ate it, as the eye was good protein.

One day we were told we would be moving by train the next day. That night about 11pm we awoke to the sound of machine guns firing into the parade ground from the watch-tower at each corner of the camp. Someone had found a culvert which passed surface water under the perimeter barbed wire. A bunch of P.O.W.s were lining up to follow the leader and escape by crawling through the drain - they had been spotted and the machine guns opened fire.

Next morning as we lined up to march to the train, we had to step over some corpses - the product of the previous night's shooting. One thousand of us were loaded into cattle-trucks - 25 I think it was to each closed truck. We could all sit on the floor together at the same time, but we could not all lie down at the same time and, of course, there was no bedding.

We were off to somewhere- we knew not where. As we boarded the train, we were each given what we took to be the day's rations: two small tins, each containing four olives wrapped in a fig leaf and immersed in some kind of preservative fluid, plus a round stone-hard biscuit about four inches across. We promptly ate the lot - not realising it was our food for the entire journey. It took us five days to get from Salonika to South Berlin.

We were a mixed bunch in my truck: two officers of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, two Cambridge Dons who were captured in Crete long after the fighting was over (they were gun-running for the Cretan resistance and probably had the job because of their knowledge of Greek). The rest were a mixture of Aussies and New Zealanders.

We traveled through the night into Macedonia. At about 10am the train stopped and we were ordered out. We were in a large shallow basin- just pasture and domestic animals. In front of us there were three machine guns with their crews lying in position, about a dozen infantrymen with their rifles at the ready and a small group of officers on a knoll behind the infantrymen.

We were herded outside towards the center of the train. I have spoken to a number of former P.O.W.s who were there and all agree that they too thought the scene was set for our massacre. But finally a large German officer with a curiously high-pitched voice, who we were convinced was going to give the order to fire, shouted as loudly as he could: "Englishmen, all shit". When the men recovered from their surprise, they did their best to comply.

At Belgrade, I was ordered out of the truck again to conduct a sick parade on the platform with all the civilians passing by. There was a little man in a long, white coat and wearing a felt hat, a member of the local Red Cross and a senior German N.C.O. keeping watch. Hardly your normal consulting room! With much nodding and pointing, the three of us agreed that two patients needed to be taken to hospital- one with a large appendix abcess and one with pneumonia.

Back into the train and heading north- in Austria now and I was getting terribly hungry- we'd had no food for some days. Northwards through the night -banging and jolting. Now where were we? Wiener Neustadt, a satellite town of Vienna. I had wanted to see Vienna - well old boy, you don't know it, but you will have to wait another 40 years before you see Vienna as this is not a tour train and the train turns north just before Vienna. The next stop was Salzburg reached just after dawn. I looked up and saw the castle on the hill and wondered idly what music Mozart would be composing now, were he still here.

On north, and into Germany where we stopped at a station- Luckenwalde. The sliding door rolled open and a guard shouted "ARZT" (doctor)- that's me. I got out, the door rolled shut behind me and I seemed to be standing alone on the platform with one guard. There were about 300 Cypriots at the other end of the platform and I was taken to join them. The train moved eastwards, taking the last New Zealanders I was to see for four years! From here on I was sent anywhere the Germans wanted to send an M.O. (Medical Officer)- to any place, to camps of any nationality, and I had absolutely no say in the matter.

The Cypriots and I were marched away to a French P.O.W. camp and in succeeding weeks I received and sorted out trainloads of P.O.W.s from Greece- in effect it was a huge transit camp with the sick and wounded sent to the large camp hospital and others moving onto final camps, mainly in Poland.

When I eventually returned to New Zealand in August 1945, there was no-one with whom I shared the P.O.W. years to talk about life in Nazi Germany, so I largely gave up thinking about it. But now that I am old and partly because children and grandchildren have started asking questions, I think a bit more about it.

An anecdote from Margate

At the end of the war when P.O.W.s were being flown back to the U.K. and New Zealanders were accommodated in Margate, fresh batches would arrive daily in the Mess and there would be shouts of recognition and hand shakes between chaps who had got separated in various battles in North Africa, Greece and Crete.

One day I was having a beer at the bar with a Regular Officer of the Royal Marines based at Chatham, when a young second Lieutenant arrived in the Mess, looked around and suddenly strode across the room with hand outstretched, calling out: "Charley, you Old Bastard!" The Royal Marine officer was horrified and said to me: "Did you see that? That impertinent brat called that Captain an old bastard."

I gave my R.M. friend a short lecture on the difference in language of New Zealanders and others of the Commonwealth including the information that the implications of the words ‘old bastard' depended on, by whom it was said, to whom, in what tone and the circumstances involved.

Then the R.M. officer tugged at my sleeve and asked :" Did you see those medal ribbons that the Captain has on his uniform? Do you know what they mean?" He, of course, knew very well what they meant.

I replied: "The one on the left is the African Star, awarded to those who have taken part in battles in North Africa, Greece and Crete. You will see that everyone here has that ribbon- I even have one."

"What about the other one?" asked the almost speechless R.M. officer.

"Well," I replied,"You will not see a lot of those ribbons around here. It is the ribbon of the Double Victoria Cross."

"Charley, you Old Bastard" was of course Charles Upham, Double V.C.!

