
Nelson () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
and
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
on the eastern shores of
Tasman Bay
Tasman Bay (; officially Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere), originally known in English as Blind Bay, is a large V-shaped bay at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the centre of the island's northern coast, it stretches alon ...
at the top of the
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-oldest settled city in the country; it was established in 1841 and became a city by British
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1858.
Nelson City is bordered to the west and south-west by the
Tasman District
Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...
and to the north-east, east and south-east by the
Marlborough District
Marlborough District or the Marlborough Region (, or ''Tauihu''), commonly known simply as Marlborough, is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, located on the northeast of the South Island. It is administered by Marlborough District Council ...
. The Nelson urban area has a population of , making it New Zealand's 15th most populous urban area.
Nelson is well known for its thriving local arts and crafts scene; each year, the city hosts events popular with locals and tourists alike, such as the Nelson Arts Festival.
Naming
Nelson was named in honour of Admiral
Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, who defeated both the
French and Spanish fleets at the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...
in 1805. Many roads and public areas around the city are named after people and ships associated with that battle. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Nelsonians; Trafalgar Street is its main shopping axis.
Nelson's
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
name, ,
means 'construct', 'raise', or 'establish'.
In an article to ''The Colonist'' newspaper on 16 July 1867, Francis Stevens described Nelson as "The
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
of the
Southern Hemisphere". Today, Nelson is nicknamed "Sunny Nelson" due to its high sunshine hours per year and the "Top of the South" because of its geographic location.
In
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
, the name is signed by putting the index and middle fingers together which are raised to the nose until the fingertips touch the nose, then move the hand forward so that the fingers point slightly forward away from oneself.
History
Māori settlement
Settlement of Nelson began about 700 years ago by
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
. There is evidence that the earliest settlements in New Zealand were around the Nelson–Marlborough regions. Some of the earliest recorded
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
in the Nelson district are Ngāti Hāwea, Ngāti Wairangi,
Waitaha and
Kāti Māmoe
Kāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe) is a Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha.
A centu ...
.
Waitaha people developed the land around the Waimea Gardens, are believed to have been the first people to quarry
argillite
Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of Friability, indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and Pelagic sediment, oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. T ...
in around Nelson. They also developed much of the Waimea Gardens complex – more than on the Waimea Plains near Nelson.
In the early 1600s,
Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri displaced other
te Tau Ihu Māori, becoming the dominant tribe in the area until the early 1800s.
Raids from northern tribes in the 1820s, led by
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...
and his
Ngāti Toa
Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
, soon decimated the local population and quickly displaced them.
Today there are eight mutually recognised tribes of the northwestern region:
Ngāti Kuia,
Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō
Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal lands) include the areas around Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, Tākaka, Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, Motueka, Nelson, Ne ...
,
Rangitāne,
Ngāti Toa
Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
rangatira,
Ngāti Koata
Ngāti Koata or Ngāti Kōata is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, originating on the west coast of Waikato, but now mainly at the northern tip of South Island.
Ngāti Koata whakapapa back to Koata who lived near Kāwhia in the 17th century. She ha ...
,
Ngāti Rārua,
Ngāti Tama
Ngāti Tama is a Māori people, Māori iwi, tribe of New Zealand. Their origins, according to oral tradition, date back to Tama Ariki, the chief navigator on the Tokomaru (canoe), Tokomaru waka (canoe), waka. Their historic region is in north Tar ...
and
Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui.
New Zealand Company
Planning
The
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...
in London planned the settlement of Nelson. They intended to buy from the Māori some of land, which they planned to divide into one thousand lots and sell to intending settlers. The company earmarked profits to finance the free passage of artisans and labourers, with their families, and for the construction of public works. However, by September 1841 only about one third of the lots had sold. Despite this, the colony pushed ahead, and land was surveyed by
Frederick Tuckett.
Three ships, the ''
Arrow
An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
'', ''
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy.
From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
'', and ''
Will Watch'', sailed from London, the expedition commanded by Captain
Arthur Wakefield. Arriving in New Zealand, they discovered that the new Governor of the colony,
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Royal Navy, who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Hobson was dispatched f ...
, would not give them a free hand to secure vast areas of land from the Māori or indeed to decide where to site the colony. However, after some delay, Hobson allowed the company to investigate the Tasman Bay area at the north end of the South Island. The Company selected the site now occupied by Nelson City because it had the best harbour in the area. But it had a major drawback: it lacked suitable
arable land
Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
; Nelson City stands right on the edge of a mountain range while the nearby Waimea Plains amount to only about , less than one third of the area required by the Company plans.
The Company secured land, which was not clearly defined, from the Māori for £800: it included Nelson, Waimea,
Motueka,
Riwaka and Whakapuaka. This allowed the settlement to begin, but the lack of definition would prove the source of much future conflict. The three colony ships sailed into Nelson Haven during the first week of November 1841. When the first four immigrant ships – ''
Fifeshire'', ''
Mary-Ann'', ''
Lord Auckland'' and ''
Lloyds'' – arrived three months later, they found the town already laid out with streets, some wooden houses, tents and rough sheds. The town was laid out on a
grid plan
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...
