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Gisborne District Te Tairāwhiti
District and unitary region
Gisborne District within New Zealand
Coordinates: 38°40′00″S 178°01′00″E / 38.66667°S 178.01667°E / -38.66667; 178.01667
Country	New Zealand
Island	North Island
Constituted as local authority district	6 March 1989 (1989-03-06)
Seat	Gisborne
Wards	List Matakaoa-Waiapu Waipaoa Tawhiti-Uawa Taruheru-Patutahi Gisborne
Government
• Body	Gisborne District Council
• Mayor	Rehette Stoltz
Area
• Land	8,385.06 km (3,237.49 sq mi)
Population
• Territorial	53,300
• Urban	38,800
GDP
• Total	NZ$2.690 billion (2021) (14th)
• Per capita	NZ$51,833 (2021)
Area code	06
HDI (2021)	0.893 very high · 15th

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 a district and regional council). It is named after its largest settlement, the city 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. It is bounded by mountain ranges to the west, rugged country to the south, and faces east onto the Pacific Ocean.

Government

The district is governed by Gisborne District Council, which is a unitary territorial authority, 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, Waiapu County and Waikohu County in a major nationwide reform of local government in 1989.

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, and to avoid confusion with the town of Tauranga.

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, 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 in the eastern Bay of Plenty to the northwest, and Wairoa to the south.

Its Māori 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. It ranges from the Wharerata Hills in the south, which divide it from Wairoa District in Hawke's Bay, to Lottin Point in the north. The western boundary runs along the Raukumara Range, which separates it from Ōpōtiki District. In the southwest, its boundary runs along the western edge of Te Urewera.

It is sparsely inhabited and isolated, with small settlements mainly clinging to small bays along the eastern shore, including Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay. Its population is 53,300 (June 2024). Three-quarters of the population – 38,800 (June 2024) – 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, 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 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, there is some justification to the claims that this is the first mountain to see the sun in summer.

The region's population has a higher than the national average proportion of Māori – over 50% in some areas – and maintains strong ties to both Māori tradition and the iwi and marae structure. The predominant iwi are Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki.

2007 earthquake

At 8:55 pm (NZDT) on 20 December 2007, the Gisborne region was hit by an earthquake of Richter magnitude 6.8, centred in the Hikurangi Trough 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 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 1000 mm near the coast to over 2500 mm 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 District covers 8,385.06 km (3,237.49 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 53,300 as of June 2024, with a population density of 6.4 people per km.

Gisborne District had a population of 51,135 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,618 people (7.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 7,482 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 25,326 males, 25,686 females and 123 people of other genders in 17,316 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 36.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 11,382 people (22.3%) aged under 15 years, 9,627 (18.8%) aged 15 to 29, 21,648 (42.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 8,481 (16.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 56.5% European (Pākehā); 54.8% Māori; 5.6% Pasifika; 3.8% Asian; 0.7% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.1%, Māori language by 16.9%, Samoan by 0.5% and other languages by 5.8%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 31.2% Christian, 0.6% Hindu, 0.3% Islam, 4.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.7%, and 8.1% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 5,187 (13.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 22,200 (55.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 10,800 (27.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $35,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 2,727 people (6.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 18,867 (47.5%) people were employed full-time, 5,505 (13.8%) were part-time, and 1,590 (4.0%) 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 38,800, is the only urban area in the district with a population over 1,000. It is home to 72.8% of the district's population.

Other towns and settlements in the Gisborne district include:

• Hicks Bay
• Manutuke
• Patutahi
• Ruatoria
• Te Araroa
• Te Karaka
• Tokomaru Bay
• Tolaga Bay

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.

Arts

There are a number of notable creative people from the Gisborne region, including writer Witi Ihimaera, opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and actor George Henare.

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 and the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.

See also

• 2006 Tonga earthquake
• List of marae in the Gisborne District
• List of people from Gisborne
• List of schools in the Gisborne District

References

1. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
3. "Regional gross domestic product: Year ended March 2022". Statistics New Zealand. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
4. "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
5. ^ "The Local Government (Gisborne Region) Reorganisation Order 1989" (PDF). New Zealand Gazette. 9 June 1989. pp. 2328 ff. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
6. ^ Soutar, Monty (13 July 2012). "East Coast region – Overview". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
7. Soutar, Monty. "East Coast places". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
8. Cowan, James (1926). The Māoris in the Great War. pp. 179–80. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
9. "GeoNet – New Zealand Earthquake Report". GeoNet. 20 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
10. Binning, Elizabeth (21 December 2007). "Quake damage extensive as massive clean-up begins". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
11. "Climate Data". NIWA. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
12. "2013 Census tables about a place: Gisborne District". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
13. "1996 Census of Population and Dwellings – Census Night Population". Statistics New Zealand. 28 February 1997. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
14. ^ "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer. Gisborne District (028). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
15. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
16. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Gisborne District (028). 2018 Census place summary: Gisborne District
17. "Regional gross domestic product: Year ended March 2019 | Stats NZ". stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
18. Peters, Mark. "Arts festival launched". Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 9 October 2020.

External links

• Tourism Eastland
• Gisborne District official website

v t e Adjacent cities and districts
Pacific Ocean Ōpōtiki Whakatāne Gisborne Pacific Ocean Wairoa

v t e Regions of New Zealand
North Island	Northland Auckland* Waikato Bay of Plenty Gisborne* Hawke's Bay Taranaki Manawatū-Whanganui Wellington
South Island	Tasman* Nelson* Marlborough* West Coast Canterbury Otago Southland
* Governed by a unitary authority rather than a regional council

• Gisborne District
• Wine regions of New Zealand
• Regions of New Zealand