1.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
2.
Hawke's Bay Region
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Hawkes Bay Region is a region of New Zealand on the east coast of the North Island. It is recognised on the stage for its award-winning wines. Hawkes Bay Regional Council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings and it derives from Hawke Bay which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke who decisively defeated the French at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island and it bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers. Five major rivers flow down into the coast of Hawkes Bay, from north to south, they are the Wairoa River, Mohaka River, Tutaekuri River, Ngaruroro River and Tukituki River respectively. Lake Waikaremoana is situated in northern Hawkes Bay roughly 35 km from the coast and it is the largest lake in Hawkes Bay, 4th largest in the North Island and 16th largest in New Zealand. In June 2015, the Local Government Commission proposed the amalgamation of the four local councils with the Hawkes Bay Regional Council and this proposal was rejected by the affected communities. The region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an otherwise unremarkable hill in southern Hawkes Bay, not far from Waipukurau. The regions population is 161,500 as of June 2016,3.4 percent of New Zealands population, around 81 percent of the regions population lives in the Napier-Hastings conurbation. Below is a list of areas that contain more than 1,000 population. The region has a significant Māori population,24.3 percent of the population identified as of Māori ethnicity at the 2013 census, a major local Māori tribe is Ngāti Kahungunu. Around 50.5 percent of Hawkes Bays population affiliate with Christianity at the 2013 Census, Hawkes Bay Province was founded in 1858 as a province of New Zealand, after being separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858. The Province was abolished in 1876 along with all provinces in New Zealand. It was replaced with a Provincial District, on February 3,1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated by New Zealands worst natural disaster, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, which killed 256 people. Napier rebuilt and now the city is world-famous for its Art Deco buildings, MTG Hawkes Bay, formerly Hawkes Bay Museum and Art Gallery, has an exhibition on the earthquake, its causes and impact. The GDP of the Hawkes Bay region was estimated at US$4.3 billion in 2003, the region is renowned for its horticulture, with large orchards and vineyards on the plains. In the hilly parts of the sheep and cattle farming predominates. The climate is dry and temperate, and the long, hot summers, missionaries in the mid 19th century planted the first vines in Hawkes Bay and it is now becoming an important place for full bodied red wines
3.
Napier, New Zealand
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Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawkes Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about 62,100 as of the June 2016, about 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighbouring cities are often called The Bay Cities or The Twin Cities of New Zealand, Napier is about 320 kilometres northeast of the capital city of Wellington. The City of Napier has an area of 106 square kilometres. Napier has also become an important grape and wine production area, with the grapes grown around Hastings, large amounts of sheeps wool, frozen meat, wood pulp, and timber also pass through Napier annually for export. Smaller amounts of materials are shipped via road and railway to the large metropolitan areas of New Zealand itself, such as Auckland. Napier is a popular tourist city, with a concentration of 1930s Art Deco architecture. It also has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Tremains Art Deco Weekend event, a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history. Other notable tourist events attracting many outsiders to the region annually include F. A. W. C, food and Wine Classic events, and the Mission Estate Concert at Mission Estate and Winery in the suburb of Taradale. Later, the Ngāti Kahungunu became the dominant force from Poverty Bay to Wellington and they were one of the first Māori tribes to come in contact with European settlers. The rivers were continually feeding freshwater into the area, captain James Cook was one of the first Europeans to see the future site of Napier when he sailed down the east coast in October 1769. He commented, On each side of this head is a low, narrow sand or stone beach. He said the harbour entrance was at the Westshore end of the shingle beach, the site was subsequently visited and later settled by European traders, whalers and missionaries. By the 1850s, farmers and hotel-keepers arrived, the Crown purchased the Ahuriri block in 1851. In 1854 Alfred Domett, a future Prime Minister of New Zealand, was appointed as the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Domett named many streets in Napier to commemorate the colonial era of the British Indian Empire. Napier was designated as a borough in 1874, but the development of the surrounding marshlands, development was generally confined to the hill and to the port area of Ahuriri. There was a swamp between the now Hastings Street and Wellesley Road and the sea extended to Clive Square, on 3 February 1931, most of Napier and nearby Hastings was levelled by an earthquake. The collapses of buildings and the fires killed 256 people
4.
