NELSON AND ITS STORY

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 13

NELSON AND ITS STORY

U a .-GEM, AN IDYLL, an immabSl • hire Adcadiaja sleeping beauty," J§\ 'is how that'' much-travelled fiE3§\ Frenchman, tho late : Mas & —-O'Rell, o nce described Nelson, to which 'he awarded the palm for ; its reposeful -.climate and beautiful dens. The vital atatisti.es are said to prove that it is one of the healthiest spots in the world, and there is a legend that the'first, burial ground lay neglected and over-grown until one. of the early residents was met with a fatal accident. Nelson claims that it can command more sunshine all tho year round than any other town in New Zealand,: and'that therefore it has. a ; proeminent' right to' the .title "Sunshine City,";:",'--. :. There is nothing ' like the Nelson climate ' elsewhcro in. New Zealand; lome say nothing like it- in tho world. It has been likened to, Naples, which lies on the same parellel of latitude, although it is-claimed that. Naples is not so well sheltered as is Nelson. For weeks, and for even months together, in Nelson, there is often a, succession of almost cloudless days. The heat of the mid-day sun/.howover, is tempered usually with a-coolsea breeze,--and tho thirsty ground is refreshed from time to time by slight showers, which fall chiefly during the latter part of the night. . In tho winter months sharp frosts nre frequent and snow sometimes falls on the hills near the town, but even at the cold-, est season, the sun is delightfully warm, luring the greater portion of tho day, ind the'town is beautifully sheltered from tho cold winds of the south. In summer the temperature seldom rises nbovo 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The mean yenrly temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit, while tho average rainfall is 35 Inches. The town of Nelson is one of tho oldest in New Zealand, having been formed shortly:- after the founding of New Plymouth 'and Wellington. It would take pages to record the beau-i ties of Nelson and its district. The town , itself is a veritable orchard garden. Fruit trees abound everywhere, even, in some cases, on areas facing the business streets, and, with the wealth of other growths, the town has an exceptionally beautiful aspect from the hills. The visitor to Nelson and district will find a wealth of historical association. Within a scoro or so of miles of the town he will find the bay where Tasmnn lost his boat's ere.v, and where Cook and D'Urville afterwards sailed,.;.- Down the Groixelles he will be shown* the scene of some of Captain "Bully" Hayes's exploits and in the samo vicinity ho 'will /seo where'tKo New Zealaud "Grace Darling" Julia "Martiue saved n ship's crew from ; drowning. Not-far away in another direction is the Maungatupu Mountain the $cenc of one of the most cold-blooded murders ever recorded in New Zealand. With reference to this latter episode, it is Nelson's boast that she laid the perpetrators by the heels after they had pursued a system of wholesale murder both in Australia and other parts of New Zealand. Nelson must also be allowed credit for the manner 'n which a party of local residents arrested the notorious Hayes, and seized his schooner, The Black Diamond. THE FRUIT INDUSTRY. At tho present time the fruit industry. pf Nelson is almost 'confined entirely to the northern part of the district,-within a radius of 25 miles from tho city of Nelson. Rapid strides have been mado in tho past year, when 1100 acres of new orchards wore laid do<vn, principally ' In apples. During the coming season it is . expected that fully another 2000 acres frill be planted, again principally in , apples. Nelson is the leading fruit-grow- ' lng centre of New Zealand, and the in- , dications are .that within a few years' ] time New Zealand (Nelson) fruit will be - »s well known and will possess as good ] a name as New Zealand butter and cheese. ', Shipments of apples have already been made to Loudon, and the results havo .' proved satisfactory. I Though apples may bo said to bo tho ' main crop of the district, it must lje itated that almost every variety of fruit ' can bo successfully grown. On places'-' like the Moutero Hills an export apple '. will be grown; on richer areas such as ' Riwaka, ■ Stoke, Richmond, and. Bright- j

ried on a number of schools in tho district. . . In 1355 the Provincial Council, determined upon an active policy in development of education, created a special board to take charge of affairs. With tho abolition of the provinces Nelson's special system, of course, went by the board,-but it is worthy of note that tho Nelson Provincial Education Act formed tho basis of tho New Zealand Act, which was introduced by Sir Charles Bowcn in 1877, and is- now, with subsequent amendments, in force throughout the Dominion. At the present time Nelson' possesses an Education Board having control of all primary and technical education throughout tho province, a board of governors responsible for the administration of tho affairs of the two Nelson Colleges, a body of trustees in charge of the Nelson School of _Music, well-attended .Roman Catholic primary and high schools, girls' orphanages under the control of the Catholic and Anglican communions., and at Stoke a Government Industrial School.

