Nelson Region
| Nelson | |
|---|---|
 Location of Nelson (red) in New Zealand |
|
| Composition | |
| Largest city | Nelson City |
| Demonym(s) | Nelsonian |
Nelson is a geographical region of New Zealand which comprises Nelson City and Tasman District.
The sub-national GDP of the Nelson region (Nelson City and Tasman District) was estimated at $3.4 billion in 2010, 1.8% of New Zealand's national GDP.
The Nelson region is rich in natural resources with varying quantities of argillite, asbestos, chromite, coal, copper, crude oil, dolomite, dunite, gold, granite, iron ore, lead, limestone, marble, molybdenum, natural gas, nickel, soapstone, tungsten, uranium and zinc present.
In 1905, a government geologist forecast that iron deposits of 50 million tons lay in the Onekaka and Parapara areas of the Nelson region. With all the necessary materials – iron ore, limestone, water, and coal – within a few miles of each other and ownership of a nearby wharf, the Onekaka Iron and Steel Company Ltd seemed virtually self-contained. With the Nelson Evening Mail predicting that "Nelson was on the eve of a future industrial center on the shores of Golden Bay". The first iron flowed from the blast furnace at the Onekaka ironworks at 8 pm on 27 April 1922 but by 1931, the Onekaka Iron and Steel Company Ltd had gone into liquidation due to falling prices and an increase in tariffs by the Australian government. Several attempts between 1951 and 1956, by the New Zealand Government, which had nationalised the steel industry in 1938 proved unsuccessful.
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