. Within 18 months, the company had sent out 18 ships with 1,052 men, 872 women and 1,384 children. However, fewer than ninety of the settlers had the capital to start as landowners.
Cultural and religious immigrants
The early settlement of Nelson province included a proportion of German immigrants, who arrived on the ship ''Sankt Pauli'' and formed the nucleus of the villages of Sarau (
Upper Moutere) and Neudorf. These were mostly
Lutheran Protestants with a small number of
Bavarian Catholics.
In 1892, the
New Zealand Church Missionary Society
The New Zealand Church Missionary Society (NZCMS) is a mission society working within the Anglican Communion and Protestant, Evangelical Anglicanism. The parent organisation was founded in England in 1799. The Church Missionary Society (CMS) s ...
(NZCMS) was formed in a Nelson church hall.
Problems with land
After a brief initial period of prosperity, the lack of land and of capital caught up with the settlement and it entered a prolonged period of relative depression. The labourers had to accept a cut in their wages. Organised immigration ceased (a state of affairs that continued until the 1850s). By the end of 1843, artisans and labourers began leaving Nelson; by 1846, some 25% of the immigrants had moved away.
The pressure to find more arable land became intense. To the south-east of Nelson lay the wide and fertile plains of the Wairau Valley. The New Zealand Company tried to claim that they had purchased the land. The Māori owners stated adamantly that the Wairau Valley had not formed part of the original land sale, and made it clear they would resist any attempts by the settlers to occupy the area. The Nelson settlers led by Arthur Wakefield and Henry Thompson attempted to do just that. This resulted in the
Wairau Affray
The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843, also called the Wairau Massacre and the Wairau Incident, was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori people, Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and t ...
, where 22 settlers and 4 Māori died. The subsequent Government inquiry exonerated the Māori and found that the Nelson settlers had no legitimate claim to any land outside Tasman Bay. Public fears of a Māori attack on Nelson led to the formation of the
Nelson Battalion of Militia
The Nelson Battalion of Militia was a short-lived military unit of settlers, formed 12 August 1845 under the terms of the Militia Act of 1845. It was part of the New Zealand Wars.
This made the Nelson Battalion of Militia the first Army unit t ...
in 1845.
City status

Nelson township was managed by the
Nelson Provincial Council through a Board of Works constituted by the Provincial Government under the Nelson Improvement Act 1856 until 1874. It was proclaimed a Bishop's
See and city under letters patent by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
on 27 September 1858, the second New Zealand city proclaimed in this manner after
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
. Nelson only had some 5,000 residents at this time.
Edmund Hobhouse was the first Bishop. The Municipal Corporations Act 1876 stated that Nelson was constituted a city on 30 March 1874.
Nelson Province
From 1853 until 1876, when provincial governments were abolished, Nelson was the capital of
Nelson Province
Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller District, Buller, Kaikoura District, Kaikoura, Marlborough District, ...
. The province itself was much larger than present-day Nelson City and included all of the present-day
Buller,
Kaikōura
Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...
,
Marlborough
Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to:
Places Australia
* Marlborough, Queensland
* Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993
* Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
, Nelson, and Tasman, as well as the
Grey District
Grey District is a Districts of New Zealand, district in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast Region of New Zealand that covers Greymouth, Runanga, New Zealand, Runanga, Blackball, New Zealand, Blackball, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, and settl ...
north of the
Grey River and the
Hurunui District
Hurunui District is a territorial local government district within the Canterbury Region on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, north of Christchurch. It stretches from the east coast to the Main Divide. Its land area is .
Local go ...
north of the
Hurunui River. The
Marlborough Province split from Nelson Province in October 1859.
Provincial anniversary
Nelson Anniversary Day is a public holiday observed in the northern half of the South Island of New Zealand, being the area's provincial anniversary day. It is observed throughout the historic Nelson Province, even though the provinces of New Zealand were abolished in 1876. The modern area of observation includes all of Nelson City and includes all of the present-day Buller, Kaikōura, Marlborough, Tasman districts as well as the Grey District north of the Grey River / Māwheranui and the Hurunui District north of the Hurunui River. The holiday usually falls on the Monday closest to 1 February, the anniversary of the arrival of the first New Zealand Company boat, the ''Fifeshire'', on 1 February 1842.
Anniversary celebrations in the early years featured a sailing regatta, horse racing, running races, shooting and ploughing matches. In 1892, the Nelson Jubilee Celebration featured an official week-long programme with church services, sports, concerts, a ball and a grand display of fireworks.
Time gun
In 1858, the Nelson Provincial Council erected a
time gun at the spot on Brittania Heights where Captain Wakefield erected his flagpole in 1841. The gun was fired each Saturday at noon to give the correct time. The gun is now preserved as a historical relic and the
Songer Tree marks the site on Signal Hill of the original flagpole.
Geography
The Nelson-Tasman area comprises two
unitary authorities
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
– Nelson City, administered by the
Nelson City Council
Nelson City Council is the unitary local authority for Nelson in New Zealand.
History
Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island. The town of Nelson was managed by the Nelson ...
, and
Tasman District
Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...
, administered by the
Tasman District Council
Tasman District Council () is the unitary authority#New Zealand, unitary local authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand. The council is led by the mayor of Tasman, who is currently .
