The Nelson City Council consists of Mr. Harry Baigent (Mayor), and Messrs M. Lightband, J. B. Harrison, C. Haggitt, E. Webley, T. Pettit, A. H. Hounsell, A. A. Grace, H. Atmore, and W. K. Turner. The principal officers are: Messrs H. V. Gully, Town Clerk; John Henderson, C.E., M.S.E., city surveyor; James Walker, collector of rates; G. A. Edmonds, assistant clerk; W. L. Hesseltine, junior clerk, and James Graham, inspector of nuisances, etc.

Councillor Edward Webley, who was elected to the Nelson City Council in 1901, is a member of the Public Works and Reserves Committees. He was born in 1857, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, and was brought by his parents to Nelson by the ship “Sir George Pollock,” in 1861. He was educated at the Nelson public school, and afterwards worked for about seven years in his uncle's— Mr. Joseph Webley's—woollen mill, which was the first, and, for a considerable time, the only, woollen mill in New Zealand. Mr. Webley subsequently learned the trade of a carpenter, and started in business as a builder, in partnership with his brother, under the style of Webley Brothers. This partnership was dissolved in 1901, and Mr. Webley and Mr. H. H. Johnson then constituted the firm of Webley and Johnson, which now carries on business in Vanguard Street, Nelson. Mr Webley has been connected with Court Robin Hood, Ancient Order of Foresters, since 1894, and has passed all the chairs. He served for four years as a volunteer in the Nelson Artillery cadets. Mr. Webley was married, in 1881, to a daughter of Mr. Robert Lockerbie, of Glasgow, Scotland, and has five sons and one daughter.

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Councillor E. Webley.

Councillor Martin Lightband, who was elected to the NelCity Council in 1902, serves on the Drainage and Public Works Committees. He is further referred to as a former member of the House of Representatives.

Councillor Thomas Pettit was elected a member of the City Council in August, 1902, and re-elected at the succeeding elections. He serves on the Public Works, Reserves, and Cemetery Committees. Mr. Pettit is further referred to in the mercantile section of this work.

Councillor Charles Haggitt was elected to the City Council in April, 1903, and is a member of the Public Works, Reserves, and Cemetery Committees. He was born at Bury, St. Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1863, and educated at Dodham and Bury Grammar school. Mr. Haggitt studied for the profession of a surveyor, and came out to New Zealand by the ship “Piako.” Prior to settling in Nelson some years since, he followed various occupations. Mr. Haggitt takes more than ordinary interest in sports, especially in cricket and football.

Councillor C. Haggitt.

Councillor John Berkeley Harrison, who was elected to the Nelson City Council in 1903, was born in 1847, in London, and took his B.A. degree in 1870, and his M.A. in 1873 at Queen's College, Oxford. Mr. Harrison was a master in the Richmond School, Yorkshire, for eight years before coming to New Zea and in 1879. He taught for some time at Christ's College, Christchurch, and was afterwards headmaster of the Akaroa High School for five years. Mr. Harrison was married, in 1880, to a daughter of Mr. John Marshman, of Christchurch.

Councillor Arthur Herbert Hounsell was elected to the Nelson City Council in May 1904, and is a member of the Gas, Water, and Finance Committees. He is also a member of the Harbour Board, and Secretary of the Nelson Rugby Union. Mr. Hounsell was born in Nelson, in 1872, and educated at the Bishop's School. He carries on business as a wine and spirit merchant in Hardy Street.

Councillor Harry Atmore was elected to the Nelson City Council on the 26th of April, 1905, when he polled 1046 votes. He is elsewhere referred to as a member of the Nelson Licensing Committee.

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Councillor H. Atmore.