Note
Dr. Neale died in 2009. Read his obituary.

Albert Charles Jennings (1879-1917)

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:33:56 +1200

Bert (as he was known to his friends) was born 09 September 1879 at Nelson. Albert attended the Bridge Street School from the first of May 1888 to November 1889 reaching standard 3. According to "The Nelson Mail" he also attended Boys Central School. Bert indicated that he had passed the Fourth Educational Standard or its equivalent when he filled out forms when applying to join the forces in World War I.

Albert Charles Jennings, photo supplied by Cheryl Carnahan
Click image to enlarge

Boer War

At the time of enlisting for the Boer War, his military history sheet, records him as a bushman working for Brownlee and Co of Havelock, Marlborough.

He joined the Nelson and West Coast divisions of the Nelson Volunteer District section of the Seventh Contingent in 1901¹and left Nelson for Wellington in March of that year with members of the 7th New Zealand Contingent, No 23 Unit on the SS Wainui:

The Seventh Contingent. This morning at 11o'clock Nelson's further quota for the Seventh Contingent will leave by the Wainui for Wellington. It was originally intended that the Nelson portion should number 7 men, but it appears that out of 15 applicants, only 5 including Trumpeter Jackson, of the H Battery, who proceeded to Wellington last week, have been selected, the other men having failed to pass the various tests.²

Bert was 21 when he volunteered. He was drafted from the Nelson Rifles (Canterbury) as a private and had been in the service for one year. With the knowledge that his older brother Aubrey had been killed fighting in the Boer War on 29th November 1900 it is surprising that he still enlisted.

The contingent went into camp at Newtown Park in Wellington at the end of February from where they left for Capetown on 6 April 1901. They fought in the Transvaal, at Reitfontein on 14 June 1901, and Meyerton near Vereeniging on 2 September 1901

The 7^thContingent travelled by train to Paardekop in pursuit of Botha. By 6 November 1901 they were at Vryheid. They crossed the Drakensberg Range back into Orange Free State on 11 December 1901 and covered the construction of a line of blockhouses between Frankfort and Vrede. Bert took part in the arduous pursuit of de Wet and had several narrow escapes.

The contingent completed its period of service and sailed from Durban on 22 May 1902 aboard the S.S.Manila, and were disbanded in New Zealand on 30June 1902. Albert Jennings stayed on in South Africa after the Boer War ended and worked at the Kimberley Mine in South Africa, where his brother James Henry Jennings joined him. Bert served in the Police force as a constable, living in Pretoria and spent five years in the Transvaal Town Police force. He arrived back in Nelson in 1908.

Bert was allowed two months leave from 26 June 1902 on full pay for the rank of Sergeant. His certificate of discharge on completion of service states his character was very good. His service abroad amounted to one year and three months and the medals awarded to him were Transvaal and O.R.C. clasps.

Between the Boer war and World War 1 Albert Charles worked in the Ronga Valley in connection with Brownlee's sawmill.

World War 1

Albert Charles Jennings, photo supplied by Cheryl Carnahan
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Albert Charles Jennings sailed from Nelson on 6 January 1915 to join the 2^nd Company, 2^nd Battalion Canterbury Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade New Zealand forces to fight in The Great War. His regimental number was 6/1887 in C Company 4^th Rifles. January, February and March were spent training at Trentham and he embarked for Europe via Australia on 17^th April 1915.

Bert was not involved in the most famous military actions to involve New Zealanders - Gallipoli - as he was still in Australia on 29 April 1915. However, he was involved in the Sari Bair Offensive in August 1915. Bert's military history sheet records him wounded on the 8^th June 1915 in the Dardanelles and again on 7- 9August 1915 in the left arm and right leg. On 23 August he was located in Alexandria, Egypt.

On 19 October Bert embarked on SS Marquette after service injury and recovery from the Gallipoli Campaign. The H.M.Transport S.S. Marquette left Alexandria Harbour, Egypt, in the late afternoon on October 19 1915 for Salonica, Greece. The Marquette was sunk on 23 October by a torpedo, with heavy loss of life, after her French escort had left her.

Bert spent some months recovering from injuries in hospital in England. He sent many letters home, including the following, the day before his death:

Somewhere at the Front, June 6^th 1917
Dear Harriet
Just a line to tell you that I am thinking of you all at home. I am just going into a big battle so I may not be able to get home again. But this is a soldiers chance and I must take it with the rest of the boys. Give my love to all at home and I hope you are all well. Love from Bert.

He was killed at Messines on June 7 1917.

The Register of the Messines Ridge [NZ] memorial records particulars of 840 New Zealand dead. The Register records:

JENNINGS, Sergeant Albert Charles, 6/1887 2nd Canterbury Regiment. Killed in action 7 June 1917, age 37. Son of James and Susan Jennings of Weka Street Nelson. Served in the South African campaign.

To read more information and documentation about Albert Charles Jennings, click here.

Anzac Old Boys - Boer War

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:07:52 +1200

Three young Nelson men, who died in the Boer war..

