EARLY NELSON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 4 August 1928, Page 8

EARLY NELSON

COLLINGWOOD STREET CEMETERY AND ITS NEJCHSOURJHOOP (Contributed by J. A." &»"*•> - Lying about three minutes walk from the "Nelson Cathedral is a. quiet spot in which rest the remains of our earliest settlers and their families, as well as those of strangers, and also of some Maoris. This little cemetery liesona hillside in Collingwood street south. lt ( is a long-forgotten place, except by ,a, : few, residents, and probably it is not known to new-comers at all. it may not bo known generally that there are five burial places in the city. The first one containing a.very lew graves is on the Cliffs property once owned by the Richmond family but now in possession of Captain Moncneff. k The first body to be interred there was that of a woman who died on the seashore as soon as she was landed from one of the earliest vessels to enter Nelson haven. The woman wished to die on land so was tended by kindly people in her last hours and she had her desire fulfilled. ■ "THE OLD BURYING GROUND" The "second cemetery was the one* in Collingwood street South. This is better known to early residents by its other title "The Old Burying Ground." This name distinguished it from the one that lies in Trafalgar street South. . A very small qemetery is in Waimea road. This one. was contemporary with' the second. It belonged to the Quakers 'or Friends. The remains of four bodies ,'fte there. <A, railed;-in, pjot can ,be. seen there adjoining trie northern'boundary, ; All the cemeteries are closed now ex-] cept the one at Wakapuaka. To former residents the latter was known as the "new", cemetery. Several' of the best known of the earh iest settlers rest in the Collingwood; street cemetery. In :many cases their descendants have left Nelson, while others who-lie there left: no children. . The names I remember of families buried there include. Ahe following:— Hodgson, Stanton; Bird, Karsten, Lucas, Batchelor, Rickett'sV Crawford, Coleman, Foy Carkeek.. One of the first Nelson doctors, Dr. Bush and his wife are also interred in tlfis ground as well as sorn© sailors from a warship Who were drowned nearly eighty years ago. Besides these"'there are many other graves but all traces of these have been lost: I remember some marked by woodon slabs with names, painted on them but I do not now recollect the names on these. The larger number of the graves were unmarked and not fenced. Our brave early settlers had little money and the richest in those days would be looked upon as comparatively poor in these times so that was probably the reason that the graves, were riot mark:ed.' .'. : ;: A.'"''; ; ' ;V,.,

• ANGLICAN .PORTION . 1 • The Anglican ' portion lies along the crest of the hill from north" to south. In the corner at the top of the hill was a grave,,with a -vfery.substantial horizontal, tombstone. It was surrounded by high iron railings arid Was erected to the memory of a:' mother and. child. Every trace of .this has disappeared and I do*not now remember the names inscribed on the> memorial. [. . Nearby was the faririly plot belonging l to the Carkeeks. Mr Carkeek was one of Nelsbh's earliest surveyors and I believe some of his.: children Were drowned. He Jived in,.the Maitai valley and one of his descendants "married into the Elliott family who established the "Nelson .Exarniner." '.. jj ■ ' The Hodgson family, resting place Was at one-time the best kept plot in the cemetery. It was surrounded by iron railings; and three stories of Dun mountain slate Were at the- . head of the grave's. Several .rnembera of this family were burred there. Many jears ago I copied th«> inscriptions. William dii;d ih> 1848, Margaret, aged one month, died in 1851, another daughter the first wife of Mr W, M. Stanton died on 16th April, 1851 aged 17 years. She left twin babies, a son and a daughter. One of thes"e died

quite recently, Mr Stanton was one of those, who founded the Hirst musical isociety in Nelson... He. was a wealthy man and- built the house '■ at present owned by Mr Tasker in. Upper .Collingwood'street. At one time Mr Stanton owned all the property facing Collingwood street from Brougham street to Bronte .street. . • ■ | The founder, of the Hodgson family : was a very cultured man who tad migrated with the older members of his family from Manchester (England). The ,lato Mr W. C. Hodgson, Inspector of Schools, was the eldest son; Mr James Hodgson the well known' school teacher was another son. The late Mrs Barnicoat wife of the Hon. J. Barnicoat and the late Mrs Sadd were daughters.' Other sons were noted residents in Nelson's early days. Mrs Hodgson lies beside her husband! The most notable of Mr HodgI son's descendants was the first pupil of the Nelson Girls' College and afterwards a noted London journalist and W. T. Stead's secretary. She rharried a Swiss professor and her husband wrote her life which is in the Nelson Institute and may be read by anyono interested. The latoiMr H. V. Gully's children are the great grandchildren of Mr and Mrs Hodgson. Mr Gully was for many years the Town Clerk of this city. THREE CYPRESS TREES Three, cypress trees mark a very old burial plot, perhaps the oldest in the burying ground. This is the last resting place of three of the members of the Bird family of this city. This is a particularly interesting place, names are recorded arid a painted white fence surrounds the land. The trees are among the oldest of the imported trees in the Nelson district. They were giveri by Mr Seymour to Mrs Bird and they were presented to Mr Seymour by the Royal Horticultural Society London. Whether .they were -given to Mr Seymour personally or sent to him after his arrival |I have not yet ascertained. Mr Seymour i was the great grandfather; of Mr..' C. ißichmond. Fell,; the ..well-known solicitor (residing in" Upper; Collingwood street.j'"; ': What makes the grave so'interesting is it.ho fact, that Mrs Bird senior was'the first white woman to step ashore in Nelson. It was her kindly hands that tended the dying woman who was buried at the Cliffs. Mrs Bird's husband, a son who died in early manhood and a little daughter lie here. Unfortunately, Mrs Bird who lived to a great age, was not allowed to be interred beside her dear ones, as the" cemetery was then closed. The late Mr Rueben Bird was a son and the late Mrs Bane, who while living claimed to be the oldest attendant at All Saints' Churchy was a daughter. There were other members of the family also. , -' ■■