NELSON IN THE PAST.

BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS,

what is known now ao Cape Fmtlwind, Kocky Cape; Golden Bay, Murderers' Guy; Tasman Bay, Admiralty Bay, while the place he called Zeohan Bight has now no name. Tasman bay is named alter the navigator, but his ships were never in the bay, and Al>el Heati, another of tho northern points of the province, he never saw. In comparing (he work of Cook with that of Tasman, with reference to New Zealand,' the difference is sumcihing liko that of master and apprentice, jt was Cook who changed 'fasuiau's names after visiting the locality in 1770. After circumnavigating' the South Island, he sailed about the bays in his pinnace and on to the entrance of the French Pass, where possibly in those days l'elorus .lack ltd a comparatively uneventful life, except at intervals when he had to dodgo tho bloodthirsty spears of a veracious Maori tribe. Cook never really sailed into Golden Bav. The first Kuronean navigator to visit the locality alter Tasman was D'Urville. in the French corvette Astrolabe, in 1527.. This famous explorer made

touched the shores of the province between the time of the navigators and the beginning of settlement wore tho sealers and whalers. The Australian Whale lisliory Company was established as an industry in 182-1, lint tho whaling industry generally appears to have started al.Hiut 17!)!. The whalers were a rough, adventurous lot. who lived hard lives, and who put in ihoir spare time lighting with or against the Native tribes. Numbers of them married Maori wives, who, in the majority of instances, wore patterns of domestic conjugality, a virtue only partly possessed by their hard-drinking aiid lumlswi'.iring spouses. By 1S3I! tho whaling business was at its prime, and the wild str.riesof incidents and happenings, fights, nut! tragedies are mildly reminiscent of lh» legends of Kidd and Morgan, the buccaneers. To Rannaraha seems to have more than held his own when any particular atrocity was proposed. There is an instance of one European living with the Maoris and becoming a cannibal. In another case earlier in (he century a

DISCOVERY AND FOUNDING OF THE-PIONEER

AN INTERESTING RECORD. The first European discovery of what is now known as the province of Nelson runs back some 270 years, when Abel Tasman struck the West Coast of New Zealand in 1G42, in his search for tho great southern continent which was then supposed to prist in addition to Australia. Tasman'thought that he had really discovered the continent, but he was oniy t\venty-four days in the vicinity of this

NELSON BOYS' COLLEGE. Nelson College, which is the oldest secondary school in New Zealand, was founded in 183 G. The old wooden tiuilcliiips destroyed by fire.in IOOi have been replaced bv n magnificent struehno in brick, inI eluding, besides the main building, a i'college hoai-s, gymnasium, saitat'ii'iiun, swimming bath, and laundry, the- total cost of erection having bean about .£30,000. The Board of Governors is now expending an additional J81209 on a block ot three laboratories. The Old Boys of Nelson College hold their own with those of any of the other schools in New Zealand, and the college has an enviable reputation for the high standard of its scholarship. In athletics and sports. Nelson College has always occupied a very high place, and in the grounds there are football r.nd cricket fields, tennis courts, and swimming baths. The three companies of cadets, with their military training and shooting, have, always been a notable phase of college life, and Nelson College lias sent a considerable number of officers into the Imperial and Indian Armies. Nelson itself is an. ideal plr.ee for a large secondary sell-of, having unlimited tracts offorest and hill in the immediate vicinity of the city, and the colkgc boys take great interest in tramping excursions un every possible occasion. Amongst the distinguished Old Boys, ot whom Xehon College is justly proud, may he mentioned Professor Piitheri'orl of Manchester; Professor Leighton, of Edinburgh; Professor fivans, of Clm'st-chu-ch, Qnd Professor Richmond, of Wellington; Mr. J. I>. Firth, headmaster of the Wellington College; M.\ Maw. of King's Colic-", Auckland; and Mr. Milner, principal of Waitaki High School; Mr. G. P. C. Campbell, Valuer-General; Mr. L If. Richardson, Commissioner of the Government Life Insurance Department; and Dr. Wollaslon, Controller-Gen-eral cf Customs for the Commonwealth of Australia. Lord Rcsmcad, as a lioy, was at Nelson College, as were Ctlonol ]■!. Chaytor, O.C. Wellington district; Colonel D'Arcy Chaytor, O.C. Ist Regiment Mounted Eifles; and Major Davidson; Indian Army. Mr. !•',. Kidson, a member of the Magnetic .Survey of the Carnegie Institute, is an c-ld Nelsuniau, as was also tho late Mr. F. L. tho well-known translator of philosophical treatises at Oxford. » The athletes of Nelson College number amongst them Dr. Nolan Fell, the famous Scottish football international; Mr. C. W. B. Littlejohn, of Oxford, who rowed in last year's eight; and L. J. Sheet, who is lowern:„ track records in England at tho present time.

