Gisborne District
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Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by
Gisborne District Council Gisborne District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti) is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largel ...
, a
unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
(with the combined powers of a
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
and regional council). It is named after its largest settlement, the
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of Gisborne. The region is also commonly referred to as the East Coast. The region is commonly divided into the East Cape and
Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...
. It is bounded by mountain ranges to the west, rugged country to the south, and faces east onto the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.


Name and history

Prior to the late 19th century, the area was known as Tūranga. However, as the Gisborne town site was laid out in 1870, the name changed to Gisborne, after the Colonial Secretary
William Gisborne William Gisborne (13 August 1825 – 7 January 1898) was the first New Zealand Cabinet Secretary from 1864 to 1869, Colonial Secretary of New Zealand from 1869 to 1872, and Minister of Public Works between 1870 and 1871. The city of Gisborne in ...
, and to avoid confusion with the town of
Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
. The region was formerly known as the ''East Coast'', although the region is often divided into the East Coast proper (or East Cape), north of the city, and
Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...
, the area including and surrounding the city. The region is also sometimes referred to as the ''East Cape'', although that also refers specifically to the promontory at the northeastern extremity. More recently, it has been called ''Eastland'', although that can also include
Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a small town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Ge ...
in the eastern
Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
to the northwest, and
Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...
to the south. Its
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
name ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'' means the Coast of the Sunrise, reflecting the fact that it is the first part of the New Zealand mainland to see the sun rise. Gisborne District Council styles the name as ''Te Tairāwhiti''.


Geography

The region is located in the northeastern corner of the
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. It ranges from the Wharerata Hills in the south, which divide it from
Wairoa District Wairoa District is a Territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. The Wairoa District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Wairoa. The district falls within the Hawke's Bay Region. The district has an area of 4, ...
in
Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...
, to Lottin Point in the north. The western boundary runs along the Raukumara Range, which separates it from
Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District is a territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. The Ōpōtiki District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Ōpōtiki. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty region. Lyn Riesterer has be ...
. In the southwest, its boundary runs along the western edge of
Te Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...
. It is sparsely inhabited and isolated, with small settlements mainly clinging to small bays along the eastern shore, including
Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a- ...
and
Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay ( mi, Uawa) is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around the bay is rugged and remote, and for m ...
. Its population is Three-quarters of the population – – lives in the city of Gisborne. No other settlements have a population of over 1000; the largest are the towns of Tolaga Bay and
Ruatoria Ruatoria ( mi, Ruatōria) is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Mā ...
, each with populations of over 800 in 2001. Inland, the land is rough, predominantly forested, hill country. A spine of rough ridges dominates the centre of the region, culminating in the impressive bulk of the 1752 metre Mount Hikurangi in
Waiapu Valley Waiapu Valley, also known as the Waiapu catchment, Waiapu River valley or simply Waiapu, is a valley in the north of the Gisborne Region on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the catchment area for the Waiapu River and its ...
in the region's northeast. Hikurangi is the fifth highest mountain in the North Island, and the highest that is not a volcano. Regarded as sacred by
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
, there is some justification to the claims that this is the first mountain to see the sun in summer. The region's population has higher than the national average proportion of Māori – over 50% in some areas – and maintains strong ties to both Māori tradition and the
iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
and
marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
structure. The predominant iwi are
Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...
,
Rongowhakaata Rongowhakaata is a Māori '' iwi'' of the Gisborne region of New Zealand. Hapū and marae There are three primary ''hapū'' (subtribes) of Rongowhakaata today: Ngati Kaipoho, Ngai Tawhiri and Ngati Maru. Ngāti Kaipoho Ngāti Kaipoho descend f ...
,
Ngāi Tāmanuhiri Ngāi Tāmanuhiri is a Māori iwi of New Zealand and were formerly known by the name of Ngai Tahu, and Ngai Tahu-po respectively. They are descendants of Tahu-nui (also known as Tahu potiki, or Tahu matua) who is also the eponymous ancestor of t ...
and
Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki is one of the three principal Māori iwi of the Tūranga district; the others being Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is numerically the largest of the three, with 6,258 affiliated members as of 2013. The rohe (territo ...
.


2007 earthquake

At 8:55pm (NZDT) on 20 December 2007, the Gisborne region was hit by an earthquake of
Richter magnitude The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
6.8, centred in the Hikurangi Trench which is a part of the Hikurangi Margin. The earthquake was situated 50 km southeast of Gisborne at a depth of 40 km. Mercalli intensities of 7-8 were experienced, with three buildings substantially collapsed in the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
and others experiencing some structural damage. One death was reported (a heart attack of an elderly woman, sustained during the quake) plus minor injuries.


