Population
Population: 46,200
The Gisborne region has been settled for over 1000 years, although Europeans did not arrive until late in the 19th century when the first whaling station was established in the area. The East Cape is very remote from the main centres of the North Island from which it is separated by the Raukumara Range and the impenetrable forest of the Urewera Range. The area has long been isolated. European settlement proceeded slowly and around a quarter of the land still belongs to Maori, a reflection of the fact that the Maori population density here is the highest in the country.
It was in Gisborne, that Captain Cook made his first landfall on New Zealand soil in 1769, naming it Poverty Bay after deciding it had nothing to offer! A monument to Cook can be found at the foot of Kaiti Hill, near the spot he first set foot and a statue of ‘Young Nick’ sits at the rivermouth. Nicholas Young, Cook’s cabin boy, was the first member of the crew to sight land and Cook named the white cliffs across the bay ‘Young Nick’s Head’. The East Cape offers a serene existence to those like a relaxed lifestyle. The Cape had been isolated for many years until the road network was completed. And even today, given the remoteness of the region, few people take the opportunity to explore what seems to be one of New Zealand’s last frontiers. Inhabited predominantly by Maori, Gisborne and the Cape region place great emphasis on the retention of their culture and traditions - it is here you will hear Te Reo Maori (the Maori language) being spoken fluently and freely.
Land area: 8,351(km²)
Main Centres: Gisborne, Opotiki, Wairoa, Mahia
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