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 hap 'ily 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 .