The settlement of the Nelson region is said to have begun with the landing of the prominent early iwi, Waitaha, in the waka Uruao, which had travelled from Hawaiki and landed at the Boulder Bank, near what would become Nelson city, circa 850. From there scouting parties set out to explore the interior while others continued their sea journey down the east coast of the South Island. The settlement of the Nelson region then ensued and was driven by the fact that the area was found to be rich in resources, such as minerals for fashioning tradable items like adzes. Food, in the form of seal, moa and shellfish, was plentiful too and the district also had large tracts of land with fertile soil, or soil whose fertility could be manipulated, suitable for growing kumara and other garden produce. It was because of this abundance of resources that the district is said to have been 'one of the most fought over in New Zealand.'
A European association with the Nelson area was first established in 1642 when Abel Tasman anchored in what was to be called Murderer's, then Massacre, and now Golden Bay. The result of this first visit was a lethal exchange between the Dutch sailors and Ngati Tumatakokiri. It was centuries after this initial encounter that European interest in the area began in earnest with explorative visits by Captain James Cook, Dumont D'Urville, and a few others. Then in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century flax traders and sealers began to frequent the coast around Nelson. However, because there were few whaling stations in the immediate area there was no substantive European settlement until the New Zealand Company's establishment and settlement of Nelson from 1841.
The company explored the potential of several sites for its settlement but Nelson was chosen as the nucleus, because of its harbour and the plentiful supplies of game and fish. It was then a matter of Captain Arthur Wakefield meeting with the various iwi of the region to persuade them to agree to the proposed settlement. This was essentially a confirmation and extension of a land sale organised by the Tory expedition in 1839. The meeting took place at Kaiteriteri and Wakefield eventually negotiated a deal with those in attendance. However, subsequent events demonstrate that in regard to this and some later transactions there were discrepancies in what each party believed they had agreed to. This led to several instances of conflict in the Nelson region during the 1840s in particular. Perhaps the most well-known occurrence was the 'Wairau Affray' in 1843.
It was not until the 1850s that the Nelson community and other towns in the area began to coalesce. Provincial government was established in 1853, and most of the farm land from Wakapuaka to Brightwater was occupied by this date. By the 1850s all of the major Christian denominations could also boast of clergy and associated buildings in and around Nelson. Between 1853 and 1858 the European population of the district had risen from 4587 to over 7000 and continued to grow and prosper into the 1860s and 1870s with the aid of the local gold rushes and the nationwide demand for the area's produce.
The extension of settlement beyond Nelson town and the establishment of farms was a recognised necessity in order for the town to progress. However, this was problematic because much of the surrounding district was mountainous, densely forested, or was covered in fern or swamp, and of inconsistent levels of fertility. The expansion of settlement into the Upper Moutere, and the Ruby Bay area in particular, was hampered by its geography. Therefore, when the prominent Buxton family of Nelson built a holiday house in the area access to it and the other residences was by boat from Nelson rather than road. The coastline around Mapua had attracted pleasure cruisers from as early as the 1850s and people began to settle in the area to a greater extent in the 1860s.
The Buxton family holiday house was built in 1867 and coincided with Edmund Buxton's (1805-1882) retirement. Edmund and his wife Martha immigrated in 1851 and between then and 1867 Edmund built-up a prominent merchant company in Nelson, E. Buxton and Company. The success of this business was indicated by Buxton being able to spend his retirement as a gentleman farmer at his impressive property close to Nelson, called Broadgreen. The house in Ruby Bay served as a summer residence for Buxton and his family which consisted of six daughters, one of whom was married to Henry Buckeridge who took over the management of E. Buxton and Company when Buxton retired.
The Buxton's holiday home has been described as a 'distinctive Dutch-colonial style house.' The size and flamboyant style of the house is reflective of the stature of the Buxton family. Most of the construction materials would have been shipped to the location using small crafts, however, the roofing slates are known to have been carted from Nelson. This mode of transport took over one day to get to Ruby Bay from Nelson, which is indicative of the rudimentary state of the roads and tracks.
The relatively isolated beach and bay must have been a delightful holiday spot, but it seems to have been irrevocably tainted for the Buxton family by a traumatic event that occurred in January 1881. While spending the summer at the house and having a family picnic, Buckeridge's 13 year old son took a dinghy out into the bay and got into strife after a strong gust of wind blew it out further. Buckeridge tried to swim to his son's rescue but this attempt ended in his own death by drowning. His son survived and was picked up by a passing steamer some hours later. This was a heavy loss for the family and also to the Nelson business community.
This family tragedy was the catalyst for the Buxton family's removal from their holiday house. William Howard Stafford leased the property after this event, and eventually bought it in 1887, after Buxton's death two years earlier, to use as a family home. Stafford was the nephew of prominent Nelsonian, Sir Edward W. Stafford (1819-1901) who had been Superintendant of Nelson, as well as the Premier of New Zealand three times. The purchase of this property and its location was opportune for the Stafford's and their young family because the section adjoined the properties of both Mrs Stafford's father, John Oldam, and Fred Oldham who was her brother. The Oldams owned a significant portion of the land in the area.
Stafford is said to have been 'the first person to bring a boat-load of fruit trees to the locality, where he planted 10 acres in apples and apricots.' Stafford was not the only person to recognise the potential of the area for horticulture. In fact Edmund Buxton had commented that while Moutere area was not to his mind suitable for sheep-runs, he thought that the land closer to the sea could be a good place to grow fruit. Stafford soon extended the orchard around the house, and others began planting the area in apple trees, therefore by the early twentieth century it was contributing a considerable amount to the local export fruit trade.
The Staffords lived in the house until 1919 and they left their mark on it and the area in several ways besides being instrumental in the establishment of the fruit production of area. By 1907 they erected the verandah on the front façade of the house and established wisteria over it. Their family legacy can also be seen in the naming of the coastal road that runs past their former house. Mrs Stafford is also credited with naming Ruby Bay. As one of the Stafford children was named Ruby there has been speculation that it was named after their daughter. However, being the couple's youngest child, the Staffords had lived in what would become Ruby Bay for many years before she was born. One of the other children has recorded that the name for the bay came from the fact that Mrs Stafford, and others subsequently, found tiny rubies washed up on the beach.
After the Stafford's sold the property it was purchased by Mr Wratt. He operated the local sawmill, and he sold the house on to George Boyce in 1935. In 1953 it was acquired by Phyllis and Eric Tyndale-Biscoe. The Tyndale-Biscoes bought the house upon Eric's retirement and called it Holton House after Eric's home village in Oxfordshire, England. During his career Eric had spent many years in Kashmir as a missionary teacher, like his father before him, and his affection and esteem for the area is demonstrated at the house through the pebble pavement at its entrance, which depicts a map of India with Kashmir picked out, an imported carved walnut fireplace in the study, and the planting of several exotic Indian species in the garden.
The property was sold again in 1989, after Eric's death the previous year, and a major renovation project was launched by the new owners Hilary Blundell and Lynda Mabin. During the early part of the 1990s the couple ran a successful bed and breakfast business at the house. The house is now owned by Hilary Blundell's Holton Estates Limited family trust.