History
Tasman District Council was formed on 1 Novem ...
, based in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
to the southwest. It is between
Marlborough
Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to:
Places Australia
* Marlborough, Queensland
* Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993
* Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
, another unitary authority, to the east, and the
West Coast Regional Council to the west.
For at least two decades, there has been talk about amalgamating Nelson City and the Tasman District to streamline and render more financially economical the existing co-operation between the two councils, exemplified by the jointly owned
Port Nelson and the jointly funded Nelson Regional Development Agency. However, an official poll conducted in April 2012 showed nearly three-quarters of those who voted in Tasman were opposed to the proposal, while a majority of Nelson voters were in favour.
Nelson has beaches and a sheltered harbour. The harbour entrance is protected by a
Boulder Bank, a natural, bank of rocks transported south from Mackay Bluff via
longshore drift
Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...
. The bank creates a perfect natural harbour which enticed the first settlers, although the entrance was narrow. The wreck of the ''Fifeshire'' on
Arrow Rock (now called Fifeshire Rock in memory of this disaster) in 1842 proved the difficulty of the passage. A cut was later made in the bank in 1906 which allowed larger vessels access to the port.
The creation of Rocks Road around the waterfront area after the
Tāhunanui
Tāhunanui is one of the suburbs of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies between Port Nelson and Nelson Airport and is the site of the main beach for Nelson with a shoreline on the Tasman Bay.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives ...
slump in 1892 increased the effects of the tide on Nelson city's beach, Tāhunanui, and removed sediment. This meant the popular beach and adjoining car park were being eroded (plus the
sand dunes) so a project to replace these sands was put in place and has so far proved a success, with the sand rising a considerable amount and the dunes continuing to grow.
Waterways
The Nelson territorial authority area is small (just 445 km
2) and has four main waterways, the Whangamoa, Wakapuaka, Maitai and Roding Rivers. The Roding River, the southernmost in Nelson, arises in the hills between Mount Meares and Dun Mountain. From there it flows westward before entering the Tasman District where it eventually joins the Waimea River, which flows into Waimea Inlet near Rabbit Island. The
Maitai River flows westward from the Dun Mountain area into the town centre of Nelson before entering the Nelson Haven then Tasman Bay via 'The Cut'. Major tributaries of the Maitai River are:
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and
Brook Streams plus
Sharland, Packer,
Groom
A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...
, Glen, Neds, Sclanders, Beauchamp and Mill Creeks. The Wakapuaka River, which flows north from the Saddle Hill area to its mouth at Cable Bay in North Nelson, has two main tributaries, the Lud and Teal Rivers. Entering Tasman Bay near Kokorua in the north of Nelson, the Whangamoa River is the longest waterway in Nelson.
Smaller waterways in the south of Nelson include: Saxton Creek, Orchard Stream, Poorman Valley Stream, Arapiki Stream, Jenkins Creek and Maire Stream.
Central city

The central city of Nelson, also referred to as the central business district (CBD), is bounded by Halifax Street to the north, Rutherford Street to the west, Collingwood Street to the east, and Selwyn Place to the south. Other major streets within the CBD include Trafalgar Street, Bridge Street and Hardy Street.
Suburbs and localities
There are 30 recognised suburbs and localities in Nelson City as of 2025.
Suburbs:
*
Atawhai
*
Beachville
*
Bishopdale
*
Britannia Heights
*
Enner Glynn
*
Maitai
*
Marybank
*
Moana
*
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
*
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
*
Nelson Haven
*
Nelson South
*
Port Nelson
*
Stepneyville
*
Stoke
*
The Brook
*
The Wood
''The Wood'' is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Rick Famuyiwa in his feature directional debut and starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs. It was written by Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd.
Plot
Roland is get ...
*
Toi Toi
Toi Toi is an inner suburb of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies to the southwest of Nelson city centre, inland from Britannia Heights and Washington Valley.Wise's Nelson-Blenheim "Easyread" Map Toi Toi is also known as Victory Village.
The popul ...
*
Tāhunanui
Tāhunanui is one of the suburbs of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies between Port Nelson and Nelson Airport and is the site of the main beach for Nelson with a shoreline on the Tasman Bay.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives ...
*
Wakatu
Wakatu (also spelt Whakatu, as in the Māori name for the Nelson area) is an industrial suburb of Nelson in New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the No ...
*
Washington Valley
Localities:
*
Cable Bay
*
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...
*
Glenduan
*
Hira
*Hira Forest
*
Pepin Island
*
Todds Valley
*
Wakapuaka
*Whangamoa
The Nelson commuter belt extends to
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
Brightwater,
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
,
Māpua and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
in the Tasman District.
National parks
Nelson is surrounded by mountains on three sides and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere on the fourth, with its region acting as the gateway to the
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
,
Kahurangi, and
Nelson Lakes National Park
Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and v ...
s.
It is a centre for both
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...
and
adventure tourism and has a high reputation among
caving
Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...
enthusiasts due to several prominent cave systems around
Takaka Hill and the
Wharepapa / Arthur Range, including the
Nettlebed Cave and some of the largest and deepest explored caverns in the Southern Hemisphere.
