Gisborne ( mi, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa "Great standing place of Kiwa") is a
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 ...
in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the
Gisborne District
Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers o ...
(or Gisborne Region). It has a population of The district council has its headquarters in
Whataupoko
Whataupoko is the central suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne. It is located to the northeast of the city business district.
It is bordered by the city centre, and the suburbs of Kaiti and Mangapapa.
The name derives from the Maori term ...
, in the central city.
The settlement was originally known as Turanga and renamed Gisborne in 1870 in honour of New Zealand
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 ...
.
Early history
First arrivals
The Gisborne region has been settled for over 700 years.
For centuries the region has been inhabited by the tribes of
Te Whanau-a-Kai,
Ngaariki Kaiputahi,
Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki 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-Hauiti
Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) covers the area from Tawhiti-a-Paoa Tokomaru Bay to Te Toka-a-Taiau Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New ...
. Their people descend from the voyagers of the Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, Horouta and Tākitimu
waka
Waka may refer to:
Culture and language
* Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand
** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe
** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe
** Waka taua, a Māori w ...
.
East Coast oral traditions offer differing versions of Gisborne's establishment 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 ...
. One legend recounts that in the 1300s, the great navigator
Kiwa landed at the
Turanganui River first on the waka
Tākitimu
''Tākitimu'' was a ''waka'' (canoe) with ''whakapapa'' throughout the Pacific particularly with Samoa, the Cook Islands, and New Zealand in ancient times. In several Māori traditions, the ''Tākitimu'' was one of the great Māori migration ...
after voyaging to the region from Hawaiki
and that Pāoa, Captain of the waka
Horouta
In Māori tradition, the canoe ''Horouta'' was one of the great ocean-going canoes in which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand approximately 800 years ago.
The story goes that Kahukura, a man from Hawaiki, introduced kūmara (sweet potato), ...
, followed later. An alternative legend recounts that Kiwa waited so long for the Horouta canoe to arrive that he called its final landing place Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (''The long waiting place of Kiwa'').
However, a more popular version of events is that Horouta ''preceded'' Takitimu. In 1931,
Sir Āpirana Ngata stated that Horouta was the main canoe that brought the people to the East Coast and that
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 Zeala ...
always regarded Takitimu as "an unimportant canoe".
Māori historian
Rongowhakaata Halbert affirmed this account, stating that Paoa's crew on the Horouta were the first inhabitants of the East Coast after migrating from Ahuahu or
Great Mercury Island.
Paoa gave his name to various places across the region, most notably the Waipāoa River (Wai-o-Pāoa).
During the 14th century, Māori tribes built fishing villages close to the sea and built
pā on nearby hilltops.
Captain Cook landing
Gisborne's Kaiti Beach is the place where British navigator
Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
made his first landing in New Zealand upon the ''
Endeavour''.
Cook had earlier set off from
Plymouth, England in August 1768 on a mission bound for Tahiti. Once he had concluded his duties in Tahiti, Cook continued south to look for a large landmass or continent, before heading west.
Young Nick's Head
Young Nick's Head is a headland at the southern end of Poverty Bay in New Zealand's North Island. The area is the landing place of the Horouta and Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru waka (canoe), waka which carried Māori people, Māori settlers to the region aroun ...
was thought to be the first piece of New Zealand land sighted by Cook's party, and so named because it was first observed by cabin boy Nicholas Young on 6 October 1769.
On 9 October, Cook came ashore on the eastern bank of the Turanganui River, accompanied by a party of men.
Their arrival was marred by misunderstanding and resulted in the death and wounding of nine Māori over four days.
It was also on the banks of the Turanganui River that first the township of Turanga, then the city of Gisborne, grew as European traders and whalers began to settle in the river and port area.
The landing site was commemorated by a monument in 1906, on the 137th anniversary of Cook's arrival. In 1964 the Gisborne committee of the
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
registered the land around the monument as a historic reserve, and in 1990 it was designated a
National Historic Reserve and put under the care of the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
.
In 2019 a memorial was erected by Ngāti Oneone on Titirangi, a local hill, to honour Te Maro who was one of the first casualties of the arrival of the ship Endeavour.
