Todds Valley between the Creek and History

If you’re looking for hotels for a trip to Todds Valley, it helps to distinguish between the locality, nearby Atawhai and the wider destination of Nelson City. Oldham Creek connects landscape and history; in Atawhai, the history behind the name and a notable former residence add to the story. Nelson City broadens this local perspective with urban history, art and landscape.

Oldham Creek and the Route Description

A route description from 2018 takes Nelson’s bus route 3 from the city through The Wood to Tresillian Avenue in Atawhai. It also includes a loop through Dodson Valley. Since the description dates from 2018, check the current timetable details before travelling.

Oldham Creek is in Dodson Valley and is named after John Oldham, who lived there. According to local accounts, Oldham and Dodson were once the only residents in the immediate area. The creek bed is surrounded by homes, but otherwise follows a largely natural course. This brings a built-up setting together with a largely natural creek. The lower reaches of Oldham Creek in the wider area around the destination are home to īnanga, smelt, banded kōkopu, eels and koura, or freshwater crayfish.

Atawhai: The History Behind the Name and Burnside

In nearby Atawhai, John Oldham is considered to be the person after whom the locality was named. Atawhai means “to show kindness or generosity.” The name was later adopted for the district when a post office was set up in John Oldham’s house.

Burnside is also in Atawhai. The former home of the Black family is associated with John Black and his family and is a private residence; it is believed to be the oldest surviving house in Atawhai. A heritage entry completed by Nelson City Council in 2024 describes Burnside as a late Victorian villa with a square floor plan. The building was designed to maximise the view to the northwest across Nelson Haven and the Boulder Bank. At the same time, a notably high degree of authenticity has been preserved on the exterior.

Culture and Landscape in the Wider Destination of Nelson City

In Nelson City, the Theatre Royal offers a glimpse into the history of theatre architecture: it is New Zealand’s oldest purpose-built theatre still used for its original purpose. The theatre is privately owned and generally not open to the public. Trafalgar Street also tells the story of the city: its area has been Nelson’s commercial centre for more than a century. At historic Albion Square, information panels on Hardy Street and Bridge Street explain the square and its features.

Art and regional history add to these urban connections. The Suter Memorial Art Gallery was built in 1899 in memory of Anglican Bishop Andrew Burn Suter. The Regional Gallery at Nelson Provincial Museum, located in the heart of Nelson City, focuses on Te Tauihu—the tip of the South Island from Tasman Bay to Golden Bay—and explores the history and identity of this region.

Nelson City’s landscape also includes the Boulder Bank Scenic Reserve: this rare, 13-kilometre-long gravel bank protects Nelson Harbour. Together with Burnside’s outlook to the northwest across Nelson Haven and the Boulder Bank, it offers a different way to experience the region than the homes and creek bed in Dodson Valley.

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View the main travel overview: Nelson City.