Nelson is known for its great lakes, hikes and walks surrounding the town, the most popular being the
Abel Tasman Coast Track,
Abel Tasman National Park
Abel Tasman National Park is a national park at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. It covers of land between Golden Bay / Mohua and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, making it the smallest of National parks of New Zealand, New Zealand's ...
, and
Heaphy Track. These tracks are also known for recreational activities. There are many huts and camping grounds in all three tracks for availability to stay in. There are places to fish, hunt and observe nature within the National Parks and Lakes.
Climate
Nelson has a temperate
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Cfb), with cool winters and warm summers. Nelson has rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year and has fewer frosts due to the highly marine geography of New Zealand. Winter is the stormiest time, where gales and storms are more common. Nelson has one of the sunniest climates of all major New Zealand centres,
earning the nickname 'Sunny Nelson' with an annual average total of over 2400 hours of sunshine. The highest recorded temperature in Nelson is , the lowest .
"Centre of New Zealand" monument

Nelson has a monument on Botanical Hill, near the centre of the city. The walk to this is called the "''Centre of New Zealand walk''". Despite the name, this monument does not mark the actual geographic centre of New Zealand.
Instead, the monument marks the "zero, zero" point to which the first geodetic surveys of New Zealand were referenced. These surveys were started in the 1870s by John Spence Browning, the Chief Surveyor for Nelson. From this 360-degree viewpoint, survey marks in neighbouring regions (including Wellington in the North Island) could be
triangulated and the local surveys connected.
In 1962, Ian Reilly from the now defunct
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research calculated the geographic centre of New Zealand (including Stewart Island and some smaller islands in addition to the North and South Island, but excluding the
Chathams) to be in a forest in
Spooners Range southwest of Nelson at .
Owing to the coarse nature of the underlying data (use of rectangular areas of 7.5 minutes of arc on each side), the centre calculated by Reilly has quite large error margins. Recalculating the result with more modern and accurate data shows the geographic centre of New Zealand is approximately 60 km southwest of Nelson, in the Big Bush Conservation Area north of
Saint Arnaud, New Zealand.
Demographics
Nelson covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Nelson City had a population of 52,584 in the
2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 1,704 people (3.3%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 6,147 people (13.2%) since the
2013 census. There were 25,620 males, 26,712 females and 255 people of
other genders in 20,967 dwellings. 3.6% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. The median age was 44.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 8,712 people (16.6%) aged under 15 years, 8,226 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 24,285 (46.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 11,361 (21.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 84.7%
European (
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 11.9%
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
; 2.8%
Pasifika; 8.6%
Asian; 1.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori language by 2.9%, Samoan by 0.5% and other languages by 12.8%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 26.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 28.2%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 1.1%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.5%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.3%
Māori religious beliefs
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 1.2%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.7%
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 1.5% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 59.1%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 8,472 (19.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 22,197 (50.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 10,218 (23.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $38,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 3,906 people (8.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 20,679 (47.1%) people were employed full-time, 6,825 (15.6%) were part-time, and 969 (2.2%) were unemployed.
Urban area
Nelson's urban area covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
The urban area had a population of 49,224 in the
2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 1,095 people (2.3%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 4,953 people (11.2%) since the
2013 census. There were 23,997 males, 24,984 females and 243 people of
other genders in 19,701 dwellings. 3.7% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. The median age was 43.5 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 8,181 people (16.6%) aged under 15 years, 7,830 (15.9%) aged 15 to 29, 22,782 (46.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 10,431 (21.2%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 84.1%
European (
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 12.2%
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
; 2.9%
Pasifika; 9.0%
Asian; 1.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.8%, Māori language by 3.0%, Samoan by 0.6% and other languages by 13.0%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 26.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 28.2%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 1.1%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.5%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 0.3%
Māori religious beliefs
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 1.2%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.7%
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 1.5% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 59.0%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 7,899 (19.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 20,718 (50.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 9,657 (23.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $38,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 3,555 people (8.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 19,488 (47.5%) people were employed full-time, 6,303 (15.4%) were part-time, and 933 (2.3%) were unemployed.
Government
Local

As a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
, the
Nelson City Council
Nelson City Council is the unitary local authority for Nelson in New Zealand.
History
Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island. The town of Nelson was managed by the Nelson ...
has the combined responsibilities and functions of both a
territorial (local) and
regional council. This is different from most other local authorities in New Zealand. More often, a regional council is a separate organisation with several territorial authorities (city or district councils) within its borders. Other unitary authorities are the
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
,
Gisborne District Council
Gisborne District Council () is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largely rural region on the east coast ...
,
Marlborough District Council,
Tasman District Council
Tasman District Council () is the unitary authority#New Zealand, unitary local authority for the Tasman District of New Zealand. The council is led by the mayor of Tasman, who is currently .
History
Tasman District Council was formed on 1 Novem ...
and the
Chatham Islands Council.
The Nelson City Council holds elections for the
mayor of Nelson and 12 councillors under the
first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
electoral system every three years. As of 13 October 2022, the mayor is
Nick Smith and the deputy mayor
Rohan O'Neill-Stevens.