European settlement and town growth
Starting in the early 1830s,
traders such as Captain John Harris and
Captain George E. Read set up the first trading stations along the Turanganui river and are attributed to the founding of the town. Over the next 30 years, many more European traders and
missionaries migrated to the region. In 1868 the government bought 300 hectares of land for a town site. The town was laid out in 1870 and the name changed from Turanga to Gisborne, after the then colonial secretary, and to avoid confusion with
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 ...
. In 1872, Gisborne's first public school was opened and its first newspaper, the ''Poverty Bay Standard'' was established.
A town council was formed in 1877.
Marae
Te Poho-o-Rawiri and Te Kuri a Tuatai
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 ...
are located in the city suburbs.
Geography
Gisborne is a
coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
al city located on the east cape of New Zealand's
North Island. It sits at the south end of the
Gisborne District
Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers o ...
and also within
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 no ...
. The Poverty Bay Flats encompass Gisborne city as well as surrounding areas Mākaraka, Matawhero and Ormond where vineyards and farms are prominent.
Gisborne is flat towards the shoreline, but forested and hilly inland.
Gisborne boasts a large stretch of coastline encompassing the Waikanae and Midway, Kaiti, Sponge Bay,
Wainui
Wainui is a locality in the Rodney Ward of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Wainui is approximately 5.5 kilometres north-east of Waitoki and 10 km west of Orewa. The Wainui Stream flows south-west through the area, and exits into the ...
and Makorori white sand beaches, which are popular for swimming and surfing.
Sometimes referred to as the 'City of Rivers', Gisborne sits at the convergence of the Waimata, Taruheru and Turanganui rivers.
At only 1200 meters long, Turanganui is the shortest river in New Zealand.
Kaiti Hill (''Titirangi''), which sits directly above Cook's landing site,
provides expansive views over the city and wider Poverty Bay.
Many archaeological sites have been identified on Titirangi, including burial grounds,
terraces, and
middens
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
. Titirangi
Pā sits near the summit.
In the wider area surrounding Gisborne are two
arboreta
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
,
Eastwoodhill, the National Arboretum of New Zealand at Ngatapa which spans over 130 hectares, and the smaller 50 hectare
Hackfalls Arboretum
Hackfalls Arboretum is an arboretum in New Zealand. It was founded in the 1950s by Bob Berry. It is part of Hackfalls Station, a sheep and cattle farm of about 10 square kilometres, owned by the Berry family. The farm is in Tiniroto, a tiny villa ...
at
Tiniroto
Tiniroto is a small farming and forestry community on the “inland” road from Gisborne to Wairoa in the eastern part of the North Island of New Zealand.
The village of Tiniroto is small. It has a primary school and a tavern, with overnight ...
.
Up until
Samoa and Tokelau's dateline shift in December 2011, Gisborne claimed to be the first city on Earth to see the sun rise each day. However, this is now only accurate in New Zealand's summer months.
Sunrise in Gisborne ranges from 5:36 am in early December to 7:26 am in late June.
Climate
The region is sheltered by high country to the west. Gisborne enjoys a
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
climate (
Cfb -
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
) with warm summers and cool winters, temperatures rarely drop below 0 °C (32 °F) and occasionally rise above 30 °C (86 °F) with a yearly average of 2,200 sunshine hours. The annual rainfall varies from about 1000 mm near the coast to over 2500 mm in higher inland country.
According to the
NIWA
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scien ...
dataset for 1981–2010 normals, Gisborne narrowly edged several other cities to have the warmest summer maxima of official stations. Winters are slightly cooler than more northerly areas, rendering that over the course of the calendar year, Gisborne is not the warmest station of the country. Even summertime mean temperatures are lower than northerly areas in spite of the highs due to the cooler nights. In spite of this, yearly mean temperatures are still some way above average for New Zealand as a whole.
Economy
The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool were shipped from here. Now the harbour is the home of many smaller fishing boats as well as ships loading logs for export.
The city maintains a rural charm and is a popular holiday spot. Local industries include agriculture, horticulture, farming and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
. Wine production is also valuable to the local economy.