William Aubrey Jennings (2 May 1877 - 29 November 1900)¹

William Jennings
Photo supplied by Cheryl Carnahan
Click image to enlarge

William Aubrey (Aub) the son of James and Susan Emma Jennings nee Worster, was born in Nelson on 2 May 1877. Aub attended Bridge Street School from 1888 to 1890. Before joining up for the Boer War, Aubrey was a labourer, employed by Mr. C.J. Harley a lawyer of Nelson. He also worked as a labourer in Wanganui. He joined the 2^nd Contingent Units three and four as a private. The 2^nd Contingent consisted mainly of men already trained in volunteer units. Aub and his horse were both regimental number 394 and his gun a carbine number 349 and 1175. He was drafted from the Nelson Rifles, of which he had been a member for 2½ years.

Aub departed on the SS Waiwera, from Wellington 20 January 1900 bound for South Africa, via Albany, Australia.¹ T he Contingent disembarked at Cape Town on 27 February 1900. They then entrained to Victoria Road in Northern Cape Colony and trekked in a column under Colonel Sir Charles Parsons for one month, before moving onto Bloemfontein. They were the first troops to enter Brandfort on 3 April after contact with the Boers. On 4 May they helped dislodge the Boers from Constantia Hill, their rifle fire proving too much for the enemy on. There was shooting on 5 and 12 May, when the contingent came under fire at the crossing of the Zand River, before entering Kroonstad.

On 26 May they had a sharp engagement at Rietspruit. On 28 May the New Zealanders were sent forward to hold a hill (Van Wyk's Vlei) coming under fire for most of the next two days.

On 29 November, the Second and Third Contingents formed part of the Force that attacked 1,000 Boers under the command of General Ben Viljoen at Rhenoster Kop in the northern Transvaal. The New Zealanders suffered particularly badly in this battle. William Jennings was killed in an engagement at Reitfontein, 29 November 1900, during this battle. He was buried on Reitfontein farm about 20 miles north of Balmoral. A stone tablet bearing his name and those killed in the South African war is in the Nelson Cathedral. His name is also on a statue of remembrance in the Queen's Gardens Nelson.

William's brother, Albert Charles Jennings, also fought in the Boer war - he survived to die in World War I.

Gunner John Moeller ²

John Moeller, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
Click image to enlarge

Poor Moeller succumbed to enteric fever at Springfontein in the Orange Free State, and he was interred at Bloemfontein..... Jack Moeller, as he was always known to his friends, took a keen interest in the progress of the College, and he was an extremely popular Old Boy. Telegraphic intelligence of his death reached College on Thursday morning, 6 July, and it created a profound sensation. The College flag was suspended half-mast high in mute evidence of the loss of an enthusiastic and devoted Old Boy. The deceased attended College as a boarder during 1890-1, and he was a prominent footballer. On leaving College his name became extremely well-known in Wellington Football, Rowing and Volunteering circles, and on his departure with the Second Contingent for South Africa several handsome presentations were made to him by his numerous friends. The death of one so intimately allied to us in the comparative solitude of that distant African township brings home to one with vivid insistence the reality of the colonial sacrifice in the interests of the Empire.

Trooper Poole, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Trooper T W Poole³

Trooper T W Poole was ..a boarder at Nelson College in 1891, and a member of the Cadet Corps. He was a West Coast boy, and on leaving College he entered the Railway Department. He volunteered and was accepted for the 2^nd Contingent at Invercargill, where he had joined the Southland Mounted Rifles. His photograph had been procured from his mother for reproduction in this magazine just the day before the receipt of the cable message announcing his death. He was always keenly interested in athletics, especially in rowing, and his untimely death is mourned by a large circle of friends. A pathetic interest now attaches itself to Moeller's discovery of Poole's identity as an old Boy during the voyage to South Africa. Moeller at once apprised us of this addition to our list, little dreaming that in a few short months the names of both would be coupled in an obituary notice.

Anzac Old Boys - World War I

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:18:04 +1200

Many Nelson men died in World War I. These are three Nelson College for Boys alumni, who died in the Great War and were commemorated in the Nelsonian, the College magazine.

Garfield Jessop, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
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Garfield Cornelius Jessop¹

"No death will seem sadder to recent Old Boys than that of Garfield Jessop. His contemporaries will have vivid memories of the keen eyes and bright smile of the diminutive, but irrepressible Jessop. He was at the school 1909 to 1911, when he entered the AMP Office - Nelson. He was transferred to Wellington and was there at the outbreak of the war. He was greatly under age and far too small for requirements, but had more than the requisite "heart". By sheer insistence he secured a place with the Main Body as orderly to Major Nutsford, of the Otago Mounted Rifles. He was 17 years old. He took part in the first landing at Gallipoli and remained on the Peninsula until 27 August 1915, when he was killed in action. He would have wished no better fate."

Major Frederick Stuckey²

Major Stuckey, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
Click image to enlarge

"Frederick attended Nelson College 1894-98. He played an active role in College sporting life being in the 1^st XV 1895-7; Gym Champion 1895-96; Swimming Champion 1898. He went on to be a Rugby representative for Auckland, gained an MA in 1902 and was a former Assistant Master at Kings College.