Hastings, New Zealand
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Hastings is a New Zealand city and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawkes Bay, on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The population of Hastings is about 68,900 as of the June 2016, Hastings is about 18 kilometres inland of the coastal city of Napier. These two neighbouring cities are often called The Bay Cities or The Twin Cities, the combined population of the Napier-Hastings Urban Area is 131,000 people, which makes it the sixth-largest urban area in New Zealand, closely following Tauranga. The city is the centre of the Hastings District. The city of Hastings and its suburbs of Flaxmere and Havelock North are the principal settlements in the Hastings District. These main centres are surrounded by thirty-eight rural settlements, including Clive, Hastings District covers an area of 5,229 square kilometres and has 1.7 % of the population of New Zealand, ranking it fourteenth in size out of the seventy-four territorial authorities. Since the merger of the surrounding and satellite settlements, Hastings has grown to one of the largest urban areas in Hawkes Bay. Hastings District is a food production region, the fertile Heretaunga Plains surrounding the city produce stone fruits, pome fruit, kiwifruit and vegetables, and the area is one of New Zealands major red wine producers. Associated business include food processing, agricultural services, rural finance, Hastings is the major service centre for the surrounding inland pastoral communities and tourism. Near the fourteenth century CE, Māori arrived in Heretaunga or Hawkes Bay, settling in the river valleys and along the coast where food was plentiful. It is believed that Māori arrived at Heretaunga by canoe, travelling down the coast from the north, landing at Wairoa, Portland Island, the Ahuriri Lagoon at Westshore, and at Waimarama. Their culture flourished, along with gradual deforestation of the land and they were one of the first Māori tribes to come in contact with European settlers. The Māori owners leased approximately seventy square kilometres on the Heretaunga Plains to Thomas Tanner in 1867, in 1870, twelve people, known as the 12 apostles, formed a syndicate to purchase the land for around £1 10s an acre. The original name of the location which was to become the centre was Karamu. In 1871, the New Zealand Government decided to route the new railway south of Napier through a notional Karamu junction in the centre of the Heretaunga Plains and this location was on Francis Hickss land. The decision on the route was based largely on two reports by Charles Weber, the provincial engineer and surveyor in charge of the railway. Karamu junction was renamed Hastings in 1873, exactly who chose the name has been disputed, although Thomas Tanner claimed that it was him and that the choice was inspired by his reading the trial of Warren Hastings. In any event, the name fitted well with other names in the district
5.
Tauranga
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Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963, Tauranga City is the centre of the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of 134,400. The city lies in the corner of the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga is one of New Zealands main centres for business, international trade, culture, fashion, the Port of Tauranga is New Zealands largest port in terms of gross export tonnage and efficiency. This sudden population growth has made Tauranga New Zealands 5th largest city, the earliest known settlers were Māori who arrived at Tauranga in the Takitimu and the Mataatua waka in the 13th century. At 9 am on Friday 23 June 1826 the Herald was the first European ship to enter Tauranga Harbour, henry Williams conducted a Christian service at Otamataha Pā. In December 1826 and again on March 2007 the Herald travelled to Tauranga from the Bay of Islands to obtain supplies of potatoes, pigs, in 1835 a Church Missionary Society mission station was established at Tauranga by William Wade. Rev. Alfred N. Brown arrived at the CMS mission station in 1838, john Morgan also visited the mission in 1838. Europeans trading in flax were active in the Bay of Plenty during the 1830s, some were transient, others married local women and settled permanently. The first permanent non-Maori trader was James Farrow, who travelled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre for Australian merchants in exchange for muskets and gunpowder. Farrow acquired an area of 2,000 square metres on 10 January 1838 at Otumoetai Pā from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu. In 1840, a Catholic mission station was established, bishop Pompallier was given land within the palisades of Otumoetai Pā for a church and a presbytery. The mission station closed in 1863 due to wars in the Waikato district. The Tauranga Campaign took place in and around Tauranga from 21 January to 21 June 1864, the Battle of Gate Pa is the best known. The battle of Gate Pā was an attack on the well fortified Pā and its Māori defenders on 29 April 1864 by British forces made up of approximately 300 men of the 43rd Regiment and a naval brigade. It was the single most devastating loss of life suffered by the British military in the whole of the Māori Wars, the British casualties were 31 dead including 10 officers and 80 wounded. The Māori defenders abandoned the Pā during the night with casualties estimated at 25 dead, under the Local Government Order 2003, Tauranga became legally a city for a second time, from 1 March 2004. In August 2011, Tauranga received Ultra-Fast Broadband as part of the New Zealand Governments rollout, Tauranga is located around a large harbour that extends along the western Bay of Plenty, and is protected by Matakana Island and the extinct volcano of Mauao
6.
