NELSON Nelson is the last township encounted in Victoria using the coast road to Mount Gambier. Nelson is a typical coastal village. The river accentuates the quiet delight of this hamlet. Nelson is one of those places, that if the weather is being kind it is easy to linger awhile. In January 1852 the name of Nelson was adopted for the settlement, after the ship Lady Nelson which was used by Lieutenant James Grant in explorations of the area in the early nineteenth century. A punt was built across the river in 1848 by Henry Kellett. A summerhouse was also built in 1848, which later became the town's current hotel. The town site was surveyed and named in 1852 by Lindsay Clarke, and sheep grazing began soon after. Settlement of the township came much later, a Post Office being opened on March 17, 1876. The Nelson Hotel is over 100 years old and in all those years the pub would have been the centre of activity. The Nelson War Memorial is at the town’s cemetery. ANZAC services are held at this spot. The Presbyterian Church is in the backblocks of the town but is unsigned from the highway. Nelson is a coastal retreat a long way from the major centres. If peace and quiet and serenity is your scene this place is for you. Allow a night if the weather is favourable. Heritage diary