Nelson Province
Provinces of New Zealand
Nelson Province as constituted in 1853
Seal
Motto:  Palmam qui meruit ferat (Latin) Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm
Interactive map of Nelson Province
Coordinates:41°16′15″S173°17′2″E / 41.27083°S 173.28389°E /-41.27083; 173.28389
Country	New Zealand
Provinces of New Zealand	Nelson Province
Founded	1853
Abolished	1876
Named after	Horatio Nelson
Seat	Nelson
Demonym	Nelsonian
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)

Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under theNew Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upperSouth Island, including all of present-dayBuller,Kaikoura,Marlborough, andTasman districts, along withNelson City,Grey District north of theGrey River, and theHurunui District north of theHurunui River. It was reduced in size byMarlborough Province splitting off in November 1859. It wasabolished in 1876, along with all theprovinces of New Zealand.

Nelson Province initially covered the entire upper South Island.Marlborough Province split off from Nelson Province on 1 November 1859 because the majority of the income of the provincial council came from land sales in the Marlborough region, but the funds were mostly used in the Nelson region. Land sales in Nelson and Marlborough netted the Nelson Provincial Council £33,000 and £160,000, respectively. Of that, £200 was expended benefiting the Marlborough region.^[1] There was considerable conflict betweenSuperintendentJohn Perry Robinson's policies of supporting smaller landholders, and the objectives of the large pastoral runholders in theWairau Valley. The New Provinces Act 1858 allowed for parts of a province to break away if the area was large enough, and enough voters supported such a move. The petition was signed by almost all settlers in the Wairau; only six withholding their support for a split. Marlborough Province was gazetted on 4 October 1859.^[2]

The Nelson Provincial Council was established with fifteen members, and the province was divided intoelectoral districts for the election of theSuperintendent and members of the council. The seven districts were: Town of Nelson, five members; Suburban Districts, one member; Waimea East District, two members; Waimea West District, one member; Waimea South District, two members; Motueka and Massacre Bay District, two members; Wairau District, two members.^[3]

Three candidates,Edward Stafford,Francis Jollie andJohn Waring Saxton, ran for election as Nelson's first superintendent on 1 August 1853. Stafford won, with vote counts being: Stafford (251), Saxton (206), Jollie (130). Stafford is remembered for his free, secular and compulsory education system that became the model for New Zealand, with this 'Nelson system' introduced to all state primary schools in 1877.

Nelson was the designated seat of government and SuperintendentJohn Perry Robinson laid the foundation stone for the Provincial Government buildings in Nelson on 26 August 1859.^[4] The building was in Albion Square in Bridge Street. It was designed by visiting architectMaxwell Bury and modeled onAston Hall nearBirmingham, although the Government buildings were built in timber, whereas Aston Hall was in stone. When the buildings were demolished in 1969, amidst much controversy, they were run down and had stood empty for some years. The Nelson District Court building now stands on the site.^[5]

During theFirst Taranaki War in 1860 nearly 1,200 Taranaki settlers, including women and children, were relocated to Nelson. The Nelson Provincial Council funded the building of cottages known as the "Taranaki Buildings" to house them. Upon the cessation of hostilities the war refugees were offered free passage back to Taranaki. The majority took up the offer, but some chose to remain in Nelson.

From 1853 to 1873, the area that would later becomeGrey County was partly in Nelson Province and partly inCanterbury Province. The boundary between the provinces had been set as a straight line from the head of theHurunui River toLake Brunner at a time when the area was virtually uninhabited. TheWest Coast gold rush of the 1860s straddled that boundary, with a population boom also straddling the boundary.^[6] In 1866, there had been a proposal for the portion in Canterbury Province, including the urban area of Greymouth and the rural area south, to beannexed and solely administered by Nelson Province.^[7] The Canterbury portion was transferred to a newly createdWestland Province in 1873 and the other portion remained in Nelson Province until the abolition of the provinces in 1876.^[6]

Nelson Province was abolished under theAbolition of Provinces Act 1875, with its former area then being administered by a number of newly constitutedboroughs andcounties, effective 1 January 1877.

In 1851 the statistics of the area that was to become the Nelson Province was 4,587 and by 1869 it had a population of 22,501.^[15]

New Zealand law provides for aprovincial anniversary day.

Nelson Province had foursuperintendents:^[16]

• Nelson Education Act 1856^[17]
• Nelson Improvement Act 1856^[18]
• Nelson Institution Act 1859^[19]
• Nelson Waterworks Act 1863^[20]
• Nelson Waterworks Act Amendment Act 1875^[21]

• Nelson Central Board of Education^[22]
• Nelson Board of Works^[23]

• Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council

• Nelson Province and Provincial District
• The Seal of Nelson Province
• Nelson and Marlborough Provinces Map
• Nelson Provincial Ordinances

• Provinces of New Zealand
• States and territories established in 1853
• 1876 disestablishments in New Zealand
• 1853 establishments in New Zealand

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