Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such act, the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 not ...

, and originally covered the entire 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 ...

, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura,

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

, and Tasman districts, along with

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

City,

Grey District Grey District is a Districts of New Zealand, district in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, New Zealand, Runanga, Blackball, New Zealand, Blackball, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, and settl ...

north of the Grey River, and the

Hurunui District Hurunui District is a territorial local government district within the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch. It stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide. Its land area is . Local go ...

north of the

Hurunui River The Hurunui River is the fourth largest of the four principal rivers in north Canterbury, New Zealand, with a catchment area of . The river flows from the eastern side of the Southern Alps, to the Pacific Ocean. Geography The head of the Hurun ...

. It was reduced in size by

Marlborough Province Marlborough Province was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1 November 1859, when it split away from Nelson Province, until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. History Marlborough split away from the Nelson Province because th ...

splitting off in November 1859. It was abolished in 1876, along with all the

provinces of New Zealand The provinces of the Colony of New Zealand existed as a form of administrative division, sub-national government. Initially established in 1846 when New Zealand was a Crown colony without responsible government, two provinces (New Ulster and New ...

Area

Nelson Province initially covered the entire upper South Island.

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. There was considerable conflict between

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

John Perry Robinson's policies of supporting smaller landholders, and the objectives of the large pastoral runholders in the

Wairau Valley Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and B ...

. 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.

History

The Nelson Provincial Council was established with fifteen members, and the province was divided into

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

s for the election of the

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. Three candidates,

Edward Stafford Edward Stafford may refer to: People * Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470–1498) *Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), executed for treason * Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford (1535–1603) *Sir Edward Stafford (dipl ...

Francis Jollie Francis Jollie (1815 – 30 November 1870) was a politician in New Zealand. Biography Early life and career Jollie was born in 1815. The family was from Brampton, Carlisle, England. His father was the Reverend Francis Jollie, and he was the ol ...

and John 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.

was the designated seat of government and Superintendent John Perry Robinson laid the foundation stone for the Provincial Government buildings in Nelson on 26 August 1859. The building was in Albion Square in Bridge Street. It was designed by visiting architect

Maxwell Bury Maxwell Bury (28 July 1825 – 9 September 1912) was an English-born architect who was active in New Zealand in the 19th century. He is best remembered for his buildings for the University of Otago. Life Born in Nottinghamshire on 28 July 1825 ...

and modeled on

Aston Hall Aston Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean house in Aston, Birmingham, England, designed by John Thorpe and built between 1618 and 1635. It is a leading example of the Jacobean prodigy house. In 1864, the house was bought by Birmingham Corporat ...

near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 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. During the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the Colony of New Zealand in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Is ...

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 become

Grey County Grey County is a county in the province of Ontario. The county is located in the Southwestern Ontario region, and is a part of the Georgian Triangle. At the time of the 2021 Canadian census the population of the county was 100,905. Owen Sound is ...

was partly in Nelson Province and partly in

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

. The boundary between the provinces had been set as a straight line from the head of the

Lake Brunner Lake Brunner ( or ) is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located southeast of Greymouth. The main settlement, Moana, New Zealand, Moana, is on its northern shore. It is an important settlement and waystation for local M ...

at a time when the area was virtually uninhabited. The

West Coast gold rush The West Coast gold rush, on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867. Description The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found ...

of the 1860s straddled that boundary, with a population boom also straddling the boundary. 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 be

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

and solely administered by Nelson Province. The Canterbury portion was transferred to a newly created

Westland Province The Westland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital was Hokitika. Area and history The area was part of Canterbury Province when the provinces were created in 1853. B ...

in 1873 and the other portion remained in Nelson Province until the abolition of the provinces in 1876.

Abolition

Nelson Province was abolished under the Abolition of Provinces Act 1875, with its former area then being administered by a number of newly constituted

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, effective 1 January 1877.

Demographics

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.

Anniversary day

New Zealand law provides for a

provincial anniversary day Public holidays in New Zealand (also known as statutory holidays) consist of a variety of cultural, national, and religious holidays that are legislated in New Zealand. Workers can get a maximum of 12 public holidays (eleven national holidays pl ...