GISBORNE

Historic Places Tairawhiti members at the Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing site with artist and historian, Nick Tupara, who used to work for HNZPT in Wellington.

East Coast Summer Tour

The rich and varied history of the East Coast of Te Ika a Maui makes for a great summer roadie. Read about some of the highlights you can experience on the drive between Gisborne and East Cape. (Drive time is 3-4 hours but allow two days to really take in the sights).

WORDS AND IMAGES: Sheridan Gundry

Gisborne’s nationally touted Tairāwhiti Museum provides the perfect starting point for a historic tour of the East Coast.

The Tū te Whaihanga exhibition of taonga that left these shores in 1769 on board the HMS Endeavour and returned as part of Tuia 250 commemorations on display and worth a long pause. The 37 taonga include: painted hoe (paddles) traded at sea off Whareongaonga; Te Poupou o Hinematioro from Pourewa Island, Tolaga Bay; weapons, cloaks, belts, carvings and adornments. The Gisborne city port, river and beach walkway are also well worth exploring, along with Titirangi Kaiti Hill with its expansive views across the historic bay to Te Kuri, south to Mahia and the formidable interior.

At the foot of the landmark hill, the Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve commemorates both the arrival of the earliest inhabitants of Turanganuia-Kiwa (Gisborne) who migrated from Polynesia during the 14th century, and Cook and his fellow travellers many years later. The monument is listed as Category 1 with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Close by is a sculptural tribute to Te Maro, the first of up to nine Māori killed in the encounter with Cook’s crew.

Leaving Gisborne, head next to Opoutama, Cook’s Cove at Uawa Tolaga Bay. Opoutama was home to Te Aitanga a Hauiti aristocracy. To the right of the cove rises Pourewa Island, once the location of the fortified pā of Hinematioro, maternal grandmother of last head chief Te Kania-Takirau, who lived above Opoutama. Raiatean navigator, Tupaia, talked with Uawa chiefs and tohunga at a small overhang in the cliffs above the beach. Tolaga Bay’s 660m concrete wharf can be viewed from the hills above. The 1929 wharf contributed to its own demise, with much of the incoming cargo comprising materials for building the road through to Gisborne. From 1977, vehicles were banned from the wharf due to deteriorating piles and structure. The wharf was restored from 2001 and gained Category 1 status in 2009. At the northern end of Tolaga Bay’s beach, a heart-pumping climb up the Ernest Reeves Walkway onto the Tataraheke Cliffs provides panoramic views of the bay and district. Cook’s second landing place at Anaura Bay prompted the first comprehensive written description of Māori horticulture and village life. The crew filled their casks with water from Hawai Stream, marked by an Historic Places Trust plaque, and were given fish, wild celery and sweet potato. Northward, in Tokomaru Bay, the buzz is all about Café 35’s paua pies. But at the

TOP: Opoutama Cooks Cove, Uawa Tolaga Bay. LEFT: St Mary’s Anglican Church, Tikitiki. RIGHT: Tolaga Bay Wharf from walkway to Cook’s Cove.

northern end of the bay, at Waima, it’s about raising the money needed to restore its historic wharf. This was once a thriving commercial centre, with the 1911-built brick freezing works at its heart and 500 residents in its heyday. Many buildings survived the works’ 1952 closure, including the New Zealand Shipping Company manager’s house and store, the harbourmaster’s house and stables and the freezing works’ ruins, all on HNZPT’s register. The Tokomaru Bay Heritage Trust is working to restore the wharf. Standing vigil above Tikitiki is the picturesque St Mary’s Church, built as a memorial to the European and Māori from the Waiapu who died during World War 1. A memorial here to leader and politician Sir Apirana Ngata provides a view of the whole Waiapu Valley. St Mary’s is one of the most richly decorated Māori churches in Aotearoa New Zealand with extensive carvings, painted panels, tukutuku work and fine stained-glass windows. Built in 1924, this is the only building in the Waiapu district with Category 1 status. The East Cape lighthouse at New Zealand’s most eastern point is becoming one of THE places to view the dawn of a new year – once you have climbed the 500 steps. First erected in 1906, the lighthouse was moved to the mainland in 1922. Moki and whales feature large in the history of Whangaparaoa (whale bay) or Cape Runaway, where a shore whaling station existed in the 1840s. This focus is seen in the 1970s Cliff Whiting murals within the dining hall at Kauaetangohia Meeting House, opposite the school. On the promontory at Raukokore stands the Category 1 Anglican Christ Church built in 1895. Duncan Stirling, with no architectural training, designed a fine, simple building in the Gothic tradition, which has strong links with Te Whanau-aApanui people and contributes to the legacy of Māori Christian churches on the East Coast.

Just so much to see and learn about our early history and survival in a wonderful part of our country. n