Nelson City has a coat of arms, obtained in 1958 from the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
to mark the centenary of Nelson as a city. The
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the arms is:
:"Barry wavy Argent and Azure a Cross Flory Sable on a Chief also Azure a Mitre proper And for the Crest on a Wreath of the Colours Issuant from a Mural Crown proper a Lion rampant Gules holding between the fore paws a Sun in splendour or. The supporters on the dexter side a Huia Bird and on the sinister side a Kotuku both proper."
Motto "''Palmam qui meruit ferat''" (Let him who has earned it bear the palm). This motto is the same as that of
Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
.
National
Nelson is covered by the
Nelson general electorate, and the
Te Tai Tonga
Te Tai Tonga () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorates, Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives. It was established for the 1996 New Zeal ...
Māori electorate, which covers the entire South Island and part of
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
in the North Island. Since the
2023 general election, Nelson is held by
Rachel Boyack of the
Labour Party, and Te Tai Tonga by
Tākuta Ferris of
Te Pāti Māori
(), also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political party in New Zealand advocating Māori people, Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of New Zealand electorates#Electorates in the 53rd Parliament, general electorates, co ...
.
Economy
The Nelson economy (and that of the neighbouring
Tasman District
Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...
) is based on the 'big five' industries; seafood, horticulture, forestry, farming and tourism. Port Nelson is the biggest fishing port in
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
. There are also a range of growth industries, including art and craft, aviation,
engineering technology
An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. An education in engineering technology concentrates more on application and less on theory than ...
, and information technology. The region was sixth in terms of GDP growth in the 2007–10 period.
The combined sub-national GDP of Nelson and Tasman District was estimated at $3.4 billion in 2010, 1.8% of New Zealand's national GDP.
The Nelson Regional Development Agency is an economic development agency for Nelson and the Tasman District.
Some of the region's largest companies and employers are:
*
Helicopters (NZ) has its headquarters and maintenance base at
Nelson Airport.
* Japanese automobile manufacturer
Honda
commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
has its New Zealand distribution centre in the Whakatu Industrial Estate in
Stoke.
* Beverage company
McCashins has a
microbrewery
Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
in Stoke.
* SeaDragon Marine Oils has a fish oil refinery in Annesbrook.
* The
Cawthron Institute has a research facility in
The Wood
''The Wood'' is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Rick Famuyiwa in his feature directional debut and starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs. It was written by Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd.
Plot
Roland is get ...
.
* Food manufacturer the
Talley's Group
Talley's Group Limited is a privately owned, New Zealand–based agribusiness company that provides seafood, vegetable and dairy products. Talley's was established in 1936 in Motueka by Ivan Peter Talijancich (later known as Ivan Talley) as a ...
has processing facilities at
Port Nelson.
* New Zealand King Salmon processes
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
at its factory in
Annesbrook.
* Pic's Peanut Butter is made in its Stoke factory.
Former regional airline
Air Nelson had its headquarters and maintenance base at Nelson Airport.
In 2013, Nelson Mayor
Aldo Miccio worked on a proposal that would see Australian
call centres
A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
for companies such as
Gen-i and
Xero relocated to Nelson. The plan was in response to Australian companies moving call and contact centres out of Asia because their Australian customers preferred English-speaking centres. If the plan was successful, Miccio expected 100 to 300 jobs paying NZ$50,000-plus in the first year to be created in Nelson.
Culture and the arts
As the major regional centre, the city offers many lodgings, restaurants, and unique speciality shopping such as at the
Jens Hansen Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
s where "
The One Ring" in
''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy was designed.
* Nelson has a vibrant local music and arts scene and is known nationwide for its culturally idiosyncratic craftsmen. These include
potters,
glass blowers (such as Flamedaisy Glass Design and Höglund Art Glass Studio & Gallery), and dozens of
wood carvers using native New Zealand
southern beech
''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...
and exotic ''Cupressus macrocarpa.''
* Nelson is a popular visitor destination and year-round attracts both New Zealanders and international tourists.
* The
Nelson Saturday Market is a popular weekly market where one can buy direct from local artists.
* The Theatre Royal was restored in 2010 and is the oldest wooden functioning theatre in the Southern Hemisphere (built 1878)
* Art organisations include the
Suter Art Gallery and
Nelson Arts Festival.
* The
Victory Village community received the 2010
New Zealander of the Year award for Community of the Year.
Architecture

Unlike many towns and cities in New Zealand, Nelson has retained many
Victorian buildings in its historic centre. The South Street area has been designated as having heritage value.
The tallest building is the tall
Rutherford Hotel located on the west edge of Trafalgar Square.
Historic buildings
*
Nelson Cathedral
*
Amber House
* Broadgreen Historic House was built in 1855 for Mr and Mrs Edmund Buxton, additionally with their six daughters. The house was later sold to Fred Langbein in 1901, who lived there with his family until 1965. In 1965, the house was bought by the Nelson City Council and is now used operated a museum for the general public.
*
Cabragh House
*
Chez Eelco
*
Fairfield House
* Founders Park Windmill
* Isel House was home to one of Nelson's first families, the Marsdens. Many of the rooms have been transformed into displays for the public to view. Restoration of the house is managed by Isel House Charitable trust under the supervision of Sally Papps, but the house and the park ground surrounding it are owned by the Nelson City Council.