Lifestyle
Art and culture
The Tairāwhiti Tamararo Regionals are an annual regional haka competition held in Gisborne in memory of Karaitiana Tamararo.
Gisborne is host to
Rhythm & Vines
Rhythm and Vines (commonly known as R&V, RnV or Rhythm) is an annual music festival held at Waiohika Estate vineyard, northwest of Gisborne, New Zealand. The festival began in 2003 and was held for the one day of New Year's Eve until 2008 wh ...
, an annual 3-day music festival held over the New Year at Waiohika Estate. In 2012 and 2013, Rhythm and Vines made skinny dipping world record attempts.
The Lowe Street Museum was the first museum in Gisborne, located in the Lowe Street Municipal Offices. In 1955 the collection of Māori artefacts of
William Lysner were put in his former residence, Lysner House, which was sold to the city for a nominal sum. It is now known as the Tairāwhiti Museum.
Since 2019 the
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival is an annual event in the region with many events taking place in Gisborne.
Sport
* In
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
Gisborne is home to
Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union, who play in the
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the countr ...
. The city is also home to several clubs who compete in the Poverty Bay competition - Horouta Sports Club, High School Old Boys (HSOB) Sports Club, Old Boys Marist (OBM) RFC, Pirates RFC, Waikohu Sports Club, and Young Māori Party (YMP) RFC. There are several other clubs in the wider
Gisborne Region
Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority (with the combined powers of ...
.
* In
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
,
Gisborne Taraiwhiti have historically represented Gisborne in national competitions. Gisborne is currently represented in the
National Competition by the
Waicoa Bay Stallions
The Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions were a rugby league team that represent the Upper Central Zone of the New Zealand Rugby League. The Zone comprises four districts: Waikato, Coastline Rugby League, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League. The ...
.
* In
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
, Gisborne is home to the
Poverty Bay cricket team
The Poverty Bay cricket team represents the Poverty Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand. It competes in the Hawke Cup. Its base is in Gisborne.
History Early years
Cricket was established in Gisborne in the 1870s. A Poverty Bay team ...
, who compete in the
Hawke Cup
The Hawke Cup is a non-first-class cricket competition for New Zealand's district associations. Apart from 1910–11, 1912–13 and 2000–01 the competition has always been on a challenge basis. To win the Hawke Cup, the challengers must beat t ...
. Poverty Bay is also a district association of the
Northern Districts Cricket Association
The Northern Districts men's cricket team are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket.
They are based in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand (excluding Auckland). They compete in the ...
. First-class matches are sometimes held at
Harry Barker Reserve. Clubs in the city include High School Old Boys (HSOB) Cricket Club and OBR Cricket Club.
* In
football,
Gisborne Thistle AFC
Gisborne Thistle AFC is an association football club based in the city of Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne, in the North Island of New Zealand. For many years, the club played second-fiddle to neighbours Gisborne City (with whom they share the Chi ...
, Gisborne Marist AFC, Gisborne United AFC, Gisborne Bohemians FC, and Riverina AFC compete in competitions organised by the Central Football Federation. The now-defunct
Gisborne City AFC
Gisborne City AFC was an association football club in Gisborne, New Zealand. Founded in 1939 as Eastern Union, the club changed its name to Gisborne City after winning the Central Districts League at the first attempt in 1967.
As Eastern Union, ...
won the
Chatham Cup
The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auck ...
in 1987.
*
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
in Gisborne is organised by the Gisborne Netball Centre. Netball teams in Gisborne are often associated with rugby or football clubs. Clubs include Horouta, High School Old Girls (HSOG), Old Boys Marist (OBM), Young Māori Party (YMP), and Gisborne Thistle.
* A number of other sports, including golf, basketball, rowing, hockey, tennis, and squash are catered to in Gisborne.
Demographics
The Gisborne urban area had a usual resident population of 34,527 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 3,294 people (10.5%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 3,228 people (10.3%) 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 16,623 males and 17,907 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female. Of the total population, 8,229 people (23.8%) were aged up to 15 years, 6,603 (19.1%) were 15 to 29, 14,184 (41.1%) were 30 to 64, and 5,511 (16.0%) were 65 or older.