Major Frederick Stuckey died of wounds at Gallipoli, 25 April 1915 and either buried where he fell, or at sea, having died from wounds on a hospital ship. A Memoriam Service was held in the Cathedral late in December 1915 and a tablet to his memory unveiled. "

Major J M Richmond, DSO, MC³

"No death, at any rate among the younger officers of the Expeditionary Force, caused a greater feeling of regret in New Zealand and with the troops in France than that of James Richmond who, after coming through four years' campaigning, was killed on the eve of the cessation of hostilities"

The following is a copy of the telegraphic despatch announcing his death forwarded to New Zealand by Captain Malcolm Ross (the New Zealand Official War Correspondent):-

Major Richmond, image supplied by Gina Fletcher and Nelson College Old Boys Association
Click image to enlarge

"Yesterday afternoon (27 October 1918) Major J M Richmond, DSO, MC, Royal New Zealand artillery, was killed in action by a 5.9 shell. He was 30 years of age. His death was instantaneous. This afternoon he was buried in the French cemetery at Solesmes. The Bishop of Nelson read the service and General Russell and many of his comrades in the Artillery attended. His death is greatly deplored throughout the whole Division. He joined the New Zealand Artillery in 1911 and left for the war with the Main Body. He landed on Gallipoli in the first boat conveying New Zealand troops ashore, and remained there continuously till the evacuation, leaving in the last boat.

On the expansion of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to a division in October 1915 he was appointed Brigade-Major of Divisional Artillery, which appointment he held till August this year. Wishing to obtain further experience in the field, he relinquished the position at his own request to command a battery, and on the day of his death had just taken over temporary command of a brigade of field artillery. He served continuously in Egypt, Gallipoli and France from the end of 1915 till his death.

He was engaged to be married to a second cousin in England after the war, and had decided to resume his profession of the law. His Commanding Officer sates: "I considered Major Richmond one of the most brilliant young officers I have ever known. As Brigade-Major, his orders were never misunderstood. They were so clear and concise. He was tactful, and had a charming manner. He was artistic and musical, and extremely well read. He himself had considerable literary ability. He hated war and bloodshed, and yet during all this year he never left the front except on brief leave. No thought of danger ever deterred him from doing his duty, and his standard of duty was a high one."

Finally we quote the words of Sir James Allen, who wrote: "Major Richmond's distinguished record on the field is one of which his family, the people of New Zealand, and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force may justly be proud". We may add that the College is equally proud of such an alumnus; but great is the regret that one whose brilliant faculties, trained and disciplined in the hard school of war, might have led him far should be thus cut off ere he reached maturity. "

Picton and World War II

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:05:58 +1200

On 3 September 1939 New Zealand declared its involvement in a war that had begun in Europe. New Zealand was one of the first countries to join the war, for economic and security concerns along with a sense of loyalty. In Picton an emergency committee was set up and the town farewelled the First Echelon on 29 December.

L 5 Howitzer made in Italy in 1961 and it saw action in South Vietnam 1965-1967 with 161 Field Battery RNZA. Photo by T. Kennedy at Picton RSA. Click image to enlarge

Picton and Sounds men would have fought in North Africa, Crete, Italy and later against the Japanese in the Pacific. Some, like Corporal Colin Knight, joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and were honoured. A number of Picton men were honoured on 1 March 1940 during a public reception for the Marlborough boys in the Merchant Navy serving on HMS Achilles. They had taken part in the Battle of the River Plate, where HMS Achilles forced the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee to retreat into Montevideo. Later the ship was scuttled by the Germans to avoid capture.

The USA entered the war on 7 May 1941, after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Following this, United States military personnel were based in Wellington. There were no American military camps in the South Island, but in Queen Charlotte Sound the Americans built a convalescent base at Kahikatea Bay, 11 kilometres from Picton by boat. It was never used. Later, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) occupied the bay as a recreation camp (for burned and disfigured airmen), but it may never have been used. Another recreation camp was at West Bay.*

When Japan entered the war in 1941, the army erected defences on the Picton Foreshore in case of invasion, and the area used by the navy and army, including the bathing sheds, was cordoned off. Colonel Gerald Lyon MC, ED, RNZA (who lived in Picton when retired), was responsible for the installation of all South Island coastal defences. Between February and December 1942 the military built Defence Structures in Queen Charlotte Sound, amongst them one at Blumine Island and two in Tory Channel. From June to October an anti-submarine signal station was built at Long Island. Test rounds from guns were fired from these defence structures on 25 February 1943. Some of these fortifications still stand and can be seen around Queen Charlotte Sound.

An extensive survey of Queen Charlotte Sound and Tory Channel was carried out by the Navy in the launch HMNZS Elaine in 1942-43. This survey was part of the Navy's plans to install underwater defence structures. The intention of the defence system was not to repel invasion, but to deny shelter to enemy vessels and to provide a secure fleet anchorage. A chain of radar stations was established around New Zealand and this included Stephens Island and Cape Campbell.

The Union Steamship Company's interisland ferry SS Tamahine worked as a troop ship during the war carrying army personnel and supplies between the North and South Island. Thousands of troops were stationed in the Marlborough district during the war years. The Marlborough Branch of New Zealand Historic Places Trust plans to erect replica ‘hut ends' in the Wairau Valley to commemorate these camps. On 9 May 1945 Victory in Europe (V.E.) Day was celebrated in Picton (8 May in Europe). Japan surrendered in August after the bombing by the USA of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the allies then celebrated Victory over Japan (V.J.) Day. The days of rationing, of sending food parcels and worrying about loved ones fighting overseas, and concern with enemy invasion were over. Women had worked in the war effort while the men were away fighting, and this meant an adjustment for many families on the soldier's return.