Dunedin
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Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. It is named for the capital of Scotland, generally Anglicised as Edinburgh, Dunedin was the largest New Zealand city by territorial land area until superseded by Auckland on the creation of the Auckland Council in November 2010. Dunedin was the largest city in New Zealand by population from the 1860s until about 1900, the city population at 5 March 2013 was 120,246. The Dunedin urban area lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, the harbour and hills around Dunedin represent the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the Otago Peninsula, and along the shores of the Otago Harbour. The citys most important activity in economic terms centres around tertiary education – Dunedin is home to the University of Otago, New Zealands first university, and the Otago Polytechnic. Students account for a proportion of the population,21.6 percent of the citys population was aged between 15 and 24 at the 2006 census, compared to the New Zealand average of 14.2 percent. In 2014 Dunedin was designated as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature, archaeological evidence shows the first human occupation of New Zealand occurred between AD 1250–1300, with population concentrated along the southeast coast. A camp site at Kaikai Beach, near Long Beach, has dated from about that time. There are numerous sites in what is now Dunedin, several of them large and permanently occupied. The population contracted but expanded again with the evolution of the Classic culture which saw the building of several pā, fortified settlements, notably Pukekura at, there was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin occupied as late as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826. Maori tradition tells first of a people called Kahui Tipua living in the area, then Te Rapuwai, semi-legendary, the next arrivals were Waitaha followed by Kāti Mamoe late in the 16th century and then Kai Tahu who arrived in the mid 17th century. These migration waves have often represented as invasions in European accounts. They were probably migrations like those of the European which incidentally resulted in bloodshed, the sealer John Boultbee recorded in the 1820s that the Kaika Otargo were the oldest and largest in the south. Lieutenant James Cook stood off what is now the coast of Dunedin between 25 February 1770 and 5 March 1770, naming Cape Saunders and Saddle Hill and he reported penguins and seals in the vicinity, which led sealers to visit from the beginning of the 19th century. Permanent European occupation dates from 1831, when the Weller brothers founded their whaling station at Otago, modern Otakou, epidemics badly reduced the Maori population. By the late 1830s the Harbour had become an international whaling port, johnny Jones established a farming settlement and a mission station, the South Islands first, at Waikouaiti in 1840. After inspecting several areas around the eastern coast of the south island, the name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland
7.
Auckland
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Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the most populous area in the country. Auckland has a population of 1,495,000, which constitutes 32 percent of New Zealands population, a diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. It has also been called Ākarana, the Māori pronunciation of Auckland, the Auckland urban area ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the northwest, and Runciman in the south. It is not contiguous, the section from Waiwera to Whangaparāoa Peninsula is separate from its nearest neighbouring suburb of Long Bay, the surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanic cones. The central part of the area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two major bodies of water. The isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich, Māori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. After a British colony was established in 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson and he named the area Auckland for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty. It was replaced as the capital in 1865, but immigration to the new city stayed strong, today, Aucklands Central Business District is the major financial centre of New Zealand. Auckland is classified as a Beta World City because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, education and tourism. Aucklands landmarks such as the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Harbour Bridge, the Sky Tower, the isthmus was settled by Māori around 1350, and was valued for its rich and fertile land. Many pā were created, mainly on the volcanic peaks, Māori population in the area is estimated to have been about 20,000 people before the arrival of Europeans. As a result, the region had relatively low numbers of Māori when European settlement of New Zealand began, there is, however, nothing to suggest that this was the result of a deliberate European policy. Auckland was officially declared New Zealands capital in 1841 and the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842. However, even in 1840 Port Nicholson was seen as a choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the South Island. After losing its status as capital, Auckland remained the city of the Auckland Province until the provincial system was abolished in 1876. Each of the four settlements had about 800 settlers, the men being fully armed in case of emergency but spent nearly all their time breaking in the land and establishing roads
8.
