Hope, New Zealand

Hope, previously known as Ranzau, is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand. It lies south of Nelson city, 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, Carl Kelling, an early farmer and Count von Rantzau's representative, 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.

Hope post office was open by 1886. From 1900 it had a telephone. It closed from 5 February 1988 when Postmaster-General, Richard Prebble, closed or reduced 580 offices.

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.