 Several events contributed to the eventual demise of the Nelson Section.Though it has been argued that the Nelson Section was never given a real chance to succeed, or that it was the victim of an outright conspiracy to get rid of it by those in authority, it was often the victim of circumstance that accumulated to the point where it was no longer tenable to keep it open.The Great Depression of the 1930s was portended in the 1920s when the prices fetched for primary produce – a significant part of the New Zealand economy of the time – declined to the point where many producers were forced from the industry.