* Melrose House
*
Nelson Central School Renwick House
*
Theatre Royal
*
Victorian Rose Pub
* Redwood College (Founders Park)
* Nelson Centre of Musical Arts (formerly Nelson School of Music) Est. 1894
Marae
Whakatū Marae, in the suburb of
Atawhai, is the ''
marae
A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
'' (meeting ground) of
Ngāti Kuia,
Ngāti Kōata,
Ngāti Rārua,
Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu,
Ngāti Toa Rangatira and
Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui. It includes the Kākāti ''
wharenui
A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...
'' (meeting house). In October 2020, the Government committed $240,739 from the
Provincial Growth Fund
Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.
Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...
to restore the marae, creating an estimated 9 jobs.
Museums
Founders Heritage Park
Founders Heritage Park is a museum in Nelson, New Zealand, housing a number of groups with historical themes, including transport. A short heritage railway line is operated by the Nelson Railway Society. Several shops operate in the museum, sel ...
is an interactive park that shows the history of Nelson. The park is set up as a village filled with buildings set in a historical time, including well established gardens. Throughout the park, there are stories to be learned about the history of this town. It houses a number of groups with historical themes, including transport.
The
Nelson Provincial Museum houses a collection of locally significant artefacts. The
Nelson Classic Car Museum houses a collection of collectable cars.
Parks and zoo

Nelson has a large number and variety of
public parks and reserves maintained at public expense by Nelson City Council. Major reserves include Grampians Reserve, close to the suburb of
Braemar
Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of .
The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...
, and the botanical Reserve in the east of Nelson, close to
The Wood
''The Wood'' is a 1999 American coming-of-age comedy drama film directed by Rick Famuyiwa in his feature directional debut and starring Omar Epps, Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs. It was written by Famuyiwa and Todd Boyd.
Plot
Roland is get ...
.
Natureland Wildlife Trust (formerly Natureland Zoological Park) is a small zoological facility close to Tāhunanui Beach. The facility is popular with children, where they can closely approach: monkeys (black-capped capuchins, cotton-top tamarins and pygmy marmosets), lemurs, meerkats, agoutis, porcupines, llamas and alpacas,
Kune Kune pigs and peacocks. There are also green iguanas, tropical fish,
kākās,
kea
The kea ( ; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the Family (biology), family Strigopidae that is endemic to the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green, with br ...
s and other birds including in a walk through aviary. Although the zoo nearly closed in 2008, the Orana Wildlife Trust took over its running instead. It looked like a bright future ahead for Natureland and its staff, but since the repeated earthquakes in
Christchurch in 2011 and the damage to Orana Park, Orana Wildlife Trust are uncertain of the future of Natureland.
Orana Wildlife Trust have since pulled out of Natureland, which is now run independently.
Events and festivals
Several major events take place:
* Nelson Jazz & Blues Festival – January
* Nelson Kite Festival – January
* Nelson Yacht Regatta – January
* Baydreams-Nelson – January
* Taste Tasman – January
* Evolve Festival – January
* Adam Chamber Music Festival – biennial – January / February
* International Kai Festival – February
* Weet-bix Kids TRYathlon – March
* Evolve Festival – February
* Marchfest – March
* Taste Nelson festival – March
* Te Ramaroa Light Festival – biennial in June/July
* Winter Music Festival – July
* Nelson Arts Festival – October
* NZ Cider Festival – November
* Nelson A&P Show – November
The annual
World of Wearable Art
World of WearableArt (WOW) is an international design competition, attracting entries from more than 40 countries each year. The competition features wearable art entries, which are judged on durability, the safety and comfort of the models, a ...
Awards was founded in Nelson in 1987 by
Suzie Moncrieff. The first show was held at the restored William Higgins cob cottage in Spring Grove, near
Brightwater.
The show moved to Wellington in 2005 when it became too big to hold in Nelson.
A local museum showcased winning designs alongside their collection of classic cars until the venture was forced to close because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The classic car museum re-opened in 2020.
Sister cities
Nelson has
sister city relationships with:
*
Miyazu, Japan (1976)
*
Huangshi, China (1996)
*
Yangjiang, China (2014)
Infrastructure and services
Healthcare
The main hospital in Nelson is the Nelson Hospital. It is the seat of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board.
The Manuka Street Hospital is a private institution.
Law enforcement
The New Zealand Police, Nelson Central Police Station, located in St John Street, is the headquarters for the Tasman Police District. The Tasman Police District has the lowest crime rate within New Zealand.
Several gangs have established themselves in Nelson. They include the now disbanded Lost Breed and the Red Devils a support club for the Hells Angels. The Rebels Motorcycle Club also has a presence in the wider Nelson-Tasman area.
Electricity
The Nelson City Municipal Electricity Department (MED) established the city's public electricity supply in 1923, with electricity generated by a coal-fired power station at Wakefield Quay. The city was connected to the newly commissioned Cobb Power Station, Cobb hydroelectric power station in 1944 and to the rest of the South Island grid in 1958. The grid connection saw the Wakefield Quay power station was relegated to standby duty before being decommissioned in 1964.