Hamilton, New Zealand
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Hamilton is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region with a population of 161,200. Initially an agricultural centre, Hamilton now has a growing and diverse economy and is the third fastest growing urban area in New Zealand, behind Pukekohe. Education and research and development play an important part in Hamiltons economy, the area now covered by the city was originally the site of a handful of Māori villages, including Pukete, Miropiko and Kirikiriroa, from which the city takes its Māori name. Magistrate Gorst, estimated that Kirikiriroa had a population of about 78 before the Waikato Kingitanga wars of 1863–64, the government estimated the Waikato area had a Maori population of 3,400 at the same time. Missionaries arrived in the area in the 1830s, at the end of the Waikato Campaign in the New Zealand wars the four regiments of the Waikato Militia were settled as a peace-keeping force across the region. The 1st Regiment was at Tauranga, the 2nd at Pirongia, the 3rd at Cambridge, many of the soldier/settlers who intended to farm after the 1863 war, walked off their land in 1868 disgusted at the poor quality of the land. Much of the land was swampy or under water, in 1868 Hamiltons population, which was about 1,000 in 1864, dropped to 300 as farmers left. The road from Auckland reached Hamilton in 1867 and the railway in December 1877 and that same month, the towns of Hamilton West and Hamilton East merged under a single borough council. The first traffic bridge between Hamilton West and Hamilton East, known as the Union Bridge, opened in 1879 and it was replaced by the Victoria Bridge in 1910. The first railway bridge, the Claudelands Bridge, was opened in 1884 and it was converted to a road traffic bridge in 1965. Hamilton reached 1,000 people in 1900, and the town of Frankton merged with the Hamilton Borough in 1917, between 1912 and 1936, Hamilton expanded with new land in Claudelands, Maeroa, and Richmond – modern day Waikato Hospital and northern Melville. Hamilton was proclaimed a city in 1945, from 1985 MV Waipa Delta provided excursions along the river through the town centre. In 2009 Waipa Delta was moved to provide trips on Waitemata Harbour in Auckland and that too ceased operation and the pontoon at Parana Park was removed in 2013. The Delta moved to Taupo in 2012, the former Golden Bay vessel, Cynthia Dew, has run 4 days a week on the river since 2012. On 10 March 2013 a statue was erected in honour of Captain John Charles Fane Hamilton, Hamiltons population growth has been rapid in recent decades – Hamilton Central, on the Waikato River, is a bustling retail precinct. The entertainment area is quite vibrant due to the student population. Many of the venues and attractions are located on the old Town Belt, including Hamilton Gardens, Waikato Stadium, Seddon Park, Founders Theatre
9.
