acobsen Cottage, at 190 Collingwood Street, Nelson, is situated on the southeast quarter of town-acre 482, which is located in one of the more significant historical areas of Nelson. It is adjacent to Hallowell Cemetery and the old "gaol" reserve (where the infamous Maungatapu muderers were hung), it is opposite St. Mary's Roman Catholic church and close by other important sites.

The cottage built in 1857 by Johann Siegmund Jacobsen was one of the first in the area and was his family home until 1870 when he moved to Christchurch. Jacobsen arrived in 1843 as ships carpenter on the first German immigrant ship to Nelson, established himself as a building contractor and made a significant contribution to the development of Nelson. By 1869 he had planned and / or built over 300 constructions, including well known historic buildings such as the first St. Mary's Roman Catholic church, Nelson Boys College, The Cliffs, renovations to Newstead (Renwick House), several Trafalgar Street shops, several ships and the wharf at Port Nelson.

Today Jacobsen Cottage is in the process of being lovingly restored by Bruce and Pam Thomas and still serves as the family home. We hope to be able to offer visitors an historic homestay experience in the future.

This website will be updated to include plenty of useful information about historic and present Nelson, an archive of the restoration process of Jacobsen Cottage and information on other local restoration and preservation efforts.

For more information please contact Bruce and Pam by emailing info@jacobsencottage.com.