Another enclosed grave also marked by a cypress tree lies in the most northerly corner. This, I believe, is the grave of the first Mrs Karsten, the mother of the late Mrs Bisley senior, and also mother of that- wonderful woman the late Miss Dora Karsten who taught in the Anglican and Campbells Sunday schools for over 30 years. She was a woman .beloved for her, good works, r An.old.brown moss grown-stone marks an mnenclosed grave that lies close to one of the properties recently purchased from the Education Board by Nelson residents. It notes the remains of one of Nelson's first surgeons, andl that of his wife.' Sorhe years ago I copied the inscription. It may not be decipherable new. a / . AN EARLY NELSON DOCTOR ; Mrs Bush died in January 1848 aged 4£ years and Dr. Bush died in December 1863 aged 50 years. At one time I thought that the doctor: was a very old man as early residenls always spoke of him as "old" Dr. Bush. According to early settlers' tales, he was a very popular man but very unconventional in some of his ways. The doctor also had a windmill and ground corn for the settlers. The mill was on the banks of the Maitai in Trafalgar street north. ►, The Methodist portion of the cemetery is marked now by one family plot only. Tlris is the resting place of the Foy family. Three cypress trees stand at three corners of the land. The: fourth tree disappeared before I remember. An inscription: I noted was of Mrs Foy's death in 1869, aged 70 years. Her husband lies buried beside her, but he died many years after his wife. Children are buried there too. Mr ( and jMns Foy were amongst the first Methodists to worship in Nelson. They were very highly respected residents. A grandson, Mr James Foy, a solicitor resides in Hawera. Several other Methodists are buried near here but even the ihduhds have ;disappea'red. LAST BURIAL IN COLLINGWOOD STREET Towards the lower part of the reserve, enclosed by iron railings'on brick foundations is the family grave of the Crawford's. On the stone. were the names of Annie who died aged 10 yearg

and Amalia who lived to be a month old. Mr Crawford may have been a Presbyterian as it is a well;.known; Scotch nanie. He predeceased his wife by many years. Mrs Crawford was a member' of .the All Saints' Church. Her funeral was Iho last to take place in the old burying ground. My father (Mr VV. T. Bond) was her executor. The reason of his, tefeing appointed tyi*s that Mrs Crawford desired to be buried by her husband and children. By that time the cemetery had been formally closed. She thought that my father would be the most likely person to, obtain permission for her interment from the Government. The application was successful and Mrs Crawford's last wishes were carried out This last funeral, took place about 40 years ago. Another grave not now marked in any way was that of the first wife of Mr Charles Lucas, a brother of the founder of the Nelson "Evening Mail," Thisinterment took place in 1853. A NAVAL FUNERAL i An old tomb stone lying near the centre of the cemetery covers the dust of at least three seamen. I copied the inscription, at least what I could decipher, some time ago, I have not yet been able to find any newspaper account of the drowning of these men. They belonged to the crew of Her Majesty's ship the Acheron (?), The men failed to reach the ship ut midnight. This w,as in "Massacre" Bay, They had been ashore during the day to cut trees for new spars. The names I copied were Robert Burnett, Charles John Water arid George Newton, seamen. This accident took place in the year 1850^—78 years' ago. Ihus it is an historical spot. About 30 years ago a warship called the Goldfinch, I beli'eve, restored this memorial, but small boys and the 1 weather have almost destroyed the inscription again. Two very old residents of Nelson, still living, remember the furieral.' One lady came by the first ship arid is over 90 .years of age, the other'Miss Mary Jen- • nirigs who came.'here' in 1842 lives at the cornerj of. Collingwood and Cambria streets. The whole • ot: the population of the young township turned out to follow the funeral. The coffins on gun carriages were hauled up the hill and for the first time in the history of the settlement tile Royal Salute was fired. This niaae a very marked impression on the minds of the children. Miss Jennings at that time, was about 10 yeara of age. A funeral in these modern days causes little comment but in the early days of our community all who could attended. I .

An early settler, remembers attending tlio burial service of two little children also buried in this cemetery. They had died of drinking poison in mistake for ginger beer. The little coffins were carried by school children. This funeral took place before the days of horse conveyances and the bodies were conveyed to their last resting place by means of large towels and by relays of children.