description
Nelson stands on the southern
corner of Tasman Bay, on the northern end of the South
Island of New Zealand and is the administrative centre
for Nelson Province. Nelson received its name in honour
of the 1st Viscount Nelson and Admiral of the fleet that
defeated both the French and Spanish fleets at the
Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Many of the roads and
public areas around the city are named after people and
ships associated with that battle. Trafalgar Street is
the main city street.
Nelson's Māori name, Whakatū, means "a place to stand",
literally meaning "home".
Nelson Province is one of the regions of New Zealand and
is administered as a unitary authority. It is positioned
between Marlborough to the east and Tasman District to
the west
Many people believe Nelson has the best climate in New
Zealand, in that it regularly tops the national
statistics for sunshine hours, with an annual average
total of over 2400 hours.
Nelson Province has beaches and a sheltered harbour. The
harbour entrance is protected by a natural breakwater
known as The Boulder Bank, which also reduces the
effects of the tide on Nelson city's beach, Tahunanui.
This allows for some of the safest sea bathing in the
country.
Nelson is surrounded by mountains on three sides with
Tasman Bay on the other. It functions as the gateway to
the Abel Tasman National Park, the Kahurangi National
Park, and Rotoiti and Rotoroa in the Nelson Lakes
National Park. It is a centre for both ecotourism and
adventure tourism, and has a high reputation among
caving enthusiasts due to several prominent cave systems
around Takaka Hill and Mount Owen.
The marker at the "Centre of New Zealand"The
geographical "Centre of New Zealand" allegedly lies in
Nelson; on a hilltop suspiciously convenient to the
centre of the city. This supposed "centre" in fact
simply marks the point deemed the "centre" for the
purposes of early geographical surveys. The true
geographical centre lies in a patch of unremarkable
dense scrub in a forest on the Spooner Range near
Tapawera, 35 kilometres southwest of Nelson.
Nelson serves as a centre for arts and crafts, and each
year hosts popular events such as the Nelson Arts
Festival, and, in previous years, the annual Wearable
Art Awards, although these have now moved to Wellington.
Nelson Province is the birthplace of Ernest Rutherford.
The Nelson urban area, which includes the adjacent town
of Richmond, has a population of approximately 50,000 -
and has recently increased in population more rapidly
than any other region in New Zealand. |