Today, Nelson Electricity operates the local distribution network in the former MED area, which covers the CBD and inner suburbs, while Network Tasman operates the local distribution network in the outer suburbs (including Stoke, Tāhunanui and Atawhai) and rural areas.
Transport
Air transport
Nelson Airport is at
Annesbrook, an industrial suburb southwest of the central city. It operates a single terminal and runway. About a million passengers use the airport annually and it was the List of the busiest airports in New Zealand, fifth-busiest airport in New Zealand by passenger numbers in 2024. It is primarily used for domestic flights, with regular flights to and from Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton, Kapiti Coast, Palmerston North and Wellington. Sounds Air offers flights to and from Wellington. In 2006, it received restricted international airport status to facilitate small private jets.
The airport was home to
Air Nelson, which operated and maintained New Zealand's largest domestic airline fleet, and is now merged into Air New Zealand. It was also the headquarters of Origin Pacific Airways until its collapse in 2006.
In February 2018, the approach road to the airport was flooded when the adjoining Jenkins Creek burst its banks during a storm that brought king tides and strong winds. The airport was closed for about one hour. In 2022, the NZ SeaRise programme identified Nelson airport as an area of particular vulnerability to Sea level rise in New Zealand, sea level rise, with a projected subsidence of per year.
The airport's chief executive said that the proposed runway extension would be planned around the latest sea level rise forecast, and that the airport was "here to stay", despite the concerns over the threats posed by sea level rise.
Maritime transport
Port Nelson is the maritime gateway for the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough regions and an important hub for economic activity. The following shipping companies call at the port:
* Australian National Line / CMA CGM
* Maersk Line
* Mediterranean Shipping Company
* Pacifica Shipping
* Toyofuji Shipping
* Swire Group, Swire Shipping
In the mid-1994, a group of local businessmen, fronted by local politician Owen Jennings, proposed building a port, deep-water port featuring a one-kilometre-long wharf extending from the Boulder Bank into Tasman Bay, where giant ships could berth and manoeuvre with ease. Known as Port Kakariki, the $97 million project was to become the hub to ship West Coast coal to Asia, as well as handling logs, which would be barged across Tasman Bay from Mapua.
In January 2010, the Western Blue Highway, a Nelson to New Plymouth ferry service, was proposed by Port Taranaki. However, to date, neither the Interislander nor Bluebridge have shown any interest in the route.
The Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company was formed 31 March 1901 from the earlier companies of Nathaniel Edwards & Co (1857–1880) and the Anchor Steam Shipping Company (1880–1901). The Anchor Company never departed from its original aim of providing services to the people of Nelson and the West Coast of the South Island and was never a large company; it only owned 37 ships during its history. At its peak around 1930, there were 16 vessels in the fleet. The company operated three nightly return trips per week ferry service between Nelson and
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
and a daily freight service was maintained between the two ports in conjunction with the Pearl Kasper Shipping Company, while another service carried general cargo on a Nelson–Onehunga route. In 1974, the Anchor Company was sold and merged into the Union Company.
Public transport

The passenger and freight company InterCity (New Zealand)#Newmans Coach Lines, Newmans Coach Lines was formed in Nelson in 1879, and merged with Transport Nelson in 1972.
Nelson Motor Service Company ran the first motor bus in Nelson in 1906 and took over the Palace horse buses in 1907. InterCity (New Zealand), InterCity provides daily bus services connecting Nelson with towns and cities around the South Island.
Ebus provides public transport services between Nelson,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
Motueka and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
as well as on two local routes connecting
Atawhai, Nelson Hospital,
The Brook and the Nelson Airport, New Zealand, Airport.
The Late Late Bus is a weekend night transport service between Nelson and Richmond. NBus Cards were replaced by Bee Card (New Zealand), Bee Cards on 3 August 2020.
Taxi companies include Nelson Bays Cabs, Nelson City Taxis and Sun City Taxis.
Rail transport
The Dun Mountain Railway was a horse-drawn tramway that served a mine from 1862 to 1901. The Nelson Section was an isolated, gauge, government-owned railway line between Nelson and Glenhope that operated for years between 1876 and 1955. In 1886, a route was proposed from Nelson to the junction of the New Zealand Midland Railway Company, Midland Railway Company at Buller via
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, Waimea West,
Upper Moutere,
Motueka, the Motueka Valley, Tadmor, New Zealand, Tadmor and Glenhope.
The only rail activity today is a short heritage operation run by the Nelson Railway Society from
Founders Heritage Park
Founders Heritage Park is a museum in Nelson, New Zealand, housing a number of groups with historical themes, including transport. A short heritage railway line is operated by the Nelson Railway Society. Several shops operate in the museum, sel ...
using their own line between Wakefield Quay railway station, Wakefield Grove and Grove railway station, Grove. The society has proposed future extensions of their line, possibly into or near the city centre. Nelson is one of only five major urban areas in New Zealand without a rail connection – the others being Taupō, Rotorua, Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne and Queenstown, New Zealand, Queenstown. There have been Nelson railway proposals, several proposals to connect Nelson to the South Island rail network, but none have come to fruition.
