Brightwater

Story

Brightwater is a town 20km southwest of Nelson in Tasman district in the South Island of New Zealand. It stands on the banks of the Wairoa River. Brightwater was first named Spring Grove. Alfred Saunders, the owner of a local flax mill situated on the banks of the Wairoa River and a prominent temperance activist, renamed it Brightwater because of the clarity of the water in Wairoa River. The settlement was named in 1855, but the area was settled as early as 1843.Brightwater was the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning scientist, the "father of nuclear physics", Sir Ernest Rutherford, and has an elaborate Lord Rutherford Birthplace memorial on the aptly named Lord Rutherford Road.PopulationBrightwater had a population of 1,794 at the time of the 2006 census, an increase of 369 people since the 2001 census.EducationThe town of Brightwater has one primary school, Brightwater School. This decile 9 school opened in 1888, and provides for children in years one though six, and it had 278 pupils, in 2010. Brightwater School is located on the main street of the village. The school is made up of six buildings - three blocks of three classrooms; a block of two classrooms; a reception area and library; a dental clinic and a reading recovery building; a sports / gear shed; and a boiler house. The school also includes two sports fields, two playgrounds, a hardcourt area, a large shade structure, an adventure playground, a swimming pool and dressing sheds.