In terms of ethnicity, 58.8% of the population identified as European (Pākehā), 51.6% as Māori, 5.3% as Pacific peoples, 3.5% as Asian, and 1.3% as other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
Gisborne had an unemployment rate of 9.4% of people 15 years and over, compared to 7.4% nationally. The median annual income of all people 15 years and over was $24,400, compared to $28,500 nationally. Of those, 41.9% earned under $20,000, compared to 38.2% nationally, while 19.6% earned over $50,000, compared to 26.7% nationally.
Gisborne has the smallest percentage of population born overseas at 9.7% compared to 25.2% for New Zealand as a whole.
The highest of these are British totalling 1,335 or 3.1% of the population.
Furthermore, 73.0% of the population could speak in one language only, 16.2% in two languages and 1.1% in three or more languages.
Education
Gisborne City has four main high (secondary) schools:
Gisborne Boys' High,
Gisborne Girls' High,
Lytton High and
Campion College
Campion College Australia is a Roman Catholic tertiary educational liberal arts college located at Austin Woodbury Place, Toongabbie in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Named in honour of Saint Edmund Campion, Campi ...
. Campion College is a Catholic co-educational school.
Transport
Air
Gisborne Airport serves as the domestic airport for the Gisborne Region. Regular flights between
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
and
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
are serviced by
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
under the
Link brand, while a smaller airline called Air Napier provides services to
Napier 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 o ...
. For 25 years Sunair operated from Gisborne to
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
,
Rotorua,
Napier,
Whakatane,
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 ...
,
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
,
Paraparaumu
Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington.
Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...
and
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
but those services were eventually suspended after 25 years.
Highways
State Highway 2 connects Gisborne to Tauranga via
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 ...
and Whakatāne to the northwest, and to Napier and the rest of
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 i ...
via Wairoa to the south. SH 2 travels towards Gisborne from the northwest from
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 ...
, a settlement approximately 31 km northwest of Gisborne. SH 2 passes through Makaraka, a suburb on the outer fringes of Gisborne. It then crosses the
Waipaoa River
The Waipaoa River is a river of the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Raukumara Range, flowing south for to reach Poverty Bay and the Pacific Ocean just south of Gisborne. For about half of this d ...
and makes its way south through
Manutuke and Wharerata before it enters the Hawke's Bay Region towards
Nūhaka
Nūhaka is a small settlement in the northern Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's eastern North Island, lying on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Gisborne. The road to Mahia turns off the highway at Nūhaka.
Nūhaka has one general store, a ...
, Wairoa, and eventually on to Napier.
State Highway 35 (part of the Pacific Coast Highway network) begins at a junction west of Gisborne with SH 2 just before SH 2 crosses the Waipaoa River on its way south to Manutuke. SH 35 borders Gisborne Airport to the south and enters Gisborne city on the southwestern fringes. It makes its way through the city out to the east, and continues up the coast connecting Gisborne to the
East Cape
East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape.
East Cape was originally named "C ...
.
Public transport
Public transport is poorly developed in Gisborne, with only 0.2% of trips made by bus in 2013/14. This compares with 2.3% nationally, which itself is amongst the lowest proportions in the world.
Go Bus is contracted to the council to run 22 services a day on 6 routes Monday to Friday, using 2 buses. From 1913 to 1929 Gisborne had
battery-powered trams. Since then public transport has declined to about a fifth of the usage then. In 1930 the municipal buses travelled , and carried 28,531 passengers in 2 weeks. In 2012/13 the city buses carried about 78,000 passengers in 52 weeks, at a cost of about $120,000 a year, with about another $85,000 from fares.
Rail
Gisborne is the northern terminus of the
Palmerston North - Gisborne Line Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and B ...
railway, which opened in 1942 and mothballed (track kept in place but all services cancelled) in 2012. The permanent way has since suffered storm damage including bridge collapses and the line is believed unlikely to re-open for economic reasons. Prior to this, an isolated section of line operated from
Gisborne to Moutohora – intended to be part of a line to Auckland via Rotorua, and later part of the
East Coast Main Trunk Railway
The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau ...
line. This connection was never completed and the Moutohora Branch line closed in 1959.
