Last updated October 2026
Appleby is a rural locality in Tasman District, on the western fringe near Nelson, spread across the country around the lower Waimea River about five kilometres outside Richmond. It is not part of Nelson city. State Highway 60, also known as Appleby Highway, runs through the district on the way toward Māpua and Motueka.
The flats were gardened long before European settlers arrived in the early 1840s, and the district later became a stronghold of dairy farming. Orchards, berries, hops, kiwifruit and vineyards now sit alongside the older farms.
Appleby has no town centre of its own: it is a working rural landscape, with historic buildings along the highway and everyday services in nearby Richmond.
Official Locality Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 1,400, up 81% since 2018
- Land area
- 23.04 km²
- Location
- 13.8 km west of central Nelson
- Council
- Tasman District Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Hope, Richmond, Redwood Valley, Brightwater
- Ward or local board
- Moutere-Waimea Ward, Tasman District Council
- Getting there
- State Highway 60 (Appleby Highway) west from Richmond toward Māpua and Motueka. Richmond, about five kilometres away, is the nearest centre for frequent eBus services into Nelson.
- Main shopping
- No township shops. Everyday shopping and services are in Richmond.
- Schools
- Appleby School, a state primary school for years 1 to 8
- Nearby landmarks
- St Alban’s Church, Stafford Place, Appleby Bridge and the lower Waimea River
Who Lives in Appleby
About 1,400 residents in 500 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
About Appleby
Appleby sits on the fertile flats of the lower Waimea River, close to Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. Tasman District Council describes it as the country district around the river, not a compact township.
From the highway the view is paddocks, shelter belts, orchard rows and, increasingly, vineyard blocks, with the river and its stopbanks forming the eastern edge of the settled land.
The soils were already valued before colonial survey. Heritage records note Māori occupation and crop gardens in the Waimea River area from the thirteenth century, and early European arrivals who were allocated land here were considered fortunate.
A Ngāi Tara pā, built on older Rapuwai and Waitaha garden land, stood near the present Appleby School site in the late 1500s, during the period when Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri held much of western Te Tau Ihu. That community did not last.
Later mana whenua relationships across the Waimea are shared among several iwi of Te Tau Ihu, so Appleby is not the place of a single iwi story.
The European name is recent by comparison. The district was formerly Lower West Waimea. In the 1850s it was renamed Appleby after an early settler’s home town in England. Settlement from the early 1840s followed the New Zealand Company allocation of farm sections on the Waimea Plain.
Before a bridge crossed the river, accommodation inns served people moving through the district. Dairy farming dominated for a long time. Over more recent decades the land use has widened to hops, apples, berries, mixed market gardening, kiwifruit and vineyards.
Day to day, Appleby feels like open country rather than a suburb. Houses and farm buildings sit on large sections, the state highway carries freight and holiday traffic between Richmond and the Tasman coast, and community life gathers around the school and the historic church rather than a main street.
Richmond, a short drive east, is where most residents shop, and Nelson is a little further on for city services.
History and Heritage
St Alban’s Church (Anglican), at 410 Appleby Highway, is a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic place. The foundation stone was laid in November 1867, and the church was completed, dedicated and consecrated in 1868, making it one of the oldest surviving Anglican churches on the Waimea Plain.
The churchyard, with its cemetery, plantings and simple Sunday School building, is a rare complete example of a New Zealand country churchyard. It is private property, so the usual view is from the roadside.
Stafford Place, at 61 Redwood Road, is a Category 1 timber homestead built in 1866 in the Carpenter Gothic style, set among farmland. The Redwood family arrived in Nelson in December 1842 on the George Fyfe and established themselves on this West Waimea land.
The house is also private. A third registered place, Springfield, is a Category 2 house near State Highway 60. The Redwood racing stables that once belonged with Stafford Place were later moved to Richmond and are separately registered.
Schooling marks the same maturing community. A school opened on the present Appleby School site in 1859, on land gifted by early settler Job Russ, after an earlier Waimea West school proved too far for families at this end of the district. It was renamed Appleby School in 1881.
The first bridge over the Waimea River, built in 1868, finally gave the west bank a reliable link to the east and reduced the role of the old roadside inns.
Getting Outdoors
The outdoors here are rural rather than resort-like. The lower Waimea River, its stopbanks and the bridge are the landmarks most visitors notice.
The stopbank, raised after repeated floods through the twentieth century, now carries a section of the Great Taste Trail, so cyclists pass the district on the way between the Richmond side of the river and the coast. Tasman District Council has a longer Waimea River Park development plan for the river corridor, staged over several years.
Beyond the river path, Appleby is a place of farm roads, orchard shelter belts and highway verges. It is not a beach suburb, and it is not a base for a summit walk.
People who want cafés, a supermarket or a longer choice of tracks head to Richmond, or further west along State Highway 60 toward Māpua. On the highway itself, treat Appleby as a through-route: it carries freight, horticultural traffic and visitors bound for Motueka and Golden Bay, so crossing or turning needs care.
Near Appleby
Just outside Appleby, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Tasman District Council: Appleby: Council overview of the district, its farming history, ward and local projects.
Heritage New Zealand: St Alban’s Church: Listing and history of the 1868 church and its country churchyard.
The Prow: Ngāi Tara at Appleby Pā: Account of the late-1500s pā near today’s Appleby School, drawn from a council heritage panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Appleby part of Nelson?
No. Appleby is a locality in Tasman District, on the western fringe near Nelson. It is looked after by Tasman District Council and sits in the Moutere-Waimea Ward.
How do I get to Appleby?
Take State Highway 60, Appleby Highway, west from Richmond. The road continues through the district toward Māpua and Motueka. Richmond is the place to catch frequent eBus services into Nelson.
Does Appleby have shops or a town centre?
No. It is a country district without a shopping strip. Supermarkets, cafés and everyday services are in Richmond, about five kilometres away.
What school serves Appleby?
Appleby School is the local state primary, teaching years 1 to 8. A school opened on the present site in 1859 and took the name Appleby School in 1881.
Where does the name Appleby come from?
The area was formerly called Lower West Waimea. In the 1850s it was renamed Appleby after an early settler’s home town in England. It does not have a separate official Māori name in council or heritage records.
Can I go inside the historic buildings?
St Alban’s Church and Stafford Place are registered historic places, but both are private. They are best viewed from the road unless you have arranged a visit. Springfield, a Category 2 house near the highway, is also private.
Is Appleby good for cycling or walking?
The main public route is the Waimea River stopbank, which forms part of the Great Taste Trail. Otherwise this is working farmland. Local roads are quiet, but State Highway 60 is busy.
Who lived on these flats before European farms?
Māori gardens and occupation along the Waimea River go back to the thirteenth century. In the late 1500s a Ngāi Tara community had a pā near the present school, on older Rapuwai and Waitaha garden land. That settlement ended after conflict in the same century.
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Explore Nelson only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Appleby is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.