Gisborne region

The Gisborne region (in Maori: Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa) is located northeast of the North Island, New Zealand. It is also sometimes called East Coast or Eastland. Its name comes from the Secretary General of the colonization of New Zealand from 1869 to 1872, William Gisborne.

This region contains very few inhabitants, of which three quarters live in the city of Gisborne, all other municipalities don’t reach 1,000 inhabitants. The two other largest cities are Tolaga Bay and Ruatoria with 800 inhabitants each.

The region is hilly and forest covers a large part. The National Park Te Urewera is located east of the region. Mount Hikurangi reaches a height of 1,754 meters. This is the fifth highest peak in the North Island and the highest of non-volcanic origin.

The region is served by State Highway 2 and is the terminus of the line of railway from Palmerston North and Gisborne City. The proportion of Maori is important in this region, sometimes reaching over 50% in some areas. The tribes (iwi) which are the most important are Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhiri and Te Aitanga a Mahaka