Nelson Street (Waitara)

Nelson Street runs off State Highway 3 in Waitara and was named after Thomas Nelson, a career soldier from England who served here during the Taranaki Wars.

Thomas Lowton Kerr Nelson was born in Hampshire on 26 June 1813. The eldest of four boys, he was educated at Sandhurst and joined the British Army in 1831 with King William IV himself presenting his commission. Thomas served in the 40^th Regiment all his life, with two brothers and a nephew in the same company.

After being promoted to Lieutenant in 1835, Thomas took part in campaigns in Kandahar and Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1839-1842. He served with distinction and continued to rise through the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1846 then Major in 1856. He was posted to South Australia that year and commanded a detachment of the 40^th in Adelaide until receiving his orders to go to New Zealand.

Thomas left for Auckland on 24 April 1860 with his men then sailed to Taranaki. He was placed in charge of the headquarters encampment at Camp Reserve in Waitara (now Pukekohe Domain) and took part in a number of engagements including the bombardment of Onukukaitara and Puketakauere Pā and the Battle of Māhoetahi. Local Māori nicknamed him Taipō, meaning a fighting devil, and he in turn respected their prowess, describing them as “a fine, valiant and intelligent race” in a letter to a friend.

One of more than 5000 Redcoats serving in New Zealand in 1861, Thomas was subsequently transferred to Waikato where he and his troops were put to work constructing roads. He was made Lieutenant-Colonel in January 1862 and had been promoted to Colonel by the time he was ordered home. Thomas left New Zealand on the ship Holmesdale in June 1866 and arrived in Plymouth that September but died less than a year later, at Rutland House in Southsea on 22 May 1867. He never married and had no children so his estate went to his brother Alexander Abercromby Nelson (1814-1893), with whom he had served in Afghanistan.

A writer in The New Zealand Observer remembered Thomas as having “a war-worn face” with “deep lines of care” but said that “he was almost idolised by his men” because he was “brave and chivalrous” and “hated a lie”.

Kohatu Rest Home, formerly known as Kohatu Convalescent Home, is located on Nelson Street along with more than a hectare of award-winning gardens. A wetlands area to the south was planted with kahikatea and flax by members of the Waitara Railway Preservation Society in the 2010s.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.