Early Wakefield

It is believed that Wakefield (originally known as Pitfure)¹ was named after the Yorkshire birthplace of an early settler, William Hough; however it is also widely accepted that the village was named in honour of Arthur Wakefield who was killed in the Wairau Affray.²

Situated in Waimea South, Wakefield’s first European immigrants, who settled in 1843,  found plentiful timber, arable land and very few Māori, who had fled the area in Te Rauparaha’s 1828 raids.³ 

An 1842 map by surveyor, John Cotterell shows much of Waimea South was well wooded.  There was great demand for timber, both locally and as an export, and soon thousands of metres of timber were leaving the area each week.⁴

Small stores sprang up to cater for the rural community. They stocked food and farm necessities, household goods, clothing and luxury items.  Thomas James Smith and his wife Grace arrived in Wakefield in 1846 and set up a small general store.  By 1865, there were three stores in Wakefield^{5 -} Hodgsons, Hoopers and Paintons.⁶

It wasn’t long before hotels providing accommodation and community hubs were established. The Wakefield Arms was established by William Plank in 1847⁷, with the Nelson coach service collecting and discharging passengers and goods at the hotel. In 1867, stock sales began in yards behind the hotel.  The Wakefield Arms was the centre of the Waimea South Steeplechase, a popular event for many years, which began in the summer of 1868 and saw horses entered from all over the Waimeas.⁸

While Wakefield was developing into a busy rural centre, there was some frustration from locals about getting on the map. In 1856, a letter signed ‘One of the Old Settlers’ complained about the inconvenience caused by incorrectly delivered mail. The writer requested that the boundaries of the village be publicised.⁹

In 1878, a letter to the Nelson Evening Mail appealed to Wakefield people to agitate for a telegraph station at Wakefield before it was too late, saying that if a ‘one shop village’ like Brightwater was to get a telegraph office and station master, Wakefield was also entitled to one.¹⁰   The Wakefield Post Office was built in 1909.

Wakefield School is the oldest school in continuous use in New Zealand. Founded in mid-1843 in the home of Mary Ann Baigent, it was soon crowded and by November 1843, John Wilkinson had established a separate school under the auspices of the Nelson School Society. During Wakefield School’s 168 year history, five additional schools  have been incorporated,  they are: Eighty-Eight Valley School, Pigeon Valley School, Spring Grove School, Totara Bush Household School, Te Arowhenua Household School, Wai-iti School (formerly Upper Wakefield) and Foxhill School.¹¹

St John’s Anglican Church (1846) is the oldest standing Anglican church in the South Island.¹² Many of the district’s pioneers, such as Edward and Mary Ann Baigent lie in the churchyard cemetery.¹³  St John’s Catholic Church was established at Upper Wakefield in 1870 and the Wakefield Methodist Church was opened in 1919.¹⁴

Early Pioneers

Baigents - Edward Baigent arrived in Nelson and established a forestry and timber business, which survived well into the 20th century.  Edward and Mary Ann were both involved with St John’s Anglican Church, which they helped build and sustain for 45 years.¹⁵ Their 7^th child, Henry Baigent was a Nelson mayor for two terms.¹⁶

Eliab Baigent (Edward’s nephew) arrived in Nelson with his parents in 1848. At various times he worked as a shoemaker, JP, brewer, photographer, musician and tooth puller. From 1900, a huge jar of pulled teeth in his premises was a favourite stop for children on their way home from school. It was felt ‘sheer terror’ was a good anaesthetic for those who visited Eliab.¹⁷ 

Charles Faulkner - Charles, a widower, arrived in Nelson with his two sons in the mid 1870s to farm 46 acres of land, now known as Faulkner’s Bush. His large two storied house was burnt to the ground in April 1893. The family was well respected family in the community in church and cricket.¹⁸

Sydney and Sarah Higgins - Married in 1849, the Higgins’ bought land in Mt Heslington Valley. Sarah built the kitchen while Sydney was working and she worked as a midwife in the area for 26 years. They had 11 children, with all but one settling in the Waimeas as farmers or sawmillers.¹⁹

George and Dinah Parkes - George Parkes arrived from Nottinghamshire in 1849, marrying Dinah Sutton in 1851. They  came to 88 Valley and raised sheep, cattle and crops on a farm originally called Glenhope and renamed Punawai in 1918.  Some of the land in the original title is still owned by Parkes family members.²⁰ 

Thomas and Hannah Tunnicliffe - And finally typifying the hardy spirit of the region’s early European settlers was Hannah Tunnicliffe, wife of timber worker, Thomas. The couple, who had 11 children,²¹ settled in upper Wakefield and she carried supplies from Nelson on her back, walking the distance.²²       

The photographs used in this story are from the Waimea South Collection which is available through the Tasman Heritage website.

2011

Updated August 16, 2022.

Story by: Joy Stephens

Wakefield Pitfure Waimea South