June 14, 2008
A quiet place has been created on an all but forgotten corner of central Nelson, writes Geoff Collett. --------------------
A casual passerby would have to be sharp-eyed to spot it, despite its presence just off one of central Nelson's busier intersections.
Perhaps its anonymity is appropriate, though, for a spot that is about to be christened the city's first "quiet garden".
Up a short, steep and very narrow flight of steps between the Sport Tasman building and the community potters' house on Rutherford St, for years it has been barely recognisable as any kind of public space: overgrown with weeds, it has a few gnarled and ancient trees and a few rather ramshackle fences marking the boundary with the houses on the hill behind. It's been a shortcut from Rutherford St to the private properties beyond, but forgotten and ignored by most everyone else.
But there are a couple of tell-tale clues that the site has a quiet contribution to make to the town's history.
One, in the top corner is a raised square area enclosed in a rusted iron fence atop a low wall. A plaque on the fence announces this to be the grave of Samuel Strong and his wife, Martha, who died in 1875 and 1854 respectively. The presence of their mortal remains helps to explain why the land has never been developed - it is technically a cemetery, although surely the smallest one in the city.
On the site's lower slopes is a concrete marker that fills in a bit more of the story. Another plaque attached to this advises that here was where the Society of Friends - the Quakers - built their first meeting house in New Zealand, opening for worship on May 15, 1853.
A handful of Quakers, including the Strongs, were among the early European settlers in Nelson and bought one of the town acres of the fledgling settlement from the New Zealand Company in 1842 - Town Acre 667, as it was officially known; the "Quaker Acre", as it was inevitably labelled.
The Quakers - a pacifist, egalitarian Christian movement - were only ever few in number in Nelson and met their share of tragedy during the town's founding. Two of their number were caught up in the Wairau Affray with Marlborough Maori in 1843, with one - surveyor John Cotterell - being killed after surrendering rather than fighting.
But an anonymous local history of their involvement in the community notes that they were valued, particularly for their concern for the welfare of Maori and their abhorrence of the force used against the tangata whenua.
History suggests that the small but active Nelson Quaker group met in the cottage on Quaker Acre for about 20 years, probably until the time of Strong's death. It was then leased for grazing. Later, most of it was subdivided and developed but for about a quarter or so, which is the cemetery reserve of today.
The Quakers remain a small presence in the city, and some have seen fit to re-establish their connections to the site and seek to share it with the wider community.
They had pictures of the original site, showing the cottage, hanging in their present-day meeting house in Nile St. Grace Sutherland visited the site three years ago and while she found it badly neglected, she could see the potential to rescue it from abandon.
She also saw the opportunity to realise an idea she had picked up from overseas, of "quiet gardens" or "quiet spaces in cities" - as the name suggests, small, peaceful public places where anybody can go for some respite from the noise and bustle.
She got others in the Quaker community behind her, and the Nelson City Council - the land's guardian - agreed to help. Over the past two years, the site has been gradually tidied. A small area has been levelled off. More recently, bench seats have been installed, and in the past couple of weeks a small border hedge planted.
The seating area is meant to be a representation of the original rectangular cottage, but most will likely see it as simply an unexpected oasis in an unlikely spot.
The constant drone of traffic on Rutherford St just below means that the place will rarely be truly quiet, but Sutherland is happy that it fits the bill. It lends itself to secluded reflection or small peaceful gatherings. She and her fellow Quakers hope that, in time, it will once again occupy a small, humble but noteworthy place in the city for those who value peace, solitude and meditation in the face of worldly pressures.
Nelson's Quiet Garden will be officially opened to the public in a low-key community gathering at 1.30pm tomorrow.
Nelson Mail
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