Wakefield is a rising township situated seventeen miles from Nelson, on the railway line to Motupiko. The settlers are prosperous, and hops promise to be the staple product of the district; for picking alone a sum of over £2000 was distributed during the season of 1905. Wakefield was named by the late Mr. W. Hough, after his native village in Yorkshire, and after Captain Wakefield, one of the founders of the province, who lost his life in the Wairau massacre. It is one of the chief townships in the Waimeas, and the district is considered very healthy. There are four religious bodies represented, of which the Anglican Church is the most prominent; and there are four lodges. Wakefield has an hotel, and a combined railway station and post and money order office.

Trafalgar Lodge Of Druids No 310, Wakefield. This lodge was established in the year 1895. It is in a flourishing condition, and Mr Albert Hoult is secretary.

Mcpherson, John, Carpenter, Builder, and Wheelwright, Wakefield. This business was established by Mr. McPherson in the year 1869. The business premises are situated in the heart of the township of Wakefield, and are replete with all the machinery and plant necessary for the turning-out of first-class work. Four workmen are employed by the proprietor all the year round, and thorough attention is given to all orders entrusted to Mr. McPherson. He is a native of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, and was born in April, 1837. He was apprenticed to the building trade, which he learned in all its branches. Deciding to try his luck in New Zealand, Mr. McPherson left Glasgow in the ship “Gala,” and after a short sojourn in Dunedin, he returned to Scotland, quite satisfied that he would make his future home in this colony; which he did in the year 1864, when he settled down in the province of Nelson. Mr. McPherson has always taken an interest in local matters, and has served various periods on the Wakefield school committee. He is also a member of the Rechabite Lodge, Star of Wakefield Tent.

Burn, D., Plumber and Tinsmith, Wakefield. Mr. Burn was born in Nelson in 1848. He is a son of Mr. Robert Burn, who came out in 1842 by the ship “Bolton.” Mr. Burn was apprenticed to the tinsmithing and plumbing business under the tuition of his father, Mr. Robert Burn. After serving his apprenticeship be was taken into the business as a partner, and the firm was thenceforth styled Messrs R. Burn and Son. After carrying on business for some time, Mr. Burn was able to buy his father's share in the partnership. For many years he successfully traded on his own account until he decided to try Wellington, then Blenheim, and finally Wakefield, where he has been settled for about twenty-two years. Mr. Burn is a member of the Wakefield school committee, and held the position of chairman for some years. He is the president and honorary secretary of the Sparrow Club, and helps all cricket, rifle, rowing and athletic clubs in the province. He was senior petty officer in the old Nelson Navals, now the Nelson Rifles, and was for some time secretary of the Trafalgar Lodge of Druids at Wakefield. Mr. Burn's eldest son is a saddler, and the second is a brewer.

Mr. D. Burn.

Robertson, George, Blacksmith and Farrier, Wakefield. This business was established in 1867 by Mr. Alexander Robertson, and taken over by the present proprietor in 1895. He is a native of Nelson, and learned his trade under his father, with whom he remained seven years. There is a complete blacksmith's plant, including two forges, tyrebender and shrinker, together with all the necessary drilling machinery. The smithy is devoted chiefly to shoeing, and to the repair of farm implements. Mr. Robertson is an Oddfellow, a Rechabite, and a keen, cricketer.

Thomas, James, Bootmaker, Wakefield. This business was established in 1869, and is conducted on up-to-date lines, and on terms which compare favourably with those ruling in the city. All classes of boots and shoes are kept in stock, and the proprietor does a steadily increasing business. Until recently Mr. Thomas had a branch business at Belgrove, but that has now been closed, as he prefers to conduct his operations from one shop. A considerable amount of bespoken work is done, and Mr. Thomas does the whole of the repair work of the district. Mr. Thomas was born in Yorkshire, England, where he waa brought up to his trade, but he came out to New Zealand when he was twenty years of age, and landed at Lyttelton by the ship “Roman Emperor.” He went on to Wellingson, where he gained three years' experience, and then moved to Nelson. Mr. Thomas was for twenty-one years permanent secretary of the page 133 Oddfellows' Lodge, Mansion of Peace, of which he is treasurer, and he has acted in a similar capacity to the Masonic Lodge of the New Zealand Constitution at Wakefield. Mr. Thomas has been at various times both secretary and chairman of the local school committee; he has occupied a seat on the licensing bench ever since the Act came into force. When he resigned the position of permanent secretary in the Mansion of Peace Lodge, his fellowmembers recognised the length and value of his services by presenting him with a marble clock and Mrs Thomas with a silver teapot; and both presents bore suitable inscriptions.

Mr. J. Thomas.

Hodgson, A. And Sons . General Storekeepers, Wakefield. Messrs Hodgson and Sons keep a well assorted stock, and have a trade which extends throughout the surrounding district.

Fainton, Edward, Flour Miller, Wakefield. This business was established in 1865 by Mr. W. Painton, senior, and was taken over by the present proprietor in 1892.

Waterhouse, Francis, General Storekeeper, Wakefield. Mr. Waterhouse was born in Wakapuaka in 1858, and was educated in the local public school. After a short time spent in Nelson, he took up land in Wakefield, and commenced hop-growing and farming, in which he was successful. Mr. Waterhouse afterwards bought a storekeeping business from Mr. G. F. Kingston, and on the 1st of October, 1904, opened a store in Wakefield. He employs three carts in connection with his business, an important branch of which is the purchase of butter, eggs, poultry, hides, wool, hops, grain, and other farm produce, which is shipped to the Wellington market. Mr. Waterhouse has been through the chairs of the Trafalgar Lodge of Druids, No. 310, and of the Star of Wakefield Lodge of Rechabites. He married a daughter of Mr. John Currin, of Wakefield, in the year 1882, and has one son and two daughters.