Wellington
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Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 405,000 residents. It is at the tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. Wellington is the population centre of the southern North Island and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the worlds windiest city, with a wind speed of over 26 km/h. Situated near the centre of the country, Wellington was well placed for trade. In 1839 it was chosen as the first major planned settlement for British immigrants coming to New Zealand, the settlement was named in honour of the Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo. As the nations capital since 1865, the New Zealand Government and Parliament, Supreme Court, despite being much smaller than Auckland, Wellington is also referred to as New Zealands cultural capital. The city is home to the National Archives, the National Library, architectural sights include the Government Building—one of the largest wooden buildings in the world—as well as the iconic Beehive. Wellington plays host to artistic and cultural organisations, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It has an urban culture, with many cafés, restaurants. One of the worlds most liveable cities, the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Wellington 12th in the world, Wellingtons economy is primarily service-based, with an emphasis on finance, business services, and government. It is the centre of New Zealands film and special effects industries, Wellington ranks as one of New Zealands chief seaports and serves both domestic and international shipping. The city is served by Wellington International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, Wellingtons transport network includes train and bus lines which reach as far as the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa, and ferries connect the city to the South Island. Wellington takes its name from Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo, his title comes from the town of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. One of the founders of the settlement, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, reported that the settlers took up the views of the directors with great cordiality, in Māori, Wellington has three names. In New Zealand Sign Language, the name is signed by raising the index, middle and ring fingers of one hand, palm forward, to form a W, and shaking it slightly from side to side twice. The citys location close to the mouth of the narrow Cook Strait leads to its vulnerability to strong gales, legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the district in about the 10th century. The earliest date with hard evidence for Maori living in New Zealand is about 1280, European settlement began with the arrival of an advance party of the New Zealand Company on the ship Tory on 20 September 1839, followed by 150 settlers on the Aurora on 22 January 1840
10.
Tongariro National Park
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Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as one of the 28 mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Sites, Tongariro National Park was the fourth national park established in the world. The active volcanic mountains Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro are located in the centre of the park, there are a number of Māori religious sites within the park, and many of the parks summits, including Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, are tapu, or sacred. The park includes many towns around its boundary including Ohakune, Waiouru, Horopito, Pokaka, Erua, National Park Village, Whakapapa skifield, the Tongariro National Park is home to the famed Tongariro Alpine Crossing, widely regarded as one of the worlds best one-day hikes. Tongariro National Park covers approximately 795.98 km2 stretching between 175°22 and 175°48 East and 38°58 and 39°25 South in the heart of the North Island of New Zealand and it is just a few kilometres west-southwest of Lake Taupo. It is 330 km south of Auckland by road, and 320 km north of Wellington and it contains a considerable part of the North Island Volcanic Plateau. Directly to the east stand the hills of the Kaimanawa range, the Whanganui River rises within the park and flows through Whanganui National Park to the west. Most of the park is located in the Ruapehu District, although the northeast is in the Taupo District, as a curiosity, their exact antipodes coincide with Cabañeros National Park, in Spain. Tongariro National Park stretches around the massif of the three active volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro. The Pihanga Scenic Reserve, containing Lake Rotopounamu, Mount Pihanga, on the park borders are the towns of Turangi, National Park Village and Ohakune. Further away are Waiouru and Raetihi, within the park borders, the only settlements are the tourism-based village at Whakapapa Village which consists solely of ski accommodation. Two Maori kainga Papakai and Otukou are not part of the park, the bulk of Tongariro National Park is surrounded by well-maintained roads that roughly follow the park borders and provide easy access. In the west, State Highway 4 passes National Park village, State Highway 47 joins these two highways to the north of much of the park, although it bisects the Pihanga Scenic Reserve. The southern link is State Highway 49, the North Island Main Trunk railway from Auckland to Wellington passes National Park village. Like the whole of New Zealand, Tongariro National Park is situated in a temperate zone, the prevailing westerly winds gather water over the Tasman Sea. As the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park are the first significant elevations that these winds encounter on the North Island, besides Mount Taranaki, rain falls almost daily. At Whakapapa Village the average rainfall is about 2200 mm, in Ohakune about 1250 mm and in higher altitudes, such as Iwikau Village. In winter there is snow to about 1500 m, temperatures vary dramatically, even within one day
11.
