Waimea West is a settlement in the hop growing district. It is sixteen miles to the south-west of Nelson, and two miles from Brightwater, which is connected by rail with Nelson city. Waimea West is on the main road to Moutere from Wakefield, and the well-known drive “round the three bridges” passes through the district. The land is flat and fertile; and farming and hop growing are the main industries. The settlement has a public school, a church, and a public library.

Price, Joseph, Blacksmith and Farrier, Waimea West. This business was established in 1844 by the present proprietor's father, Mr. Thomas Price, who was a very early settler. Mr. Price does a considerable shoeing business, and is known throughout the district as a careful and skilful farrier. He also makes a specialty of repairing, and during the page 129 winter season is kept busy with the work of repairing farm implements, etc. Mr. Price is married, and has a family.

Mr. J. Price.

Russ, George, Farmer, “Bearcroft,” Waimea West. Mr. Russ was born in Appleby in the year 1852, and is a son of Mr. Job Russ, an old Nelson colonist. He was educated at the Waimea West public school, and afterwards learned farming with his father. Mr. Russ and his brother subsequently took over the management of the property. The farm is a freehold property of 197 acres of flat land, and is suitable for cropping, which is largely carried on. Good crops of wheat, oats, and barley have been grown, the latter averaging upwards of thirty bushels to the acre. About 150 Romney Marsh cross-breds are depastured, and also a number of cattle and horses. Mr. Russ is a member of the Farmers' Union, chairman of the Cemetery Committee, and has been a member of the Waimea West school committee. In the year 1885 he married a daughter of the late Mr. William Bell, of Waimea West, and has two sons and seven daughters.

Tyree, photo.
Mr. and Mrs G. Russ.

Mr. John Palmer , sometime of Waimea West, who was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, in 1816, was educated in the Old Country, and came out to Nelson in the ship “Phœbe” in 1843. After a short stay in Nelson, he decided to settle in the Waimea West district, where he carried on business as a storekeeper and publican till within a few years of his death in 1898. Mr. Palmer was loved and respected by all who knew him, and his death was mourned not only by his widow and family, but by a large circle of friends.

The Late Mr. J. Palmer.

Mr. Job Russ , of “Bearcroft,” Waimea West, was born on the 22nd of December, 1819, in Somersetshire, England, where he was educated, and learned agriculture. He came to New Zealand in the year 1842, and landed in Nelson by the ship “Charles Forbes,” accompanied by his wife. Mr. Russ was for a while employed by the New Zealand Land Company. Subsequently he built a hut in Waimea West, and commenced farming, but was shortly afterwards flooded out, which necessitated his removal to Appleby, where for many years he was successful as a farmer. Mr. Russ endured many of the hardships and privations of the early settlers, and had at one time to dig up his seed potatoes for food. In the year 1879 he purchased his present property, where he has since resided. Mr. Russ was for a time a member of the Waimea West school committee. He married a daughter of Mr. Edmund Satherley, of Somersetshire, England, and has, surviving, six sons and one daughter.

Tyree, photo.
Mr. Job Russ.