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Kōrero: Nelson places

Rutherford memorial

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Rutherford memorial

The memorial to scientist Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937) at Brightwater features a statue of him as a young boy. Rutherford was born at nearby Spring Grove. His family moved to the Wai-iti valley, near Foxhill, when he was five, and to Havelock when he was 11. He won a scholarship to Nelson College in 1883 and went on to Canterbury College before going overseas in 1895. For his research into the chemistry of radioactive substances Rutherford was awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1908. Considered to be New Zealand’s greatest scientist, he made outstanding contributions to science including the Rutherford–Bohr nuclear model of the atom. He was also the first to split the atom.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Flickr: Robyn Gallagher's photostream

by Robyn Gallagher

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Carl Walrond, Nelson places – Richmond and the Waimea Plains, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/29008/rutherford-memorial (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Carl Walrond, i tāngia i te 31 August 2010, updated 22 April 2015.

Comments

Te Ara
02 December 2010
The prow has more information here: http://www.theprow.org.nz/ernest-rutherford-early-life/