country, and his expedition was practically a failure through the panic caused by the murder of four of his seamen m Golden Bay, named by him Murderers' Bay. He surveyed the West Coast, mainly from Cape Foul wind to the War.ganui River, sailed round Capo Farewell into Golden Bay, where ho anchored near Separation Point, and then went across to D'Urvillo Island; back agaiu; then northwards, where he discovered (ho Three Kings Islands; and where his expedition was prevented from*landing by the threatening actions of the Maoris. Tho murder of his men. coupled with this later demonstration by the savages, decided tho navigator to get away from tho ill-starred place, and ho sailed home. His vessels were the Heemskerck (commanded by himself) and the Zeehan.

some important discoveries, including that of tho French l'a;s. I'o was anchored at times off Monte-re Bluff, ami on one occasion he is understood to havo been within Mvm miles of what is now known ns the town of Nelson, and also at the pJace known now as Astrolabe Bay.

ship's crew were taken prisoners by the Natives. One of their number was killed, his hoci cut oil. and his dismembered lv:: I.v roasted Ix'i'ore. the eyes of the others. Finally, to their intense honor, the captives were forced to eat of a portion of the Hesh, which they pi enounced possessed a faste something like pork. In our own time the term "long pork" was one of frequent occurrence when referring to the cannibalistio traits oi some elderlv rangalira. , BOUGHT FOR £50. ' The settlement of Nelson was undertaken by the New Zealand Land Company, the famous Ixidy uf English capitalistswho were directed in their policy of colonisation by Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The company claimed that its great pnrch.i.e of land from the Natives included (hat portion of tho South Island which extended southward on one, side to the lfokitika Ttivcr, and on the other to the lliu'imui River. It was Wakefield's beast that ho bought over 1,000,000 acres oi laud in (he South Island for less than •£SO worth of goods, which comprised, among other articles, red blankets, fish

FATE OF THE TRIBES. D'Urville remarket that of the Natives he then saw in the vicinity half wero Gulendidlv built, tattooed specimens, while the others were not tattooed, of common appearance, and apparently slaves. Thcfo latter are understood to have been (he (lesvrJauts of the Ngati-Tu-Main-Kokiri tribe, which butchered Tasman's men, and which were supposed to belong to the Waitaiui people, who came originally from llawaiki, in the Arawa canoe. They spread ovr a portion of the South Island towards the end of the sixteenth century, and then seem to have been conquered by the Ngatimamocs, from (tie East Coast of the North Island. At the end of another century, however, the Ngatimamoes were routed by the Ngati-

THE FIRST MASSACRE. In connection with the massacre of Tasinan's men, Hie names of Jan Tysson, Jan Isbrantsz, and Tobias Pietersz have beau handed down as the first European victims of Maori savagery, and there is every reason to believo that the body of

NATIVE POPULATION,

water tho applo grown will be more for local consumption, as it matures earlier. In addition, stone fruits do admirably, as also do pears and small fruits, and even lemons may lie grown on a large scale. When orice properly started, and with a good market, fruit-growing is the most lucrative of industries. The return net per aero from apples is stated to be seldom less than £25. and from apricots JMO, anil this year then- is a grower at Stoko who is making J2IOO per acre from dtrnwborries. The season, however, owing to th« wet weather, has been phenomenal for strawberries'. Stone fruits such as apricots are not always successful, as a grower ■ may hove a bad season. KaspWries also v are very lucrative, and seldom fail to return a big income to the orchnnJist. EDUCATION IN THE PROVINCE. To trac the growth from its earliest of the system of education in '•..••no in the Nelson district, carries one t'lel. right to the time of settlement of ■the province, when tho New Zealand Land Company set aside educational endownients in the shape of land and money. The first administrative body to control education was a boa.rd known as the >,'"! son Schools Society, which, in tho surly and middle 'forties erected and car-

