Editing Motueka (section)

==History==
[[File:Motueka Museum.JPG|thumb|The Motueka District Museum]]

The first known European visitor to the coast near Motueka in 1827 was French explorer [[Jules Dumont d'Urville]], of the French corvette [[French ship Astrolabe (1811)|Astrolabe]]. He explored and described much of the Tasman Bay shore line. Three ships carrying the [[New Zealand Company]]'s Nelson expedition, led by Captain [[Arthur Wakefield]], anchored at Astrolabe Roads, north of [[Kaiteriteri]] Beach—about {{convert|16|km|mi|0}} due north of Motueka—in October 1841. Kaiteriteri was selected as a site for the first settlement but was later abandoned in favour of [[Nelson Haven]].

The exceptional fertility of the soil and the suitability of the surrounding land for small farm settlement were the main reasons for the establishment of the second town of the Nelson settlement at Motueka in 1842. There was trade between Nelson and Motueka in vegetables and timber in the 1840s. In 1850, Motueka had  "a church, various tradespeople, a general store, a doctor, a clergyman, a magistrate and a constable". Motueka was described as "the village was laid out in small sections in the middle of a splendid bush, and had some good open land all around on which the farms were situated”  in the 1850s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Motueka and early European settlement |url=https://www.theprow.org.nz/places/motueka-early-settlement/#.Y9LVAHZByUk |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=www.theprow.org.nz}}</ref> A significant flood hit Motueka in 1877 with the majority of buildings in the High Street being flooded.<ref name=":0" />

During the period, 1853 to 1876, Motueka was administrated as part of the [[Nelson Province]].

Motueka was created as a [[borough]] in 1900 with the first meeting of the Motueka Borough Council being held on 17 January 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Motueka Borough Council 1900 |url=https://heritage.tasmanlibraries.govt.nz/nodes/view/260 |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Tasman Heritage}}</ref> The population at that time was  900 people with 182 ratepayers and 183 dwellings.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Motueka {{!}} NZETC |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc05Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d2-d48.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=nzetc.victoria.ac.nz}}</ref> The post office building was opened in 1902 by Sir [[Joseph Ward]].<ref name=":2" />

[[File:Motueka war memorial, Motueka, New Zealand 05.jpg|thumb|upright|'''Motueka war memorial, Motueka''']]
The Motueka war memorial was unveiled in 1922. It commemorates the 32 soldiers who died in [[World War I|WWI]] from the Motueka district. A plaque on the war memorial  was unveiled in 1957 to commemorate the 35 soldiers who died in [[World War II|WWII]] from the Motueka district.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Motueka war memorial |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/motueka-war-memorial |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref>