1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Nelson (New Zealand)

NELSON, a seaport of New Zealand, the seat of a bishop and capital of a provincial district of the same name; at the head of Blind Bay on the northern coast of the South Island. Pop. (1906) 8164. The woods and fields in the neighbourhood abound with English song-birds, and the streams are stocked with trout; while the orchards in the town and suburbs are famous for English kinds of fruit, and hops are extensively cultivated. The town possesses a small museum and art gallery, literary institute, government buildings, and boys’ and girls’ schools of high repute. The cathedral (Christ Church) is finely placed on a mound which was originally intended as a place of refuge from hostile natives. It is built of wood, the various native timbers being happily combined. Railways connect the harbour with the town, and the town with Motupiko, &c. The harbour, with extensive wharves, is protected by the long and remarkable Boulder Bank, whose southern portion forms the natural breakwater to that anchorage. The settlement was planted by the New Zealand Company in 1842. The borough returns one member to the house of representatives, and its local affairs are administered by a mayor and council.