Memorial to men of Picton and Queen Charlotte Sound who died in World War II. Photo by T. Kennedy
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During the war years a Rehabilitation Board was set up in Picton to find work for men returning permanently from war, and a list of projects was drawn up. Also in the1940s the Salvation Army was contracted to run a ‘Red Shield Hostel', a Services' hostel, for the duration of the war. In 1942, the ‘All Services Club' bought the property from the Marlborough Provincial Patriotic Council for this purpose. The house, built around 1904 as a Presbyterian Manse was situated on section 3 Dublin Street on the Picton Lagoon foreshore (on the north-eastern boundary of where the Yacht Club Hotel now stands). In 1924 it was moved to Wellington Street and later became ‘Rawhiti Guest House'.

Soon after World War II ended the organisation that had been known as the Returned Soldiers Association changed its name to the Returned Services Association (RSA). The Picton Branch of the Marlborough RSA began on 29 September 1931 holding meetings in numerous venues, including the Literary Institute (Public Library), and Forester's Hall (now owned by the Picton Drama Club). On 1 September 1945, the Picton Branch of the RSA purchased the Services hostel and it became the clubrooms for the RSA and Club, and is still in use today.

The names of the 12 men ‘of Picton and Queen Charlotte Sound who gave their lives for King and country in World War II 1939-1945', were added to the memorial arch in London Quay** and the plaque was dedicated on Anzac Day 1949. The names were also recorded on a plaque on the provincial memorial in Seymour Square, Blenheim. In 1946 plans were drawn up for a returned servicemen's lawn cemetery as part of the Picton Cemetery.

There is also a War Memorial on the Queen Charlotte Track at Portage Saddle. This site overlooks Torea Moua Bay in Queen Charlotte Sound and Portage in Kenepuru Sound. It was chosen by Sounds people as a fitting place to build a monument in honour of those Marlborough Sounds servicemen who gave their lives in World War I. The Sounds War Memorial was dedicated and unveiled in 1925. The inscription reads: ‘To Commemorate the Sounds Men who fell in the Great War 1914-1918', (21 names). Another eight names were added and a platform built around the memorial after World War II.

War Memorial on Picton Foreshore. Photo courtesy of Picton Museum
Click to enlarge

Another war memorial in a different form was also created. A decision was made to reclaim the upper reaches of the Picton Lagoon for a recreation ground in 1950. A ‘Queen Carnival' [November 1950-April 1951] was held to raise funds. The War Memorial gates were erected in 1954 on Waikawa Road at the entrance to the reserve and they were unveiled and dedicated on 8 December 1956. The inscription on the gates reads:
LHS: ‘Erected by the citizens of Picton and District in the year 1954'
RHS: ‘In memory of those who laid down their lives in World War II 1939-1945'

A.S. Echo

An historic scow A.S.Echo, now sited on the hard at Shelly Beach, Picton, took part in World War II. From 1942-1944 on active war service in the Pacific she carried the United States flag, the Stars and Stripes. She was based at Port Vila in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), transporting supplies to the ‘Coast Watchers'. These were American and ANZAC servicemen based on Pacific atolls to report on Japanese ships and aircraft in the area. Reports of enemy activity were radioed back to Vila. It is thought she travelled from the Hebrides as far north as the Solomon Islands and the Papua New Guinea area.

Echo was ideal for the work because with her shallow draught she was able to motor up onto the beach at each island and deliver food, arms, spare parts for radios, personnel and mail. Echo also rescued American air crews whose planes had been forced down. They were sheltered by Islanders until Echo could collect them and take them to safety. Echo carried Oerlikon light anti-aircraft cannons, rifles and pistols and survived the war possibly because of her non-warlike appearance. According to an American serviceman the use of the scow Echo was unorthodox, ‘a vessel under sail, for service in the Navy taking its orders from the Army'.

In 1944 Echo returned to Marlborough where she received a great welcome home and continued the Blenheim to Wellington cargo service. A film, ‘The Wackiest Ship in the Army', based on Echo's wartime exploits and starring Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson, was released in 1960. The Eckford family who owned the Echo could not afford to relinquish the ship when approached by Columbia Pictures, the film's producer. The company needed her to continue the Blenheim to Wellington service so another ship was used. With the advent of the roll-on roll-off ferry Aramoana in 1962 the competition for freight on the Cook Strait run increased. The Eckford's eventually withdrew the Echo from service and she made her last trip on 21 August 1965.

Notes

*A.C. Manning later purchased the Kahikatea Bay camp for use by organisations and groups for conferences. Today it operates as Kiwi Ranch Christian holiday camp. The inlet is named Kahikatea Bay but the head of the bay where the camp is sited is commonly referred to as Curious Cove
**Also on the Picton War Memorial are plaques to commemorate those who fought in other wars: Korea (1950-53), Malaya, (1952-60) Borneo (1965-66), and South Vietnam (1964-72), and the inscription reads: ‘Lest we forget'.

