It was first created in 1990 as a replacement for Koolpinyah, and was named after Harold George Nelson, the first member for the federal Northern Territory electorate.

Nelson is a largely rural electorate, covering 1,415 km² and taking in the small towns of Howard Springs, McMinn's Lagoon and part of Humpty Doo, and some areas between Darwin and Palmerston.

Long-serving independent Noel Padgham-Purich held the seat for the last few years of her career, having previously represented most of the area as the member for Koolpinyah from 1983 to 1990.

Country Liberal Party member Chris Lugg, held the seat for one term before being defeated by another independent, Gerry Wood.

However, for most of its existence, Nelson has been a comfortably safe CLP seat in "traditional" two-party matchups against Labor, so Maley's victory was not considered an upset.