Tasman District – New Zealand's first gold rush near Collingwood in 1856
In 1856 gold was found near Collingwood, and the rush that followed was the first in New Zealand's history. It was one chapter in a long story: tradition tells that the waka Uruao brought ancestors of the Waitaha people to Tasman Bay in the twelfth century, and archaeology shows early Māori settled mainly along the coast where food was plentiful. British immigrant ships reached Nelson in 1842 and European settlement began under Captain Arthur Wakefield; from 1853 to 1876 the area formed part of Nelson Province. Farming villages grew on the Waimea Plains and at Motueka, and ironworks later operated at Onekaka. The council sits at Richmond today. Share your own stories and photographs here.