New Zealand - Nelson - Hardy Street - Commercial Hotel - F N Jones photo - Real Photo format Nelson Facts & Figures - In 2013 there were 5,622 businesses with 24,940 employees in Nelson and 6,446 businesses with 18,950 employees in Tasman. - The main industries providing employment in Nelson were healthcare and social assistance, retail trade and manufacturing. - Nelson’s population increased by 8 percent between 2006 and 2013 and Tasman’s population increased 6 percent. - The total population for New Zealand also increased by 5 percent over the same period. - By 2031, Nelson’s population is projected to be 51,200 and Tasman’s will be 53,900. (Reference: Read more at http://www.nelson.govt.nz/services/community/business-2/facts-and-figures/) Nelson - Settlement of Nelson began about 700 years ago by Māori. - There is evidence the earliest settlements in New Zealand are around the Nelson-Marlborough regions. - The earliest recorded iwi in the Nelson district are the Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri, Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne tribes. - Raids from northern tribes in the 1820s, led by Te Rauparaha and his Ngāti Toa, soon decimated the local population and quickly displaced them. (Reference: Wikipedia)