Editing Nelson, New Zealand (section)

====Problems with land====
After a brief initial period of prosperity, the lack of land and of capital caught up with the settlement and it entered a prolonged period of relative depression. The labourers had to accept a cut in their wages. Organised immigration ceased (a state of affairs that continued until the 1850s). By the end of 1843, artisans and labourers began leaving Nelson; by 1846, some 25% of the immigrants had moved away.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

The pressure to find more arable land became intense. To the south-east of Nelson lay the wide and fertile plains of the Wairau Valley. The New Zealand Company tried to claim that they had purchased the land. The Māori owners stated adamantly that the Wairau Valley had not formed part of the original land sale, and made it clear they would resist any attempts by the settlers to occupy the area. The Nelson settlers led by Arthur Wakefield and Henry Thompson attempted to do just that. This resulted in the [[Wairau Affray]], where 22 settlers and 4 Māori died.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wairau incident |url= https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/wairau-incident |website=NZHistory |access-date=31 March 2020 |archive-date=16 January 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200116101013/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/wairau-incident |url-status=live}}</ref> The subsequent Government inquiry exonerated the Māori and found that the Nelson settlers had no legitimate claim to any land outside Tasman Bay.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Wairau massacre |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18440622.2.11 |date=22 June 1844 |work=Nelson Examiner |via=Papers Past |access-date=31 March 2020 }}</ref> Public fears of a Māori attack on Nelson led to the formation of the [[Nelson Battalion of Militia]] in 1845.