He came to New Zealand as a survey cadet on the staff of the New Zealand Company, arriving on the Brougham in Feb 1842. He was sent to work under Captain Joseph Thomas in laying out sections at Wanganui. He was next engaged on similar work in the Hutt valley, and was then sent to Otago to commence the surveys of the Otago Block. Nicholson returned to England in 1845 and entered the legal profession in which he served with distinction and was awarded a knighthood. He was closely associated with the Shrewsbury peerage case, one of the most notable peerage cases ever tried. First Clerk of the Peace, London (1888). [Source: C A Lawn, The Pioneer land surveyors of New Zealand (qMS-1138, p 204)]. Died 16 Mar 1913.
Nicholson, Richard (Sir), 1828-1913
There are 2 related items to this topic
Manuscript
Nicholson, Richard (Sir), b 1828 : Leases
Date: 1876-1902
By: Nicholson, Richard (Sir), 1828-1913
Reference: MSI-Papers-5898
Description: Comprises six leases made by Sir Richard Nicholson (1876-1902); (1) Mrs Julia Barlow and Frederick Last (1892), (2) Sir Richard and Wm McMahon (1899), and (3) Sir Richard and Mrs E Hayes (1899) for land in the Parish of Marylebone; (4) Sir Richard and N A Mercer (1882), (5) Sir Richard and Charles Garnett (1902) and (6) Sir Richard and Andrew Gilbert Reid (1876) for land at Cleveland Gardens, Hyde Park. Also a declaration giving full details of the arrangement made by Sir Richard's father-in-law to supply and furnish a suitable house for Sir Richard and his wife to live in, and the subsequent alteration to the father-in-law's will (1892). Source of title - Supplied Sir Richard Nicholson, First Clerk of the Peace, London (1888) was educated at Mt Radford School, Exeter. He joined the Surveying Staff of the NZ Company in 1843 and assisted in the layout of the town of Wanganui. He was surveyor to the layout of the town and country sections at Dunedin and in 1851 qualified as a solicitor. Nicholson was charged with the claim of the later Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot to the Earldom of Shrewsbury and the estates annexed to the title, which was established in 1869. Quantity: 1 folder(s). 0.01 Linear Metres. Physical Description: Mss
Map
[Nicholson, Richard (Sir) b 1828] :Map of the country sections in the district of Wan[g...
Date: 1842 - 1902
By: Nicholson, Richard (Sir), 1828-1913; Hocken, Thomas Morland, 1836-1910
Reference: MapColl-832.41gbbd/1842-43/Acc.7931
Description: Cadastral map of the layout of sections in the greater Wanganui area, on either side of the Whanganui River, in 1842-3. Shows the site of the proposed town, four Maori reserves, and some streams and named lakes. Names associated with the larger sections outside the township include: Carrington, Cameron, Holder, Smith, Alzdorf, Niblett, Brandon, Churton, A Keith, T Ball, Parkes, James Thomas, Colville, Nixon, Ball, Mr Bell, James Alexander, Wicksteed, St Hill, Sutherland, Doughty, Dawson, Wansey, King, Missionary Wood, Bevan, Rhodes, James B A, Duncan, Bell Jun, Wathen, Allison, Thring, Walker, Gollan, Campbell, Lawther. Text on map: 'This map was made by me when engaged at Wanganui in laying out the settlement Wanganui under Whitehead and Company Surveyors.' [Signed] 'R.Nicolson, 1902'. Quantity: 1 map(s). Physical Description: Photographic copy, scale indeterminable, 66 x 78.4 cm. Provenance: Manuscript given to Thomas Hocken by Sir Richard Nicholson of London, May 9 1902 and held in the Hocken Library, Dunedin.