Councillor Alfred A. Grace was elected to the Nelson City Council on the 26th of April, 1905, when he polled 1,065 votes, the highest number recorded at that election. He is a member of the Finance Committee of the Council. Mr. Grace was born in 1867 at Auckland, and is a son of the late Rev. T. S. Grace, whose interesting life as a missionary is sketched in another part of this volume. In 1875 young Grace went to England, and studied at St. John's college, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, where he took a scholarship. On returning to the colony, in 1887, he engaged in literary work, and for many years was a close student of Maori lore. He has written several books, including “Tales of a Dying Race,” “Maoriland Stories,” “The Tale of Timber Town.” and “‘Tales of a Stone Age People.” Mr. Grace is a member of the Incorporated Society of Authors, London, Secretary of the New Zealand State Control League, Lieutenant of the H Battery, New Zealand Field Artillery, and a member of the Committee of the Nelson branch of the Navy League. He is also a Past Master of the Victory Lodge of Freemasons, Nelson, No. 40, New Zealand Constitution. Mr. Grace was married, in 1890, to a daughter of Mr. David Jennings, of Pangatotara, Motueka, and has a family of two sons and two daughters.

Councillor William King Turner, J.P., was elected to the Nelson City Council on the 26th of April, 1905. He was born in Nelson in 1846, and is a son of the late Mr. Robert King Turner, one of the earliest settlers in the province. After receiving his education in his native city, young Turner went to sea, a calling which he followed for twenty years, and for the greater portion of that period he was a master mariner. About 1874 he took up a sheep run at Admiralty Bay, near the French Pass, and this he carried on in conjunction with his trading vessels. When he retired from the sea he settled on his run where he resided up to 1904, when he handed over the property to his sons. Since then Mr. Turner has lived in retirement in the city of Nelson. He was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace by the late Judge Robinson in 1899. Mr. Turner married a daughter of the late Mr. Isaac Harvey, of Happy Valley, Nelson, and has a family of two sons and three daughters.

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Councillor W. King Turner.

Mr. H. V. Gully , Town Clerk of Nelson, is the second son of the late Mr. John Gully, the well-known artist. The family arrived at New Plymouth when Mr. H. V. Gully was only two years of age, and after a residence of eight years there, they were compelled to leave for Nelson, on account of the Maori troubles. After receiving the usual course of instruction at the public schools and Nelson College, Mr. Gully entered the office of Messrs Adams and Pitt, solicitors, Nelson, and was admitted a barrister and solicitor in May, 1874. Practice was commenced in Nelson, but after a year the position of town clerk became vacant, and Mr. Gully was appointed, and has creditably filled the office since that date. Mr. Gully also holds the office of secretary to the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board; he is a director of the Permanent Building Society of Nelson, and a prominent member of the Howard Lodge of Oddfellows. In 1874 he married a daughter of Mr. B. O. Hodgson.

Mr. H. V. Gully.

The Nelson City Abattoir , at Annesbrook, Stoke, is a large concrete building on a site of forty-one acres, and was erected, in 1900, at a cost of £7500, including the cost of the grounds, fences, etc. It contains all the most modern improvements. The adjoining land is divided into five-acre paddocks, which the butchers rent from the City Council, and in which they keep their stock until required. The works are connected with Nelson by telephone, so that the butchers are able to ring up the works day by day, and give their instructions for killing as occasion requires. About 800 animals are killed at the abattoir every fortnight.

Mr. Alfred William Barnes ; M.R.C.V.S., Manager of the Nelson City Abattoir, was born in 1860, in London, and was educated at the London University College School. After qualifying as a veterinary surgeon he practised his profession in England for four years, and then came out to Queensland. Mr. Barnes was subsequently appointed Government Stock Inspector and Veterinarian, and was in veterinary charge of the Central Queensland Meat Export Company's works—the largest meat works in the Southern Hemusphere—for eight years. He went to South Africa as Veterinary Captain to the Second Queensland Contingent, and was on duty in South Africa at the time of Cronje's capture, the relief of Kimberley and Ladvsmith, and the capture of Bloemfontein. Mr. Barnes received the Imperial Government's medal with one bar for service in South Africa, and soon after his return to Queensland he left for New Zealand to take up his present position, under the Nelson City Council. He has since been appointed Government Veterinarian and Veterinary Inspector of Abattoirs in the Nelson district. Mr. Barnes was married in Queensland, to a daughter of Mr. H. Rogers, editor of the “Gympie Times,” and has four sons and three daughters.