World War II Memorial Gate (left) in Waikawa Road, Picton. Photo by T. Kennedy
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World War II Memorial Gate (right) in Waikawa Road, Picton. Photo by T. Kennedy
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World War II Memorial Gates in Waikawa Road, Picton. Photo by T. KennedyClick image to enlarge

This article is written by Julie Kennedy with the support of the Picton Museum

Fairfield House

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:01:16 +1300

The Changing Faces of Fairfield House

If Fairfield House was a person, it would have a fantastic story to tell. It's the sort of story that would be told sitting around a campfire, marshmallows in hand and mouths open in amazement. It's hard to believe that there is a house in Nelson with so much history.

Drawing room of 'Fairfield', Brougham Street, Nelson, ca 1890. Photo taken by Charles Yates Fell. Alexander Turnbull Library, PA1-q-075-13-1
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=13933
Click image to enlarge

Yet, there it sits, at the top of the hill, where hundreds of people drive past without giving it a second glance. The story of Fairfield is a long one, complete with fairy-tale beginning, almost tragic middle and a...well. The ending is something you have to read to believe.

English lawyer turned emigrant, Arthur Atkinson started the story when he bought an eight acre block of land in 1872 and built a house, which was completed in 1883.¹Fairfield House was born. Atkinson's family lived in Fairfield House for around forty years, until 1922 when the house was given to the newly founded Girls' College, which was desperately in need of a boarding hostel.

Fairfield House became an integral part of Girls' College, with many girls living and learning there, as the House also became the first site for a Prep school. Nelson College also had an interest in the House, and moved their boarding students into it after the Murchison earthquake damaged their original hostel. However, after many years of existing as a boarding hostel, Fairfield House suffered the first of many setbacks, when a fire ravaged the accommodation block. The colleges built new hostels closer to their campuses, and all the students had moved out by 1976, after which Fairfield House fell into disrepair.²

In 1979 the College gave Fairfield House to Nelson City Council in exchange for funding for a new sanatorium. It was in this year that a demolition order for the House was about to be put through the Council, and people began to worry about the fate of the beautiful, old house that was so close to being destroyed. Out of this came the ‘Friends Of Old Fairfield' ³, a group determined to restore the house to its original splendour.

Fairfield House, 2009
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However, the task was to be an almost impossible one. Restoration costs were set to be around $500,000,⁴ and even with the Friends Of Old Fairfield raising $44000, it was going to be a long journey. However, the group were committed. A man called Alan Stanton stepped in, quite literally, and saved Fairfield House from being demolished. Stanton "...squatted in near derelict premises..."⁵and started restoring the house tirelessly.

The house Fairfield, in Nelson, 12 Mar 1913, F.N.Jones. Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-032979-G
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=63294
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Restoration was hindered greatly by thefts. When the house was deserted, collectors came in and took all the original Victorian features, such as lights, switches, and other valuable accessories. Some of the only remaining original features are the front doors, which stand strong despite having over 100 years of weather thrown at them. ⁶

The restoration of Fairfield house took a long time, with many people believing that it would never be completed. Money and time were not the only crucial ingredients to success - it was the dedication and love of the Friends of Old Fairfield that allowed the project to be completed successfully.

Caitlin Chapman, Nelson College for Girls, 2009

Isel House and Park – legacy of the Marsden family

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:34:18 +1300

Thomas Marsden portrait, Kingsford Collection, The Nelson Provincial Museum, 127580/6
Click image to enlarge

A historic park and house and a recreation ground form part of the legacy left by the Marsden family of Stoke...

Thomas Marsden, a watchmaker from Hensingham (part of Whitehaven) in Cumbria, England, arrived in Nelson with his wife Mary in December 1842. He built their first home on the corner of Sussex Street and Selwyn Place and set himself up as a watchmaker. ¹

In 1848 the family moved to 930 acres² of suburban land at Stoke, which ran through Poorman’s Valley (later to be known as Marsden Valley) and down to the Main Road.³

Initial attempts to build a home in Poorman’s Valley failed when an easterly storm flattened the house framing. Thomas instead built a four-room cottage where Isel House now stands.⁴

The Marsden’s Isel estate combined three suburban sections, making Thomas the largest landowner in Suburban South. To complement the prosperous farm which he developed, Thomas quickly planned a 12-acre⁵ (4.8ha) park and was responsible for planting the specimen trees that formed the basis of today’s Isel Park.⁶

Much of the Marsden wealth, thought to have come from well-invested English bequests, was put to good philanthropic use in Stoke and Nelson. Thomas was a member of the Nelson Provincial Council⁷ and the first school in the Stoke settlement, Brook Green, was on his property. Thomas offered land to the Nelson School Society in 1858, but it was transferred to the Anglican Church in 1864 as the site for a church. St Barnabas Church, built of stones from Poorman’s Creek, opened in 1866.⁸

Thomas Marsden died in 1876, after being thrown from his carriage when his horse bolted in fright at a train engine on Jenkins Hill, Bishopdale. His son, James, took over farming Isel and tended the parkland his father had established. ⁹