COOK STRAITS IN 1841. . The Native population of Cook Straits iS, ? , ™ i « sti "'nted at 11,650, of which UK. only were said to be women. There were thus eight males to ono female. At Ine same time another estimate placed the European population at 4000, of whom nearly half were women. From a population point of view, the chances in case of trouble were 5 to 1 in favour of the huropeans. It appears that it was iu"r , lng foT tllc Maoris to sacrifice tnew female children in days of war, but the irony of the thing was that the want of women nearly always occasioned the wars. Thousands of adult males were slaughtered in these conflicts, and there were thus two serious causes of depopulation-tho female children killed in their infancy, tho adult males in their maturity. Tho question has often been asked, what would have happened to in , , on ha(l tllose ]an(ls IIUVCI ' ,K?cn settled by Europeans, nud from tho foregoing it would appear that in the course of a very short period the Maoris would have shrunk in numbers to & tremendous extent.

ono of the unfortunates graced the cannibalistic banquet which was celebrated by the Natives on AVarnmanga Bench on the night of December 10. IIM2. Tasman does not appear to have shinv.n good captainship in connection with the affray, and his work generally with reference to the expedition has been condemned liy his own countrymen. Had he probed further about the coastline of New Zealand, he might have accomplished as much ns Cook did 128 years later, and this country might now have been a Dutch colony.

tahus, another North Island East Coast tribe, and a few years after D'Urvilln's visit tho Ngntitnhus were conquered by the nolorioiis To liuuparaha, who led the Ngatitoa and Ngatiawa bands .from his stronghold at K'apiti. It was the fact that To lfanparaha enforced his suzerainty over the northern half of the .Smith Island that was indirectly the cause of tho Wairau massae.ro. Amongst other navigators who visited the northern part of tho province was the Russian, liellinghnusen, in 1820.

hooks, jew's-harps, pocket knives, razor. l ), combs, gu.is, tomahawks, pocket handkerchiefs, and sealing wax. But To l?au paraha afterwards slated In Governor llohsou, when giving bis version of tho events which led to the Wairau massacre, that only a portion of (lie area de. scribed by Wakelirh! bad been sold for tho .t'sl) worth of goods. It appears that even when Wakefield commenced bis negotiations for the purchase of the land ho found that a big slico of Hi* Wairau dis. trict bad been sold by the Natives to Blenkinsopp, the whaler, for an old fiixpounder gun.

somewhere In the vicinity of Banks Peninsula, and the expedition which loft England in April, 18+1, hod certainly that idea. This expedition, which comprised the barques Whitby (-137 tons, Captain Lacey), and Will Watch (215 tons, Captain Walker), and tho brig Arrow (200 tons, Captain Gear) Was in charge of Captain Arthur Wakefield, E.N. The passengers in the vessels were merely surveyors and labourers, while the cargo consisted of stores for the new settlement. The colonists were to follow in another ship, the Fifeshire, in 1812. Governor Ilohson vetoed the proposal that the settlement should bo made near Baaks Peninsula, and the expedition, under tho advice of Colonel Wakefield, 6ailed across Cook Strait into Tasman Bay, anchored for a time in Astrolabe Roads, and finally brought up in Nelson Harbour on November 5, 1811, CAPTAIN WAKEFIELD. Captain Arthur Wakefield, who may be

said to have been the direct founder of the Nelson province, was a brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and is described as a notable figure in tho early days of Nelson. Born in ISOS, he was then in tho prime of life, and his career had been full of incident. From (he age of ten he had been in tho Royal Navy, and had served all over tho world. At one time he was aide-de-camp to Admiral Cockburn, and ho is said to have distinguished himself on many occasions by his- personal bravery. He was skilled in gunnery and shipbuilding, and was an acconiniisnen linguist. His apparently high-handed proceedings later with Te Ranparaha and Rangihaeta, however, had a great deal to do with the Wairau massacre, when he himself was among the twenty-three victims who fell at Tuamarina in IS4D. Some idea of the general esteem in which Captain Wakefield was held may be gauged by the following piece of appreciative verso penned by Mr. Alfred Domc-lt, shortly after the captain's death:—

"Yes, there iras a Scofs cap, and »n old shooting jnekofc That by all of us once were beloved and revered; And authority needing no gold lnco to , hack it, Was felt and acknowledged where'er (hoy appeared."

