William Nelson

William Nelson (15 February 1843 – 16 November 1932) was a New Zealand industrialist and farmer described in his obituaries as "the father of Hawkes Bay". He personally managed his Nelson Brothers freezing works at Tomoana for nearly 40 years.

Emigration He arrived in Auckland in February 1863 with his elder brother Frederick Nelson. They settled in Hawkes Bay but their farming ventures were unsuccessful and William returned to his father's business in Warwick, England in the early 1870s leaving Fred in New Zealand. Gathering management experience in Warwick he meanwhile learnt all he could about meat preservation to export the meat otherwise wasted in New Zealand for the sake of consumers. In March 1884 Nelson Brothers arranged the first shipment, 9,000 sheep and six bullocks, on the sailing ship Turakina.