Roading
The Nelson urban area is served by , which runs in a north to southwest direction. The highway travels through the city and nearby town of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, continuing southwest across the plains of the Wairoa River (Tasman), Wairoa and Motueka Rivers. Plans to construct a motorway linking North Nelson to
Brightwater in the south have so far been unsuccessful. A number of studies have been undertaken since 2007 including the 2007 North Nelson to Brightwater Study, the Southern Link Road Project and the Arterial Traffic Study. On 28 June 2013, the Nelson Mayor
Aldo Miccio and Nelson MP
Nick Smith jointly wrote to Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee seeking for the Southern Link to be given Road of National Significance (RoNS) status.
Other significant road projects proposed over the years include a cross-city tunnel from Tāhunanui Drive to Haven Road; or from
Annesbrook (or Tāhunanui) to Emano Street in Victory Square, Nelson, Victory Square; or from Tāhunanui to
Washington Valley.
Media
''The Nelson Examiner'' was the first newspaper published in the South Island. It was established by Charles Elliott (New Zealand politician), Charles Elliott (1811–1876) in 1842, within a few weeks of
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...
settlers arriving in Nelson. Other early newspapers were ''The Colonist'' and the ''Nelson Evening Mail''. Today, Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd publishes the ''Nelson Mail'' four days a week, and the community paper ''The Nelson Tasman Leader'' weekly. The city's largest circulating newspaper is the locally owned ''Nelson Weekly'', which is published every Wednesday.
''WildTomato (magazine), WildTomato'' was a glossy monthly lifestyle magazine focused on the Nelson and Marlborough regions. It was launched by Murray Farquhar as a 16-page local magazine in Nelson in July 2006, and put into liquidation in March 2021.
The city is served by all major national radio and television stations, with terrestrial television (Freeview (New Zealand), Freeview) and FM radio. Local radio stations include The Hits (formerly Radio Nelson), More FM (formerly Fifeshire FM), The Breeze, ZM (New Zealand), ZM (formerly The Planet 97FM) and community station Fresh FM (New Zealand), Fresh FM. The city has one local television station, Mainland Television.
Sport
The first rugby union match in New Zealand took place at the Botanic Reserve in Nelson on 14 May 1870, between the Nelson Suburbs FC and Nelson College. An informative commemorative plaque was renovated at the western edge of the grassed area by Nelson City Council in 2006.
Major sports teams
Major venues
Education
There are four secondary schools: Garin College, Nayland College, Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls.
Nelson hosts two tertiary education institutions. The main one is Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, which has two main campuses, one in Nelson and the other in Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenheim in Marlborough. The institute has been providing tertiary education in the Nelson-Marlborough region for the last 100 years.
Nelson also has a University of Canterbury College of Education campus, which currently has an intake two out of every three years for the primary sector.
Notable people
* Sophia Anstice – seamstress and businesswoman
* Harry Atmore – politician
* Francis Bell (New Zealand politician), Francis Bell – politician
* George Bennett (cyclist), George Bennett – cyclist
* Chester Borrows – politician
* Mark Bright (rugby union), Mark Bright – rugby union player
* Jeremy Brockie – footballer
* Cory Brown – footballer
* Paul Brydon – footballer
* Mel Courtney – politician
* Ryan Crotty – rugby union player
* Rod Dixon – athlete
* Frederick Richard Edmund Emmett – music dealer and colour therapist
* Dame Sister Pauline Engel – nun and educator
* Finn Fisher-Black – cyclist
* Rose Frank – photographer
* John Guy (New Zealand cricketer), John Guy – cricket player
* Isaac Mason Hill – social reformer, servant, storekeeper and ironmonger
* Frederick Nelson Jones – inventor
* Nina Jones – painter
* Charles Littlejohn – rower
* Liam Malone – athlete
* Simon Mannering – rugby league player
*
Aldo Miccio – politician
* Marjorie Naylor – artist
* Edgar Neale – politician
* Geoffrey Palmer (New Zealand politician), Geoffrey Palmer – politician and former Prime Minister
*
Nick Smith – politician
* Frank Howard Nelson Stapp – concert impresario
* Rhian Sheehan – composer and musician
* Riki van Steeden – footballer
* Mike Ward (New Zealand politician), Mike Ward – politician
* George William Wallace Webber – postmaster, boarding-house keeper and farmer
* Nate Wilbourne – environmentalist
* Guy Williams (comedian), Guy Williams – comedian
* Paul Williams (comedian), Paul Williams – comedian
Panoramas
See also
* List of twin towns and sister cities in New Zealand
References
Bibliography
* Fox-Davies, A. C. (1909). ''A Complete Guide To Heraldry''.
External links
*
NelsonTasman.nz official destination guide and business hub
{{Authority control
Nelson, New Zealand,
1858 establishments in New Zealand
Former provincial capitals of New Zealand
German-New Zealand culture
Marinas in New Zealand
Populated places established in 1858
Port cities in New Zealand
South Island
Wine regions of New Zealand
Populated places in the Nelson Region, *
Populated places around Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere,
Geographical centres
Regions of New Zealand