TeTor6, and the. town was pegged-' out.;' Wellington was named after the General who had won the Battle of Waterloo.-' and the.new town was.therefore naiheu, after the hero of Trafalgar, the' principal street was called Trafalgar Street,, and then followed Nile, Hardy, Collingwood, St. Vincent, and Bronte Streets. There is also Trafalgar Park, and Victory Square. Tho surveyors also laid out the town districts of ■Wakatu, Waimea, Moutero, Motueka,- and Massacre Bay. ; NOTABLE ARRIVALS. •' The'first batch of-immigrants who had arranged to come out arrived in tho illfated Fifcshiro (557 tons. Captain Arnold) on February .1, 1812,' a day since celebrated as the anniversary of tho province. The first immigrant off that ship was Mr. Alfred Saunders, who was afterwards one of the superintendents of the province, and who later had a. long and honourable career as a politician. Mr. Saunders also wrote a number of books dealing with colonial life, and a history of New Zea-

These lines appear on tho back of a silhouette drawing, reproduced in this issue, and snpposod to lie tho only original picture of Captain Wakefield iu New Zoaland. Wo are indebted to Mr. C. Y. Fell, of Nelson, owner of the drawing, for permitting its reproduction.

land. In the month of February, also, there arrived another barque, the Lloyds (450 tons), with the wives and children of those colonists who had come by the Fifcshire. Tho Fifcshiro was wrecked as she was leaving the harbour on her return trip, but there followed other immigrant ships, as follow .—The Mary .Ann, Lord Auckland, Bolton, Hope, Brougham, Martha Piidgway, Clifford, and the London, and between November, 1841, and July, 1812, no fewor than 07 vessels visited Nelson. It will bo seen that tho New Zealand Company did its work well. ■Within seven months of the arrival of the first immigrant ship, there were 2000 people in the district. Amongst those who arrived in the early years of settlement wore some whose names were to become closely connected with tho future historical and commercial development of their adopted country. The name of Mr.. Saunders and that of Captain Wakefield have already' been mentioned, and a brief sketch of Mr. John Sharp's careor is given in connection with tho Manngatapu murders. Some of the most notable of tho early immigrants were: Mr. (afterwards Sir) Kdward William Stafford, who came to (he country in ISI3, was (lie first superintendent of Nelson, and later three times Prime Minister of New Zealand; Sir William I'oi,who was resident agent at Nelson for fho New Zealand Land Company between 18t:i and 1818, and was four times Premier of the colony; Mr. (afterwards Sir) Francis Dillon Bell, who arrived in Nelson in IS'ls. and had a long and distinguished political career, which lasted over forty years; Dr. (afterwards Sir) David Munro, who camo to Nelson in -IW2, and was the first justice l of the peace sworn in New Zealand, and for nine years Speaker of the House of Eepresentativcs; Mr. Alfred Domett, the original of Browning's "Warin?," who also arrived in Nelson in 1542, held several important official positions, and in 1802-1803 was Prime Minister of New Zeihnd; Mr. John Perry Robinson, nnoflicr ISI2 arrival, who became one of Nelson's snperintendenls, and while on ollici.il business was drowned in the Uiillcr li.iver in 1S85; tho Hon. ,1. W. Barnicont; Mr. Oswald Curtis; Mr. (afterwards Sir F. A.) also' a Prime. Minister of New Zealand; the Hon. Thomas Honwiek, M.D., who brought out under his medical charge the wives and families of tho first pioneers; tho Hon William Uobinson, known as. -"Heady Money Robinson,"' for having mad© u 'cash deposit of .£IO,OOO on a big land purchase; Mr. Charles Klliott, who e» tablished the "Nelson Examiner" in 1812, Mr. G. W. Lightband, who was the first man in New Zealand to start a tannery ; Mr. John Kerr, a Fifcshiro ..boy, who afterwards became a member of Parliament, and whose father's plough tinned the first furrow on the. Waimea Plains, Mr. Edward Baigcnt, who brought with' him, in IS(2, tho first grist mill and saw milling plant, and whoso family are still in the sawmilling business in Nelson; Mr. John Poyntcr, Resident Magistrate; and Mr. Fell. \ Amongst other*, were: Mr. Bon Crisp, who arrived in tho Mary Ann (the socond ship) in 1812, and had a most adventurous career. Mr. W. Crcswcll, who also nr- ' rived in the Mary Ann; Captain Clouston; Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher (Mrs. Schumacher was a German, who romembered peoing Napoleon Donnpnrte twico marching through her native village); Messrs. W. J. Hcrrick, G. Harn-ood, 11. D. Jackson, T. Hooper, W. Holdoway, D. Johnston, T. Marsden, W. Mickell, J. Tinliuc, R. Wallis. J. Greenwood, W. Wnstuoy, C. Harley.

