Hope, New Zealand

Hope

Hope, previously known as Ranzau, is a small settlement south of Nelson, New Zealand, between Richmond and Wakefield.

Hope began as a German settlement, founded by many of the families on the barque Skjold, which left Hamburg on 21 April 1844 and arrived in Nelson on 1 September. The voyage was underwritten by German nobleman Count von Rantzau; in appreciation, early farmer Carl Kelling gave his homestead the name Ranzau, a name used for the entire village until it was renamed after Jane Hope, another early settler. The German influence survives in Ranzau Road, which itself houses Ranzau School (dating from 1848) as well as a Lutheran church (established in 1849) opposite the newer Hope Community Church.

Today the settlement remains largely rural, dominated by farms and orchards. There are two primary schools (Ranzau School and Hope School), scattered speciality shops (many operating from an orchard or market garden), a restaurant/bar, a convenience store, and a park with tennis courts and a recreation hall.