Nelson City Council

Discover the unique stories about the people who have shaped the Nelson region we live in today. The 31 displays and buildings in Founders Heritage Park are a growing legacy of history for all to enjoy. Our facilities are also very popular as venues for weddings, picnics, parties and private functions. Find out more about Founders Heritage Park venues for hire.

St Peter's Church

St. Peter’s Church overlooked the Nelson Haven tidal flats along Atawhai Drive before it was moved to Founders Heritage Park in 1983. It was consecrated St. Peter’s-by-the-Strand in 1874 due to its location by Nelson’s shoreline. In 1982, a new church was built for Atawhai parish, and St. Peter’s-by-the-Strand was fondly renamed Old St. Peter’s.

The church retired its service to Nelson’s Anglican community when it was moved to the Park. It is now adorned with Roman Catholic and Methodist objects, including stained glass windows that cast jewel-toned light on a nun’s stall from the Nelson Convent. The replica clock tower at the front of the building once counted-down the minutes for the boys at Nelson College, until the 1929 Murchison Earthquake demolished the original structure. St. Peter’s Church continues to be a beautiful setting for weddings and other services.

1867 Replica Fire Station

The Fire Station is based on the first building built for the volunteer fire brigade in 1867. After a massive fire on 7 August, 1866, in which 19 buildings on the Bridge and Collingwood Street intersection were destroyed, the township of Nelson chose to fund a brigade of trained volunteer firefighters. Nelson’s Volunteer Fire Brigade was born! This replica Fire Station was originally presented to Founders Heritage Park on 5 November, 1985, by the Nelson Lions Club. The 2010 refurbishment has been funded by the Nelson Host Lions Club.

Pitt & Moore Legal Office

Pitt & Moore is one of Nelson’s oldest legal firms, and has provided legal services to Nelson residents since 1864. In 1989. Pitt & Moore sponsored the construction of a replica of their offices as they would have appeared in 1879.

An original company seal can be found inside the building, as well as a box of cigars on the mantel that would have encouraged anxious clients to make themselves comfortable. While the firm presented an image of luxury and ease to their clients, a book of handwritten letters paints a real picture of the many painstaking hours the clerks laboured hand-writing the firm’s paper-work before the convenience of computers and photocopiers.

General Store

The General Store contains goods that would have been on the shopping lists of 19th century Nelson families. General stores were a hub of community activity where locals would buy and trade the essentials of everyday life, from food and laundry powder, to toys and lollies for the kids.

Inside the Founders General Store, you will find two Māori brand Nelson apple cartons, Auckland Weekly magazines from 1889, rabbit traps and a glass jar of 100 year old menthol lollies. The General Store building was originally a country post office called the Tadmore Post Office Store. In the 1980s, the local government started phasing out country post offices, and as a result, the Tadmore Post Office was closed and relocated to Founders Heritage Park, where it was transformed into the General Store.

Port Museum

Nelson’s growth and prosperity is anchored in the deep waters of Nelson’s port. The first emigrants arrived on the ship Fifeshire on 1 February, 1842 via Nelson’s treacherous Boulder Bank. Since then, the port has developed into a bustling centre of industry, commerce and maritime trade.

Inside the Port Museum, you will find displays that tell the story of Nelson’s growth as a port from the earliest days to the present. The building also contains a mural of the Nelson Haven shoreline as it would have appeared to an early settler, before the port’s industrial development. Click here to visit the Port Museum Tour page.

Duncan House

Duncan House was the residence of the Duncan family of Brewers. John Duncan, a 5th generation Duncan brewer, owns and operates Founders Brewery in the Park today. The house began its life as a modest winemaker’s cottage and, later, a small hospital, before it was bought by Henry Duncan in 1902.

A Nelson lawyer purchased the house from the Duncan family in the 1980s with plans of demolishing it. Before going through with the demolition, he had a change of heart and donated the building to the Park in 1985.

The displays inside the house explore the story of the Duncan line of brewers and the growth of the beer industry in Nelson.

Bristol Freighter

The Bristol Freighter, known in its heyday as the Merchant Buccaneer, was the last of the Bristol model freighters flying in the Straits Air Freight Express (SAFE) fleet. The Bristol Plane sits tall and proud in the Founders Heritage Park Bristol Green. Visitors can climb into the body of the plane and the cockpit - an exciting opportunity for any airplane enthusiast.

The Merchant Buccaneer was flown into Wakapuaka mudflats on 20 November 1986, where it was stripped of its wings and tail and towed to the Park.