FIRST DAYS IN THE NEW SETTLEMENT. The first settlers in Nelson were pioneers with a great deal of social activity. In addition to laying out tho town and labouring generally, they found tiiuo lo promote various institutions which usually do uot make an appearance for many vears in the life of a new settlement.. A Temperance Association was formed by Mr, Alfred Snunders, Mr. Den Crisp created tho Band of Hope, branches of tho Masonic and Rcchabite orders were founded, a ladies' school was ojwiied byMiss Hiuhain, Methodist and Anglican ohurch organisations wore properly ettibLUhocL aid th.tr* vfm idio b, Literary and

TASMAN'S NAMES. It is worth recording that Tasman named this country Statou Land, which name 'ng changed, to Now Zoaland in the following jeur, 1043. lie. also named

THE WHALERS, K.vccpt for (ho Natives, whose tribal conflicts and barbarous methods of living veoro n constimt ilraiu on their population, the. only persons who ar* knomi to h»u

POUNDING THE PROVINCE. It ir<w intended, Uowover, ia tho first butane?, to. found the. Nelson colony

NAMING THE PROVINCE. Upon tho arrival of the three ves»ohi in to* dsj jrock wa oonuneaood bi tlw mr-

i————— A Favoured Land of Fruit and Sunshine — ; " ; -/ : J

Scientific Institute and .a Benefit Society. l . ■■'. lho first Methodist. Church service was-' ■ held by lho Kcv; ,S. Ironside, while' '. Bishop Selwyn visited the settlement and 1 :■ ordained the Hev. C. Heav. In addition'' 5 to. bringing out'the newspaper plant of:. ■' the ■ Examiner,'.', the first ships brought' ; put an old time-honoured institution'' ■■ known as "The Stocks," but there is no' < record, to shove;that 'they were ever used." ■ , ~b p, l le .'"■ of-..''-great difficulties'- ■< •and the usual..', drawbacks attending- I pioneer life, the. settlement progressed,!! " and it is estimated-, that seven mouths- !•. after the arrival:,of; the Fifeshiro, (hoi '* population of Jv'elsQo- was *2000. In thov « course of the. first, y.ear there were erect-'' ' ed 2fio dwetlinghbiist's, 50 more were part-;' ' ly built, and there"w.ero also 280 wttarcs 1 and huts. People'began to spread in dif. icreut parts of the province, and ouo notes Hint in 1842 .John Kerr wag tiio first ■ settler to turn the soil with a plough,- >: a happening which took , place in Wai-'" men West. The Moutcre and Motueka■',";/;' districts were surveyed and settled, and ' * Captain Wakefield vitvted Massacre. Bay,*?:', and discovered traces of grtldf'.lih^ostonc, l and coal. The settlers did iibtynt firstST* attach any importance to the gold dis-Pl covery, but they attempted to work IhoJJf 1 * limestone and the coal. The Natives,s@ however, objected, ~and there trouble at Mas.-aerc Hay, in the arrest of a' .Maori, who""wascon- """ siderod to bo the chief offender in (ho squabble. The arrest was mado by Captain Wakefield and Mr. Thompson, magistrate, and as the business appeared to impress the Natives and quieten them ' down, the same plan was disastrously followed next year, in the attempt, to arrest Te Kauparaha and Te Rnugihncla at Tuainarina.

