Motupipi is a settlement in the

Tasman District Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...

of New Zealand's upper

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

, located at the mouth of the Motupipi River east of

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 (New Zealand), State Highway 60 r ...

. The name ''Motupipi'' translates as the island or bush (''motu'') with pipi shellfish, referring to the pipi which are found on the beach.

History

European settlement

James Lovell and his wife were the first Europeans to come to what was then known as Massacre Bay (now Golden Bay / Mohua). They landed at the beach in Motupipi after a two-day journey by whaleboat from Nelson. Settlement began in 1850. The settlement began as about 1500 acres of small dairy, fruit and hop farms. There are records of several notable early settlers: * Peter Packer and his parents were among the original settlers. He took over 150 acres in 1872, and was clearing, sowing and farming most of it by 1905. * Reuben Packard, who moved to the area with his parents a few years later, also took up 150 acres, which he cleared for sheep and beef farming. * Joseph Packard was born in

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in 1826 and was the oldest early settler. He originally purchased a 50-acre block, before taking a 300-acre block which he used to graze a few cows and sheep and plant about 300 lemon trees. * Thomas Harwood, who was born at sea to parents from

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

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shire, England, purchased 235 acres of forested limestone land in 1868, which he began clearing and farming 1876. He initially farmed cattle, but transitioned by sheep farming in the early 20th century. By 1905, he had cleared and cultivated about 130 acres of the property. Harwood was also an active local politician. The Golden Bay Coal Company began mining for coal at Motupipi in the early 20th century.

Education

Motupipi School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of . The school was established during the 1850s, making it one of the oldest schools in the Tasman District. By 1905, the school was a one-roomed building with a roll of 60 students and capacity for 10 more.

References

Populated places in the Tasman District {{Tasman-geo-stub