The Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle (also known as The Nelson [Daily] Examiner, was the first newspaper published in New Zealand's South Island. It was launched in 1842 by Charles Elliott (1811–1876), a few weeks after New Zealand Company settlers arrived in Nelson. In its early years the newspaper was criticised for its supposed lack of independence and for being merely a mouthpiece for the New Zealand Company.[1]
Brothers Charles and James Elliott came to Nelson on one of the first four immigrant ships, the Mary Jane, which arrived in Nelson Harbour on 10 February 1842.[2] They brought a printing press with them and the first edition was published on 12 March 1842.[3][4]
The paper began as a weekly, was published twice weekly from July 1854,[5] and went daily in July 1873.[6] The newspaper folded in the face of competition in 1874.[7]
Digital copies of all issues are available online via the National Library of New Zealand.[7]