Description & Facts: Nelson is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island. Nelson is situated in a region often known as Nelson Tasman or the "Top of the South." It is actually slightly north of the capital city of Wellington. Together with Richmond, it has a population of around 50,000 ranking it as New Zealand???s 10th most populous city and the geographical centre of New Zealand. Nelson is a beautiful coastal city set amongst some of New Zealand's most stunning scenary. The city is the economic and cultural centre for the Nelson-Tasman region and offers an excellent range of shopping, eating and cultural experiences with an abundance of parks, rivers, beaches and nature trails to explore. Nelson is named after British Admiral Lord Nelson and is New Zealand's second oldest city, being settled in 1841. The Nelson economy is based on the ???big four??? industries; seafood, horticulture, tourism and forestry. Port Nelson is the biggest fishing port in Australasia. There are also a range of growth industries, including art and craft, aviation, engineering technology, and information technology. The region's official tourism organisation is Nelson Tasman Tourism, which operates i-SITE Visitor Information Centres in Nelson City, Takaka in Golden Bay and in Murchison. Nelson City is small enough to walk around, but for access from the surrounding suburbs and around the sites and attractions of the city and region you'll likely want to rent a car, take a taxi, or have a fresh set of legs and a bicycle. The City is serviced by a bus service which runs Monday to Saturday on four main routes: 1) Toitoi/Hospital, 2) Atawhai, 3) Brook/Maitai and 4) Washington Valley/Port Hills. Please see Nelson Bus Information. For late night partiers there is also an excellent bus service which runs hourly until 3.15AM from Trafalgar Street to Richmond.