A walk through history in Nelson

By CHRIS ROSIE

Nelson is known for its sun, sea, sand, national parks, living art and wineries. It has been said that half of Christchurch shifts to the sunshine city in the summer holidays - that's apart from all the North Islanders who find their way south.

There is even the story about the Garden City family who rented a Nelson home for the summer only to wake on the first morning to find the owners-turned-temporary-landlords camping in the backyard.

On those rare occasions when Nelson's better-known attractions might pale, the city offers a short walking tour that is testimony to a local commitment to preserving a record of its history.

The Nelson Heritage Trail carries the name of Trevor Horne, a local-body politician who bequeathed $60,000 to the trust.

The walk requires little physical exertion, concentrating on the Church Hill neighbourhood featuring Nelson's Cathedral.

A detailed map directs the visitor past memorials and historic buildings. Three features provide a fascinating glimpse into the past. The first is Bishops School. The tiny building on Nile St, east of Church Hill, was opened in 1844 as an Anglican elementary school and was restored by the Historic Places Trust in 1977. It is easy to visualise the children of the settlers who came to Nelson to establish the New Zealand Company's second colony gathering in front of the steep-gabled schoolhouse.

Five minutes from the school is a poignant reminder of the tribulations of those early days. A short flight of steps past a modern block of residential units leads to a small hillside section. This is Hallowell Cemetery. Now only two or three headstones lie in the grass. But a a monumental stone lists members of the small community who were buried in what is Nelson's second-oldest burial ground.

Hardships are reflected in simple comments such as "ALDER Samuel died 30 Dec 1849 aged 31 years of consumption, a painter," and "WESTPHAL girl aged 3 years drowned in garden well of house used for a German Chapel 20 May 1847."

It is a short walk to South St, known for its corner pottery gallery. But this street is a treasure in its own right. The short, narrow no-exit street is the site of workers' cottages built between 1863 and 1867. There they stand, lived in again, bought at figures their first occupants could never have imagined.

Another piece of Nelson's history lives again. On Trafalgar St stands the old deanery. After a new residence for the dean was built, the old building went through a variety of lives, including being divided into flats. Restored, it is now Cathedral Inn, a luxury bed-and-breakfast notable for its attention to historic detail, even down to the dumb-waiter-style luggage hoist to the first floor.

Casenotes

WHERE: Cathedral Inn, 369 Trafalgar St, Nelson, (03) 548 7369, fax (03) 548 0369, e-mail cathedral.inn@clear.net.nz

Full breakfast, tariff $165 to $230 a night.