THE WAIRAU PANIC, The Wairsui was visited bv Mr. J. S. Coth-cll at the end of ISJ2, and then by M. Edwin Stafford, and Mr. Tuelrett, surveyor, and it was determined also to settle- that district. The piaeo was settled niter the lives had been sacrificed of Wakefield and a number of unfortunate pionC3rs. (The episode of tho Wairau massacre is told in another column.) Following upon I lie Wairau massacre a panic spread to tho new town that tho place was t<r be attacked by tho To Hauparaha. The settlers therefore formed themselves into a militia, and fortified Church Hill where- (ho cathedral now stands, and which, in those day?, was occupied by Captain Wakefield's residence. More adequate protection of the settle- ( ment was asked from the Government, , there being only a'i soldiers guarding both sides of Cook Straits at the time. There was, however, no further disturbance with the Natives, and after the first panic had subsided the pioneers continued their work of colonisation uninterruptedly.

GERMAN IMMIGRATION. An incident worth noting in the early life of the settlement was the fact that a number of German immigrants arrived with four missionaries in the St. Pauli. They took up land in the Mouterc district, but later most of them moved nearer ihc town of Nelson. Another German expedition of 200 immigrants arrived in the Skiold in September, 1844. The (rials and hardships, however, o* pioneer lifo'discouraged Hie Germane, and a great number of them left very soon for Australia. Those who remained bohind did very well. Those hardships were of a very real kind, and possibly more sercro than any experienced in any other settlement at the lime in New Zealand. Tho New Zealand Laud Company had to tmspond its works in 1843, and wages iu consequence fell from 2Ss. tc IBs. per week. Food became very dear, and tho poorer colonists had to subsist on seed potatoei and mussels. In spite of all disadvantages settlement progressed. Tho first fhmnill and the first brewery were both established in 18H. Tho brewery was started l)v a Sir. Hooper, whose name was long connected with the industry in company with Mr. ,T. K. Dobson. A tannery wan established by Mr. Lightband in 184"), and generally the progress of settlement was rapid. 'By tho beginning of 1815, the town had'a population of 1400 with 1576 in the country-a total of 3036. Sheet) imiiibered (iIWO and there were 1000 head of cattle. Fifty-four miles of roadiuj had been made towards ISrighlwntcr ■and Wakefield, Wnkapuaka and Motuoka, then a district with a big Maori population. It was estimated that 12G'J acre* of land were under cultivation, mostly in wl|cat and potatoes, while there had also been erected three sawmills, a flour mill, and a ropo walk. There were five hotels, a bank, twu Anglican Churches, a Methodist chapel, five schools, a Literary Institute villi a library of COO volumes, and an Agricultural and Pastoral Society. Explorations were extensive. ■ Between 1840 and ISIS, the West Coast was oxplorcd by Messrs. Fox, Brunner, and.lloaphv, Mr. Brainier being tho first colonist to' reach as far south as Mil-

ford Haven. Messrs. Goulter, Foy, and Ward opened up laud in the south, and the Anal settlement of the Wairan dispute in favour of the New Zealand Land Company by Sir George Grey resulted in the settlement of that district. EARLY POLITICS. About this time Nelson lo interest itself actively in Hie political life of the country, .and Mr. All red Uomclt was 'appointed Colonial Secretary, Mr. Fox Attorney-General, and the lion. C. Dillon a member ol the F.xccutivo Council. In The lirst Now Zealand Parliament, Messrs. Travel's and Mackuv r». ptcsented the town of Nelsi.n, Mr. 'Weld ill* Wairan, Mr. Cautlcy mid Dr. Munvo the Waimea, and Mr. Piccrd, Motueka. Mr, 13. W. Stafford was lirst Superintendent, Mr. Donald Sinclair first Speak, or of tho first Provincial Council, Mr, Pojnter Provincial Treasurer, and Mi', Henry Adams Provincial Solicitor. GOLD DISCOVERIES, Between 1847 and ISSO tho settlors Imrl oonahuit trouble with the New Zealand