The early Marsden house at Isel, The Nelson Provincial Museum. Tyree Studio Collection, 176289/3
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James reduced the size of the farm to 400 acres and, in 1880, had a stone front built onto the family home using hand-shaped boulders from the valley. The house was further extended in 1905, with a large stone addition at the southwest corner giving it a total of 18 rooms.¹⁰

The extension was needed to accommodate furniture and other items inherited by James and his sister, Frances Charters Marsden, from the estate of Joseph Charters Brown in England. They gifted the purchase money for the Marsden Recreation Ground, adjacent to the Stoke Memorial Hall, in 1908.¹¹

James died in 1926 and bequeathed Isel House and 52 acres (21ha), including the park, to the Nelson Diocese. The Cawthron Institute received a bequest of 65 acres for agricultural research. The financial depression of the 1930s forced both organisations to sell these properties, with Isel House and the park being purchased by the Nicholls family in 1938.¹²

In 1960 Nelson City Council bought the Nicholls property for public use, which enabled the development of the Greenmeadows playing fields.¹³

The Nelson Historical Society moved its collection into Isel House in 1961 and then donated the material to the newly formed Nelson Provincial Museum Trust Board in 1965. Some of the original Marsden furniture and china was returned on loan and the Trust Board put this and other material on public display in the two front rooms of the house. The new Provincial Museum, which was built behind the house, opened in 1973. Isel House continued to display material related to the Marsden family, and was also used for museum storage for some years. It was closed to the public in 1998 and, in 2001, its management was taken over by the Isel House Charitable Trust. Major repair and strengthening work was carried out and Isel House re-opened to the public in 2003.¹⁴

The easterly winds that thwarted Thomas Marsden’s first attempts to build a house return occasionally, blowing down Marsden Valley with destructive force. Over the years a number of the large specimen trees he had planted have been destroyed. Despite this, Isel Park continues to honour Thomas Marsden’s legacy.

The Marsden Collection
The Marsden Collection is a rare and beautiful collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century antique furniture, plate and glassware - including Sevres, Dresden and Worcester. The collection was inherited by James and Frances Marsden in 1904. In 2001 the Cawthron Institute donated their part of the Marsden Collection to the Museum, and the Anglican Diocese of Nelson agreed to the acquisition of their part of the Marsden Collection by the Museum. The Marsden Paintings and Book Collection is also held at the Museum. The unique Book Collection dates from 1773 to the early 1920s and relates to natural history, discovery and exploration of the Pacific and provides the nucleus of the research library collection. Click here to access the collection catalogue.

Nelson's Queen's Gardens

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:43:59 +1300

Nelson's Queen's Gardens have been a prominent feature in Nelson City for over a century. The development of the beautiful Victorian styled gardens first began on the 22nd of July 1887 with Mayor Fell ‘turning .. the first sod' and declaring the Eel Pond (as it was formerly know to the local Maori and the first settlers) to be the Queen's Gardens, in honour of the 50th Jubilee of the coronation of Queen Victoria.¹ Before then, Eel Pond had become a nuisance. Over the last few years, citizens had been seeking for something to be done with the "intolerable nuisance". Francis Trask came up with the idea of transforming it into a beautiful garden and preparations began in 1887, with many members of the public contributing funds towards the reshaping and plantings.

Pond in Queens Gardens, Nelson, 1890, [photographed in 1890 by Frederick James Halse] Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-010324-G
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=14434
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The pond, however, remained a muddy eyesore for two years as they struggled to make it retain water until finally, in January 1889, the bottom and sides of the pond were sealed with tar and the pond filled.² The official opening of the gardens was performed by Mayor Trask in the year 1891.³

The gardens have been through many changes throughout the years. In the late nineteenth century, it was the tradition to plant rare and precious trees on special occasions. Nelson's Jubilee year in 1892, was marked by a number of trees being planted, confirming that the gardens were seen as a place of civic importance.⁴ In 1893 a number forest trees were planted - Mt Atlas Cedar, Camphor, Norfolk Island Pine and Weeping Cypress. These were noticeable features in early photographs of the garden^.5

In 1895 the Priapos or ‘Cupid' Fountain and its pool were installed.⁶ The area was originally designated for a band rotunda, but that was never constructed. Mayor Trask's wife, Emily, gifted the Priapos Fountain to the Queens Gardens. She acquired the fountain from Mr Bletcher in 1894.⁷It was made from an imported mould and concrete casts were then formed. The fountain consists of a concrete stand with four gold lions' heads set on a rustic stone base, with the ‘upturned bowl' rim and naked cupid on top. When the fountain was originally made and installed, only three of the four lions' jaws spouted water. The fourth was never connected to the piping, and that idiosyncrasy remains.

By late 1895, Mayor Trask's original vision had been achieved; Queen's Gardens had become "a beautiful garden" that extended "from Hardy to Bridge Streets and are not divided from those which surround the Government Buildings".⁸ This area was, and still is, called Albion Square.

