Description
Gisborne is the name of a unitary
authority (in this case, a region and district) in New
Zealand, named after an early Colonial Secretary William
Gisborne. It contains the city of the same name.
The region is located in the northeastern corner of the
North Island and is also referred to as the East Cape or
East Coast or Eastland region. It is a sparsely
inhabited and isolated region, with small settlements
mainly clinging to small bays along the eastern shore
such as Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay. Other than the city
of Gisborne, the main settlement is the town of Ruatoria.
The population of the region is about 45,000, with
two-thirds of those living in the city. No other
settlement has a population of over 1000.
Inland, the land is rough, predominantly forested, hill
country. Te Urewera National Park is located in the west
of the region, and the Kaingaroa Forest is located just
to the west of that. A spine of rough ridges dominates
the centre of the region, culminating in the impressive
bulk of the 1620 metre Mount Hikurangi in the region's
northeast. This mountain is the fifth highest mountain
in the North Island. Regarded as sacred by the Māori,
there is some justification to the claims that this is
the first mountain to see the sun in summer (see note
below under Gisborne City).
The region's population has a higher than the national
average proportion of Māori - over 50% in some areas -
and still maintains strong ties to both Māori tradition
and the iwi and marae structure. The predominant iwi in
the region are Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngai
Tamanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki. |
