| Nelson College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
67 Waimea Road , 7010 New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 41°17′8″S173°16′36″E / 41.28556°S 173.27667°E /-41.28556; 173.27667 |
| Information | |
| Type | State secondary, day and boarding |
| Motto | Latin:Pietas Probitas et Sapientia (Loyalty, honesty and wisdom) |
| Established | 7 April 1856; 169 years ago (1856-04-07) |
| Sister school | Nelson College for Girls |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 294 |
| Headmaster | Richard Washington |
| Gender | Boys |
| School roll | 970[1] (July 2025) |
| Houses |
|
| Colours | Navy and light blue |
| Socio-economic decile | 7 |
| Website | www |
Nelson College is the oldest statesecondary school inNew Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school.[2] It is an all-boys school inthe City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has places for boarders, who live in two boarding houses adjacent to the main school buildings on the samecampus.
A Nelson Collegeold boy,Charles Monro, was instrumental in introducing the game ofrugby into New Zealand.[3][4]
The school opened with eight students on 7 April 1856 in premises in Trafalgar Square, Nelson, but shortly thereafter moved to a site in Manuka Street. In 1861, the school moved again to its current site in Waimea Road. The Deed of Foundation was signed in 1857 and set out the curriculum to be followed by the college. It included English language and literature, one or more modern languages, geography, mathematics, classics, history, drawing, music and such other branches of science as the Council of Governors should determine.[5] The Deed stated that the purpose of the school was the "advancement of religion and morality, and the promotion of useful knowledge, by offering to the youth of the Province general education of a superior character."
In 1858, the General Assembly passed the Nelson College Act, which confirmed the status of the school. There were nine initial trustees, includingCharles Elliott,David Monro,John Barnicoat,Charles Bigg Wither,William Wells, andAlfred Domett.[6] In that same year, Alfred Fell gifted the common seal, containing the college's badge and motto, "Pietas, Probitas et Sapientia" (Loyalty, honesty and wisdom).[5] A team from Nelson College took part in the first game ofrugby played in New Zealand, against the Nelson Rugby Football Club on 14 May 1870 at what is now known as theBotanic Reserve, Nelson, and, in 1876, the first inter-Collegerugby match in New Zealand was played between Nelson College andWellington College.[5]
.jpg)
On 7 December 1904, the college was almost completely destroyed by fire. The main building, designed byWilliam Beatson, was said to be a "miniature ofEton," the architect being anold Etonian.[7] In 1926, Nelson College was invited to join the annualrugby tournament betweenChrist's College,Wanganui Collegiate School andWellington College, known as the "Quadrangular".[5] In the1929 Murchison earthquake, the main building of the college was once again severely damaged, although only two boys were injured.[5]
In 2011, Nelson College became the first all-boys college in New Zealand to form agay-straight alliance support group.[8] The alliance operated from its own room. In 2017, the group was re-formed, after a failed attempt in 2015.
In 2019, long-serving and retiring headmaster Gary O'Shea claimed that the school needed more girls to stay up-to-date.[9]
The college has ahouse system with, as of 16 May 2019,[update] six different houses that compete across a range of sporting codes, including cross country running and swimming, together with varied cultural activities:
The two boarding houses, Rutherford and Barnicoat, recently underwent a five-year refurbishment.[10] A third boarding house, Fell, was closed to boarders at the end of 2018, and is now available for lease, predominantly to sports and community groups.
Since its foundation in 1856, Nelson College has had 22 headmasters. The following is a complete list:[11][12][13][14]
| Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Charles Bagshaw | 1856–1858 |
| 2 | George Heppel | 1859–1861 |
| 3 | Reginald Broughton | 1862 |
| 4 | John Danforth Greenwood | 1863–1865 |
| 5 | Charles Lendrick MacLean | 1866–1868 |
| 6 | Frank Churchill Simmons | 1868–1876 |
| 7 | John Chapman Andrew | 1876–1886 |
| 8 | William Justice Ford | 1886–1888 |
| 9 | John William Joynt | 1889–1898 |
| 10 | William Still Littlejohn | 1899–1903 |
| 11 | Harry Lewis Fowler | 1904–1921 |
| 12 | Charles Harrington Broad | 1922–1933 |
| 13 | Herbert Victor Searle | 1933–1956 |
| 14 | Basil Henry Wakelin | 1957–1969 |
| 15 | E.J. "Doug" Brewster | 1970–1981 |
| 16 | Barry Beckingsale | 1981–1985 |
| 17 | Tony Cooper | 1985–1988 |
| 18 | Gary Bowler | 1988–1995 |
| 19 | Salvi Gargiulo | 1995–2006 |
| 20 | Gary O'Shea | 2006–2020 |
| 21 | Richard Dykes | 2020–2023 |
| 22 | Richard Washington | 2024–present |
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(September 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