By 1897, many citizens had presented birds to the Garden. These included a pair of pheasants, a pair of weka, a kiwi, a peacock, Chinese geese and parakeets^.9 An aviary was erected in 1987 to house the paraphernalia of bird life in the gardens, and it even housed a hedgehog.¹⁰ The aviary was later removed and it is suggested that it may have been moved to Isel Park.¹¹

Queen's Gardens, Nelson with the Suter Art Gallery, 1903 [taken by Tourist and Publicity Department], Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/1-021323-G. http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=13575
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In 1912, the Trask memorial gates were erected to honour the man who had the initial idea for the Gardens and who had devoted so many years to achieving this idea.¹² The Pitt memorial gates on Bridge Street were also installed around that time, and were the start of the military theme that surrounded the garden for the next twenty years. A Turkish pontoon, captured by the 12th Nelson Company at the Battle of the Suez Canal, was placed on the southern side of the Rose Garden in 1915.¹³ Another WWI trophy, a German field gun, was installed alongside the pontoon around 1923.¹⁴ There were also two cannon; one of which was Nelson's original time signal cannon.¹⁵ These military trophies - along with the Boer War Memorial, which would have been visible across the rose garden, and the Pitt Gates, which were dedicated to Albert Pitt a military man and commander of the Nelson military - showed that the people of Nelson had a strong sense of military pride, patriotism and loyalty to the British Empire.

The Boer War Monument was erected in Queen's Gardens after the 1899-1902 war in Africa. It was ordered from Italy, along with 45 others to go around New Zealand.¹⁵ It served the purpose of preserving the pride and the emerging sense of nationalism from the turn of the century. The Monument also commemorates the life of the Nelsonians who gave their lives to uphold the British flag.

In 1923, a formal Rose Garden was made by the Horticultural Society to encircle the Priapos fountain.¹⁶ The Horticultural Society also built a fernery in 1927, in accordance with the original plans made by Mr AFT Somerville in 1881.¹⁷ Nelson City Council built a ‘rustic bridge' leading to the fernery. The bridges support beams were found to be rotting in 1984 and in 1986 the timber bridge that is currently there was installed.¹⁸ This bridge is a replica of the original.

Priapos or Cupid Fountain, Queen's Gardens. Nelson City Council
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Campbell's Mill, situated in the southwest corner of the Queens Gardens, was one of the oldest buildings in the area, dating back to 1844. An old remnant of the mill house can still be found there and is now used as a building for the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.¹⁹ The old millrace was covered over on Alton Street in 1940, but the part within the gardens was kept open, and remains that way today as a ground level stream and one of the main water sources for the pond.

The Rotary Club installed a decorative waterwheel in 2005 in the approximate location of the original Mill. The wheel is meant to symbolise the Rotary organization, rather than alluding to the Campbell Mill.

More recently, the Sentinel, a steel sculpture by Nelson artists Dominique de Borrekens and Grant Scott, was installed in the pond in 1998.²⁰ The work was inspired by the base of a Nikau Palm frond. It refers to the waka and ships, which brought waves of people to Aotearoa New Zealand and honours the Nelson settlers who planted these beautiful gardens over 100 years ago.²¹

In 2002, feature lighting was installed to highlight the special trees and objects in the gardens. It is a beautiful thing to witness at night.²²

The most recent addition to Queen's Gardens is the Huangshi Chinese Gardens. Situated on the sight of the former caretaker's house, on the Tasman Street side of the gardens, the garden was developed to commemorate Nelson's relationship with its ‘sister city' Huangshi, China. The Gardens opened on the 14th of November 2007.²³ Some controversy was raised about whether the Garden fitted with Queen's Gardens as a heritage Victorian public garden. The garden is however in accordance with the interest of the Victorian founders; of creating a history of their new town. The Chinese Gardens is a beautiful addition to the Queens Gardens and I believe, balances nicely with the features already established in the garden.

Queen's Gardens is a striking place to take your family on a day out in the sun. For generations, Nelsonians and visitors have been coming to the Garden to have picnics, feed the ducks, or simply to take a break from the city atmosphere. My father grew up in Golden Bay and remembers "going to the Gardens before [he went to] the dentist and feeding the ducks". Queen's Gardens is the in the heart of Nelson city and has been for many years. It has an effect on the lives of countless numbers of Nelsonians. Whether it be in the earlier part of the century, on an outing with the family to promenade around the beautiful new garden, or in more modern times, as a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, Queen's Gardens is an important place for Nelson and its colonial history.

Alyssa Langford, Nelson College for Girls, 2009

Additional information about the origins of the garden

(taken from Nelson City Council Heritage Plaque in Queen's Gardens - text by Janet Bathgate)

The Queens Gardens was viewed as a source of treasured food by Maori. In its natural state the swamp was full of favoured eels. Eels still survive in the pond today. As part of the original survey of the Nelson township by the New Zealand Company, the swamp was set aside as Reserve H. An 1844 survey map shows the Reserve as containing an 'Eel Pond', a school building to the north west, and a meat market to the north east. By 1845 the Nelson Flour Mill Company's mill stood on the south west edge of the Reserve, drawing water from the Brook Stream along a flume. The same source of water fills the garden pond today.

In 1856 the Crown gave Reserve H to the Nelson province, but not until 1880 was it gazetted for recreational use. It was during the celebrations of Queen Victoria's 50th Jubilee in 1887 that councillor Francis Trask expressed the wish that the Reserve be converted into "a lovely garden for the pleasure and delight of the citizens" while Mayor Charles Fell turned the first sod of the future "Queens Gardens".