Rail passenger services were provided between Gisborne and Wellington until 1988, when the
Endeavour express was cancelled north of Napier. Today, only the
Gisborne City Vintage Railway operates limited heritage train rides out of Gisborne.
Port
In February 2018 the first grants from the
Provincial Growth Fund
Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014.
Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...
included $2.3 million for the Gisborne port.
Suburbs
*
Awapuni
* Elgin
* Gaddums Hill
* Ilminster
* Inner Kaiti
*
Kaiti
Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around the ...
*
Makaraka
*
Manutuke
*
Mangapapa
Mangapapa is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne. It is located in the north of the city. Whataupoko lies to the southeast and Te Hapara to the south, separated from Mangapapa by the Taruheru River.
Gisborne Hospital is located in ...
* Makorori
*
Riverdale
* Riverside
* Riverview
* Sponge Bay
*
Tamarau
*
Te Hapara
Te Hapara is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne. It is located in the northwest of the city. It contains one primary school, Te Hapara School, which is located in Mill Road.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a ...
* Te Wharau
*
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
* Waikanae
* Waikirikiri
*
Wainui Beach
Wainui Beach is a small settlement on the coast of New Zealand's North Island, located just to the north of Tuaheni Point, some 8 km to the east of Gisborne, to which it is linked by State Highway 35.
The beach is one of the NZ Automobil ...
*
Whataupoko
Whataupoko is the central suburb of the New Zealand city of Gisborne. It is located to the northeast of the city business district.
It is bordered by the city centre, and the suburbs of Kaiti and Mangapapa.
The name derives from the Maori term ...
In popular culture
Gisborne City was the setting of the 2014 drama film ''
The Dark Horse'', a biographical film starring
Cliff Curtis
Clifford Vivian Devon Curtis (born 27 July 1968) is a New Zealand actor. His film credits include '' Once Were Warriors'' (1994), ''Three Kings'' (1999), ''Training Day'' (2001), '' Whale Rider'' (2002), ''Collateral Damage'' (2002), '' Sunshin ...
about the late speed-chess champion,
Genesis Potini
Genesis Wayne Potini (5 September 1963 – 15 August 2011) was a New Zealand speed chess player.
Life and work
Potini was a man of Māori descent. He was known for his skills as a speed (1 min.) chess player. Together with two friends, he f ...
. The film was shot in Gisborne and
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
in the winter of 2013.
In March 2016, Gisborne hosted the premiere of ''
Mahana'', a New Zealand film set in Patutahi and Manutuke, and based on
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 ...
's semi-autobiographical novel ''Bulibasha: King Of The Gypsies''.
Sister cities
Gisborne has four sister cities, a sister port, and five friendly cities.
*
Mahina, French Polynesia
*
Nonoichi,
Ishikawa, Japan
*
Palm Desert
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has been ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States
*
Rizhao
Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang t ...
,
Shandong, China
Sister port
*
Gamagōri
is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,063 in 32,800 households, and a population density of 1,407 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Gamagōri is situated on the coast of Mik ...
,
Aichi
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...
, Japan
Friendly cities
*
Cassino, Italy
*
Shire of Macedon Ranges
The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its expansive native forests, iconic geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and thriving artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of . It is ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia
*
Valverde del Majano
Valverde del Majano is a municipality located in the Segovia (province), province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 561 inha ...
, Spain
*
Wenchang
Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of gove ...
,
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, China
*
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, United Kingdom
See also
*
List of people from Gisborne, New Zealand
The following is a list of famous people born in Gisborne, New Zealand
Gisborne ( mi, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa "Great standing place of Kiwa") is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisbor ...
References
External links
Gisborne District Council official websiteTourism Eastland (1949) Joseph Angus Mackay
{{Authority control
Populated places in the Gisborne District
Port cities in New Zealand
Surfing locations in New Zealand
Populated coastal places in New Zealand