Climate

The region is sheltered by high country to the west and has a dry, sunny climate. It has a yearly average of 2,200 sunshine hours. The annual rainfall varies from about 1000mm near the coast to over 2500mm in higher inland country. Typical maxima range from 20 to 28 °C in summer and 10-16 °C in winter. Minima vary from 10 to 16 °C in summer to 0-8 °C in winter.


Demographics

Gisborne Region covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Gisborne Region had a population of 47,517 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 3,864 people (8.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,018 people (6.8%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 16,410 households. There were 23,394 males and 24,126 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female. The median age was 37.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 11,283 people (23.7%) aged under 15 years, 8,766 (18.4%) aged 15 to 29, 20,124 (42.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 7,344 (15.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 58.1% European/Pākehā, 52.9% Māori, 4.5% Pacific peoples, 2.8% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 9.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 48.2% had no religion, 36.4% were Christian, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 6.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 5,382 (14.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 7,944 (21.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 3,945 people (10.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 17,064 (47.1%) people were employed full-time, 5,451 (15.0%) were part-time, and 1,872 (5.2%) were unemployed. In the 2018 census, 77.6% of the population could speak in one language only, 18.9% in two languages and 1.1% in three or more languages.


Urban areas

Gisborne, with a population of , is the only urban area in the district with a population over 1,000. It is home to % of the district's population. Other towns and settlements in the Gisborne district include: *
Hicks Bay Wharekahika or Hicks Bay (officially Wharekahika / Hicks Bay) is a bay and coastal area in the Gisborne District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 150 km east of Opotiki and 186 km north of Gisborne city, along Stat ...
* Manutuke *
Patutahi Patutahi is a small settlement 15 kilometres from Gisborne, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the valley of the Waipaoa River. Parks Patutahi Soccer Ground is a sports ground in Patutahi. Marae The area has thre ...
*
Ruatoria Ruatoria ( mi, Ruatōria) is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Mā ...
*
Te Araroa Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously made ...
*
Te Karaka Te Karaka is a small settlement inland from Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the valley of the Waipaoa River close to its junction with its tributary, the Waihora River. Te Karaka is ...
*
Tokomaru Bay Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community located on the isolated East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a- ...
*
Tolaga Bay Tolaga Bay ( mi, Uawa) is both a bay and small town on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island located 45 kilometres northeast of Gisborne and 30 kilometres south of Tokomaru Bay. The region around the bay is rugged and remote, and for m ...


Economy

The subnational gross domestic product (GDP) of the Gisborne region was estimated at NZ$2.16 billion in the year to March 2019, 0.7% of New Zealand's national GDP. The regional GDP per capita was estimated at $44,004 in the same period.


Government

The district is governed by
Gisborne District Council Gisborne District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti) is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largel ...
, a
unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...
territorial authority Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a c ...
, meaning that it performs the functions of a regional council as well as those of a territorial authority (a district or city). It is constituted as both the ''Gisborne District'' and the ''Gisborne Region''. It replaced Gisborne City,
Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
,
Waiapu County Waiapu County was one of the counties of New Zealand on the North Island. Development under difficulties NB: This section is derived from text in availablhereat the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. The Waiapu County, which then included th ...
and
Waikohu County Waikohu County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island. Splendid Record of Progress NB: This section is derived from text in availablhereat the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre. Waikohu County was constituted in October, 1 ...
in a major nationwide reform of local government in 1989.


Arts

There are a number of notable creative people from the Gisborne region including writer
Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people were ignored or mischaracterised in literat ...
, opera singer
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...
and actor
George Henare George Winiata Henare (born 11 September 1945) is a New Zealand actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Born in Gisborne on 11 September 1945, the third youngest in a family of ten children, Henare affiliates to the Māori trib ...
. An annual arts festival began in 2019 called Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival. In 2020 this included a series of light installations along the river in Gisborne city showcasing ten local artists.


Sport

The region is represented in rugby union by the
East Coast Rugby Football Union The Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers a ...
and the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.


See also

* 2006 Tonga earthquake *
List of marae in the Gisborne District There are about 80 ''marae'' (Māori meeting grounds) in the Gisborne District of New Zealand. They include the marae of six ''iwi'' (tribes): Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga-ā-Hauiti, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Ron ...
* List of people from Gisborne * List of schools in the Gisborne District


References


External links


Gisborne District Council official website


{{Authority control Wine regions of New Zealand