Gisborne

The Gisborne region is in the north-eastern corner of the North Island of New Zealand. Named after its largest centre and only city—Gisborne—this region is also referred to as the East Coast, Eastland or Te Tai Rāwhiti (the coast of sunrise) by the indigenous Māori population, as it is the first area in New Zealand to see the sunrise each day. The region is also well noted for being the site of Captain James Cook's first landing onto New Zealand in 1769.

Stretching from Poverty Bay in the south to Lottin Point in the north, the Gisborne region borders the Pacific Ocean to its east and the Te Urewera Ranges in the Hawke's Bay region to the west. The Bay of Plenty region lies to the north-west of Gisborne. Gisborne is among the smallest regions in New Zealand, in both land area (8,386 square kilometres) and population (38,200). However, this region has the highest proportion of Māoris of any region in the country and continues to maintain strong ties to both Māori tradition and the iwi and marae structure.

The Gisborne region is governed by a unitary territorial authority—the Gisborne District Council—which carries out the functions of both a regional authority and a lower, local-level council. The council was formed in 1989 and replaced several smaller county governments. As of 2022, there were five other unitary territorial authorities in the country.

Historical Perspective

According to Māori oral traditions, the Gisborne region was the site of several legendary waka (canoe) landings from the legendary Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki: Nukutaimemeha, aboard which the demigod Māui fished up the North Island from the depths; Tākitimu, with which the chieftain Tamatea Arikinui and many other experts made landfall in New Zealand; and Horouta, upon which Pāoa, a skilled navigator, brought the first kumara (sweet potato) to the area.

Tūranga (now Gisborne), in the region's south, was the site of the first British landing onto New Zealand on 8 October 1769, when the crew of the HMS Endeavour, which was led by British explorer James Cook, weighed anchor there. Upon discovering the local Māoris had nothing to trade, Cook named the area Poverty Bay. This first contact led to a dispute in which nine Māoris were killed or wounded.

Traders, whalers and missionaries followed in the early-to-mid nineteenth century. In 1840 forty Māoris signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which established British control over New Zealand. Conflict between Māoris who advocated self-rule, Māoris who supported the colonial government and the settlers flared in the mid-1860s, resulting most notably in the suppression of the Pai Mārire religion and the confiscation of much Māori land. In 1868, the government purchased three hundred hectares of land; two years later, the site was surveyed and named Gisborne. Over the next century, schools, hospitals, ports and eventually airports were built and the city reached a population of thirty thousand in 1976. Growth slowed thereafter.

Geography and Climate

The Gisborne region contains some of New Zealand's most remote areas, covered by mountainous, forested terrain. Several of the region's settlements lie around river mouths on the coastline, where flatlands can be found.

Sheltered by the Te Urewera mountains, the Gisborne region receives above-average sunlight hours and temperatures throughout the year. There are usually at least 2,200 hours of sunlight in Gisborne District each year. The average annual temperature varies from 9 degrees Celsius in the uplands to 14 degrees Celsius along the flatlands. Annual rainfall ranges from approximately 1,000 millimetres near Poverty Bay to more than 2,200 millimetres in the Raukumara Range farther inland.

Mount Hikurangi (Te Ara ki Hikurangi), standing at about 1,752 metres, is the region's highest point. It is recognised as the first point on the New Zealand mainland to witness the sunrise. It is also the highest non-volcanic peak in the North Island.

Through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, much of the Gisborne region's native vegetation was cleared in order to obtain valuable timber and to increase the amount of land available for farming. By 2022, 1.75 per cent of the region's original wetlands and 23 per cent of the native forests and vegetation remained. In addition to farming, wine grapes are grown in Gisborne.

In the twenty-first century, regional government and private individuals established numerous conservation efforts aimed at protecting Gisborne's natural ecosystems (particularly the wetlands) and indigenous biodiversity (both vegetation and animals) from introduced species.

Economy

With a total output of approximately $2.6 billion in 2022, Gisborne represented just under 1 per cent of New Zealand's gross domestic product. Long established as a home of primary industries, forestry has overtaken dairy and sheep farming as the fastest-growing sector for employment. Opportunities for the forestry sector are enhanced because of the young soils on the large areas of steep land in the region.

Gisborne has among the highest unemployment rates and lowest incomes of any region in the country. According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, average household incomes in the region stood at $112,900 per year in 2023, compared to a national average of $110,451. Gisborne's unemployment rate stood at 7.2 per cent compared to the national rate of about 4 per cent. Its lower incomes were accompanied by below-average house prices and weekly rent.

Demographics

Populated by an estimated 38,200 people in 2023, the majority of whom live in the city of Gisborne (the only substantial settlement in the region), the Gisborne region is notable for its substantial Māori population. According to 2023 census data, 56 per cent of those from the Gisborne region are Māoris; nationally, the figure is 17.8 per cent. Within the region, 7.9 per cent speak te reo Māori, compared to 4 per cent nationally. Gisborne is also home to fewer New Zealanders of European descent (53.4 per cent versus a national figure of 68.7 per cent), Pacific peoples (3.1 per cent versus 8.9 per cent) and Asians (1.8 per cent versus 17.3 per cent). Note that individuals can declare more than one ethnicity in census forms.

As of 2018, Gisborne's median age of thirty-seven years was one year lower the national median of thirty-eight. The region had fewer people over sixty-five (5.3 per cent versus 16.5 per cent nationally) but more under fifteen (6.2 per cent versus 18.5 per cent nationally). These figures are influenced by Gisborne's high Māori population, which is, on average, younger than the general population.

Despite this, Gisborne has a relatively older Māori population, and the median age of Gisborne Māoris is 26.2 years compared to the national median of 27.2 years. Similar statistics are born out among Māoris over 65 (5.9 per cent to 7 per cent) and under 15 (34.4 per cent to 24 per cent).

Bibliography

Chappell, P. R. The Climate and Weather of Gisborne. 2nd ed., NIWA, 2016, www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz/files/GisborneClimatology.pdf. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017.

King, Michael. The Penguin History of New Zealand. Viking, 2004.

"Gisborne Region." Stats New Zealand, 2018, https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-place-summaries/gisborne-region. Accessed 12 June 2024.

Soutar, Monty. "East Coast Places." Te Ara—Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, New Zealand Government, 25 Aug. 2011, www.teara.govt.nz/en/east-coast-places. Accessed 11 FJune 2024.

"2018 Census." Stats New Zealand, 2018, https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-ethnic-group-summaries/. Accessed 12 June 2024.

"2023 Census: Data Highlights: Gisborne Region." Scoop Independent News, 29 May 2024, https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2405/S01003/2023-census-data-highlights-gisborne-region.htm#. Accessed 12 June 2024.

"2023 Census Population Counts (by ethnic group, age, and Māori descent) and Dwelling Counts." Stats New Zealand, 29 May 2024, https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2023-census-population-counts-by-ethnic-group-age-and-maori-descent-and-dwelling-counts/#. Accessed 12 June 2024.