Baigent, Joseph, Farmer, Wakefield. Mr. Baigent is a son of the late Mr. Edward Baigent, who represented the people of the Waimeas for about twelve years in Parliament. Mr. Edward Baigent was very well known and respected by all Nelsonians, as one of the pioneers who came out from the Old Country in 1842 in the ship “Clifford,” In the early days he erected a flour-mill, and afterwards added a sawmilling plant, in connection with which he used water as motive power, and the timber was rafted down the Wai-iti river to the nearest road. He was a member of the Provincial Council for many years, and also of the Waimea Road Board. In educational matters, he always took a prominent part, and, in fact, did everything in his power to forward the interests of his district. Mr. Joseph Baigent was born in Nelson three days after the arrival of the ship, which had brought out the family, and was the seventh child born in the province. He was educated at the state school at Wakefield. After leaving school, he commenced business in the mines on the West Coast, and afterwards dealt in stock for some years. He was at the Coromandel goldfields for a few years, but since then he has devoted himself to general farming in the Wakefield district. He has a farm of 750 acres, partly of pastoral and partly of agricultural land. Mr. Baigent is a member of the Wakefield school committee, and has for many years been a member of the vestry of the Anglican church.

Mr. J. Baigent.

Wells' Lake, Wakefield.

Baigent, Robert, Farmer, Wakefield. Mr. Baigent was born in Wakefield in 1858, and was educated at the Wakefield public school. He learned agriculture from his father, Mr. Isaac Baigent, with whom he worked for a number of years. Mr. Baigent is farming in partnership with his brother, about a mile from the township; the land is chiefly undulating, and suitable for the depasturage of sheep. Mr. Baigent is a Past Noble Grand Master of the Mansion of Peace Lodge, Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows. He married a daughter of Mr. William Ducker, of Upper Montere, in the year 1881, and has five sons and six daughters.

Kinzett, Thomas, Farmer, “Genia Farm,” Eighty eight Valley, Wakefield. Mr. Kinzett was born in Warwickshire, England, in the year 1826, and brought up to agricultural work. He came to New Zealand in the ship “Thomas Harrison,” and arrived in Nelson in 1842. Shortly after landing, Mr. Kinzett took up land at Richmond, whence he removed to Hope, and thence to his present property, where, with the exception of seven years spent on the Australian goldfields, he has since resided. He served for a short time as a member of the Hope school committee, is a member of the Farmers' Union, and was for years a member of the Order of Oddfellows, Mr. Kinzett married a daughter of Mr. George Holland, senior, of Stoke, in 1846, and has, surviving, four sons and four daughters.

Tyree, photo.
Mr. T. Kinzett.

Mr. Arthur Baigent , sometime a farmer at Wakefield, was born in England, and came out to Nelson with his parents in the year 1842 in the ship “Clifford.” His father was the late Mr. Edward Baient, who settled in the Waimeas, and for several years represented that district in the House of Representatives, Mr. Baigent was educated at Wakefield, and afterwards assisted his father in a sawmilling business. Subsequently he commenced farming, in which he was engaged up to the time of his death. Mr. Baigent was twice married, and died in the year 1895, leaving a widow, eight sons, and three daughters.

Mrs. Arthur Baigent , widow of the late Mr. Arthur Baigent, was born in Nelson in June, 1846. She is a daughter of Mr. Richard Lloyd, who arrived in Nelson in the year 1842, by the ship “Thomas Harrison.”

The Late Mr. A. Baigent and Family.

Mr. Thomas William Cole , sometime of Sunningdale Farm, Eighty-eight Valley, Wakefield, was born in Hampshire, England, in 1833. In 1842, Mr. Cole came to Nelson with his mother in the ship “Lord Auckland,” and after a short residence in Nelson he went to live at Stoke with Mr. Trower, his step-father. In 1849, he acquired 200 acres at Eighty-eight Valley, and afterwards added another 500 acres. Mr. Colo filled the position of chairman of the local school committee, and he was a Freemason. He married a daughter of Mr. Isaac Gibbs, of Wakefield, and had a family of five sons and three daughters. Mr. Cole died in the year 1903.

The Late Mr. T. W. Cole.

Mr. Isaac Gibbs , sometime of Wakefield, was one of the early pioneers, who came out to New Zealand when it was but a waste, and who by dint of energy and perseverance, succeeded in converting it into a fertile land, which now brings in a fair return for the labour spent upon it.

Mr. Gibbs was born in Hampshire, England, in the year 1818, and came to New Zealand in the ship “Bolton,” which arrived at Nelson in the year 1842. After a sojourn of about seven years in the town of Nelson, where many hardships were encountered, he went further inland and lived at Brightwater for five years; after that he resided at Wakefield, where he had a freehold farm of 630 acres. In his later years Mr. Gibbs, though still hale and hearty, enjoyed a well-earned retirement from business worries; the farm being managed by his second son, Mr. Joseph Gibbs, who lived on the property with his wife and family. Mr. Gibbs, senior, never took any part in public affairs, but he helped to put down the Maori rising after the Wairau massacre, and was one of those who nightly watched the Maori camp at very great risk to their lives. Mr. Gibbs always enjoyed the goodwill of his fellowsettlers as a man of strict integrity and strength of purpose. He died on the 30th of June, 1903.

The Late Mr. I. Gibbs.