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Mr. A. W. Barnes.

The Nelson City Gas Works were erected forty years ago, and the buildings, which are of brick and concrete, include a retort house with forty-three retorts, a purifying house containing four large purifiers, an engine house, containing a two-horse power engine, and governor house, containing an automobile governor. There are four Ketch purifiers, and 150 feet of seven-inch condensing pipes in the open; and a scoop on twowheeled trollies is used for charging the retorts. A foreman, six stokers, and two yardmen are employed at the works.

Mr. James Hart , Foreman of the Nelson City Gas Works, was born in 1842 at Galston, near Yarmouth, England, and was brought up to a seafaring life. When nine years of age he was working in the coastal trade on the east coast of England, and was, later on, in the fishing trade out of Yarmouth Harbour. Mr. Hart came out to New Zealand as a young man, and, after working for two years at Anderson's mill, Auckland, went to sea for about twelve years. In 1875 he settled in Nelson, where he was appointed to his present position as foreman to the Gas Company. As a Freemason, Mr. Hart has been connected with Lodge Southern Star, Nelson, for eighteen years. He is married, and has one son and two daughters.

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Mr. J. Hart.

Nelson Volunteer Fire Brigade . For equipment and efficiency this brigade ranks amongst the best in New Zealand. It was farmed in 1866, after a disastrous fire at Mr. G. McGee's Hotel, whereby the four corners at the crossing of Bridge and Collingwood Streets were consumed. The citizens then met to consider the advisableness of forming a brigade to protect themselves in case of further outbreaks, and the Provincial Council contributed liberally towards its formation. Support was obtained by annual subscriptions from the public, supplemented by a gift of £100 per annum from the various insurance companies, and £40 a year from the Provincial Government. In 1889 the insurance companies withdrew their subscriptions, and consequently the burden of support was cast upon the City Council, which levied a fire rate for the purpose, and now spends over £200 per annum on the brigade. The plant is most efficient, and is valued at about £1,000. It consists of one 24manual engine, one hook and ladder carriage, with over 50 feet of ladders, and all necessary appliances connected therewith. There are nine hose stations in various parts of the town, equipped with all appliances for the extinction of fires. In each of these stations there are hydrants and 600 feet of hose, with branches, etc. Upon the nine reels there is over a mile of canvas hose, which is the only kind of hose used by the brigade. There are twenty-five members in the brigade, and the officers in 1905 were: Mr. T. M. Wimsett, captain; Mr. T. Woodward, lieutenant; Mr. J. Lipscombe, foreman of the hook and ladder; Mr. J. Whiting, No. 1 hose, Mr. W. Miller, No. 2; Mr. E. Boyce, secretary, and Mr. J. E. Hounsell, treasurer. Mr. Wimsett, who is the only member who has been connected with the brigade from its formation, is elsewhere referred to in connection with his business.

Mr. William Cooksey , for many years Secretary of the Nelson Fire Brigade, became a member at the Brigade's inception in 1866. He was born in London, England, in October, 1834, and went to Ballarat, Victoria, where he worked for about ten years. Mr. Cooksey then came to Otago, where he was for three years on the Dunstan, and then he moved to Nelson. He died on the 23rd of December, 1902.

The Late Mr. W. Cooksey.

The Queen's Gardens , Nelson, contain three acres and a-half, and were opened in 1891. They are tastefully laid out with flower beds, and there is a pretty little lake at one end, and a playing fountain in the centre of the grounds. There is an aviary, which contains some of New Zealand's rare birds, and on the lake there are black and white swans and other aquatic birds. Seats have been provided throughout the grounds, and the footpaths are all laid down in asphalt. The gardens are under the control of the City Council, which maintains them in excellent order as a popular resort.

Mr. Edward Christian , Caretaker of the Queen's Gardens, was appointed in 1891. He is a native of the Isle of Man and came to New Zealand in 1874.