Land tovor tho delay in allotting the land, and .tho. failure to find adequate employment., for .'the pioneers. Lund aggregation did not improve tho condition of things, • and' hi inany ways tho province received a sevcro set-back. In loai'gold was discovered at Motucka, and there was a rush of 300 diggers to tho spot.. Things boomed, but the new diggings were soon worked out, and then enterprising'Nelson'merchants offered a reward, of. .£SOO for the. discovery of n goldfield within .the province. Gold was found''at. Collingwobd in. 1857, and 1000 diggers ilSc'k'ell to tho 'field,'but tho find was not vti-y -important/ •Later, in 1859, Mr. J, i liochofort. discovered gold on the Bullcr * ,l\iver,.-, jyud . Dr. Von.. Htiast, the explorer,';found ,coal on* the.. Grey. In ISS3'tHere ii'a's n l "rush to. ' the Hiiller, wherb'-iO.'OOO ounces of gold were obtained within'a-period-:of a few mouths, and in ISSt. gold - was discovered at Wakainariua, 3l!'miles from Nelson, and tho towns.rot..Cunva-stown and Havetock South c-aniQ.i'iiito existence. Tile- .West Coast gold .discoveries.in 18G5 gave' Nelson, a big lift, as the/toivitrwas'tluwnaturnl starting place- -for fields.'-In January, lSea,.-1300'ounceH'of gold dame into Nelson iront'-:tliei',:Circy-.aiid--llokitika districts; :nhd .there were Won; 10,000 men on thisi tisld alone, liiisihis's boomed in Nelsoii.-'nlfitil' Canterbury; l -jealous of the prospcrify.-of-.thC province, '-ran a road over the; ranges'-at tho' Beuley. ' •' fIRST/WOOLLEN MILL, Th« firs:.woollen mill-in New Zealand iras .'established .in 1559 by, Messrs. Webley and liliek, a.nd, for a considerable period it giiined .'a,high reputation for its very exceUcht.'work. ', Tliiy, .prcspevity of '■■ the district between ;( IS"j7 and ISGG was evidenced by the jsfajtijijf-.ot'.'two more,-, newspapers— "Tho.fiilouist" and "The-Nelson Evening Mailj'-r-betjivfiiia productions, Tho Marlboro.iigliidistfl'ct'.was separated from Neleon 'iu-*.lB5'J. -.-• > : - : v--"- ','■::■ ,y:-:-s,;\ PROSPERITY; In,':'f:ho ,pei-ipit i: :bf Nelson reocivett.>. iiitther impetus jdwing to the fact that'it. became tlio refuge of many Nortli Island families intimidated through tlio .Maori .wars, arid nt ono time there were 1200 people from the Tnranaki district alone 1 in r Nelson. The'Maungafapu murder 0f..1866 y> referred -to in'another portion of this" issue. '--''■ .Uy-"18fli) the province -was in a most prospfTatis,:stnto.' ■ The hiro industry had )>een' fii'm-ly'establislied.'a Targe-amount of bnrlcy'wiw being grown,' afi'd' a- number-of flaxmills.'lmd ,becn started.- While--other portloAs-'of'the'colony wc-V'o in a state of depressioic Nelson waH'Hoiffjshin'g. The I>u I*;'nf-'t'rlfiibn i-yli visited'tlio nlaco in ApriK'lSGi);'rtiid ho is''uiu'lPf'stood" to havo slated -that liefbuhd Nelsoii'luore prosperous than any'-town in.New Zealand at 'that 1 time.:'- : '" ■■■"'' li>';fß7l'' J tllß 'ponnlatipn ; of NoVon 'had n'seii to' ,1724; 'and' in -1870 the construction of rhVr'fUyJ: railway: Was.begun. . After 39 years,-thpte'liave been os-?i!od'-l7 miles of railway,' an average'of hlitrle more than a mile"a',jTiji l j i ' , The (!ll.*iif+.v methods of raiht/iiy- construction' in the Nelson districfM\aVc*'bcch"itii most severe handicap during; th'f. , )jh'.«i' t .'25 years. The town was made a bdfbuglf iii 1874, its first Mayor being Mr, J. li.; Dodsoii.. Abau' this time the cable sta'npfi n't Waliauuaka was established, alsV'tl)? of steamships', which are still Tii'nuin'g. Gold was di-covor'ed iit''Tadhior. l 'in'lS77, while in . 1883 there was't. boom 'in the price of hops'; "aiM in' 1889 similar activity in the flax 'ninrksf.' 'A' Cha'nihlr*'"' ef'Chhiiri'erco' was established iii■' 183-1 "'(following' tho temporary institution of 1858-ISK-I), v and it' has done very good .work.. Betwren"lßßo and 1890 the town ' made gre.at progress from ah; architectural point Of view, and its beautifv.! surroundings were further unhanded by the formation.of parks and These and its natural attractions made Nelson one of the most delightful plnce's'pf residence in thfe Southern llemis-' phere.-: '.'"• -'■' ■■ ' ' t '■".' "'