Waipukurau
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Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawkes Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River,7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings, Central Hawkes Bay, where the town is located was settled by Te Aitanga a Whatonga, the desecendants of Whatonga, grandson of Toi Kairakau. These were the Ngati Tara and Rangitāne peoples, in the mid 1500s the Ngāti Kahungunu invaded the area from the north and in the subsequent fighting drove the Rangitāne south into the Tahoraiti area. Warfare continued through the 1600s until the time of Te Rangikoianake and his first child Te Kikiri was adopted by the Ngai Toroiwaho to be their chief - he had mana over the Waipukurau district. Fighting broke out again in the 1800s at Mangatoetoe between Ngai Te Upokoiri and Ngāti Te Rangikoianake of Poukawa, several of Te Rangikoianakes grand children were killed in this fight. Pareihe, a Ngati Rangikoianake Chief, avenged the defeat in a battle at Pukekaihau, Waipukurau after which a peace accord was made between the two tribes. The accord was short lived with the death of Te Wanikaus brother-in-law prompting further conflict over the erection of rahui poles on Lake Poukawa, the conflict, starting around 1819 and lasting till 1824 ended with the Ngati Rangikoianake and other local tribes evacuating the area and settling at Mahia. In the latter part of the 1820s Pareihe attacked the Ngai Te Upokoiri and regained the lands they had lost, a peace accord was made between Pareihe and the Ngāti Tūwharetoa in the late 1830s. The Ngati Tuwharetoa had been allied with the Ngai Te Upokoiri, within the current township is Pukekaihau hill, the site of the Māori pa, from which it gets its name. Waipukurau is said to mean the water of pukerau, wai being water, the pa was near the old Māori trail from the Manawatu Gorge and Hawkes Bay. The first Europeans who are known to have passed through the area were Bishop George Selwyn, in December 1850 Donald McLean and the his party of Land Commissioners meet with the Central Hawkes Bay tribes to discuss purchasing a large block of land for European settlement. In 1857 there was a house run by a Mr Aveson. This was sold in October 1858 to George Lloyd and renamed Lloyds Hotel, the Hotel was transferred again in 1861 becoming Mosss Inn or the Tavistock Hotel. Horse racing started in 1859 with the first recorded meeting on 2 February, the provincial council approved construction of roading from Waipukurau to Porongahau, a goal, and the appointment of a Constable at Waipukurau in 1859. Roading to Forty-mile bush was not commenced until late 1867, the surrounding land was part of Mount Herbert station and owned by Henry Russell. By at least 1858 Waipukurau was used as a hub for mail delivery to the district, a yard for stock. In 1863 land was offered to the Agricultural Society for a show, by 1864 the Presbyterians were looking to set up a church in Waipukurau. There was a school in town by 1866 but this was closed when the building it used was destroyed by fire that year, the school was replaced in August 1867 by new building which was to serve as both a church and a school
12.
Gisborne, New Zealand
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Gisborne is a city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District. It has a population of 36,100, the district council has its headquarters in Whataupoko, in the central city. The settlement was known as Turanga and renamed Gisborne in 1870 in honour of New Zealand Colonial Secretary William Gisborne. The Gisborne region has been settled for over 700 years, for centuries the region has been inhabited by the tribes of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Their people descend from the voyagers of the Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru, Horouta, East Coast oral traditions offer differing versions of Gisbornes establishment by Māori. According to one legend, Kiwa waited so long for the Horouta canoe to arrive that he called its final landing place Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, however, a more popular version of events is that Horouta preceded Takitimu. In 1931, Sir Āpirana Ngata stated that Horouta was the canoe that brought the people to the East Coast. Māori historian Rongowhakaata Halbert affirmed this account, stating that Paoas crew on the Horouta were the first inhabitants of the East Coast after migrating from Ahuahu or Great Mercury Island, paoa gave his name to various places across the region, most notably the Waipāoa River. During the 14th century, Māori tribes built fishing villages close to the sea, Gisbornes Kaiti Beach is the place where British navigator Captain James Cook made his first landing in New Zealand upon the Endeavour. Cook had earlier set off from Plymouth, England in August 1768 on a bound for Tahiti. Once he had concluded his duties in Tahiti, Cook continued south to look for a large landmass or continent. Young Nicks Head was thought to be the first piece of New Zealand land sighted by Cooks party, on 9 October, Cook came ashore on the eastern bank of the Tūranganui River, accompanied by a party of men. Their arrival was marred by misunderstanding and resulted in the death and it was also on the banks of the Tūranganui River that first the township of Tūranga, then the city of Gisborne, grew as European traders and whalers began to settle in the river and port area. The landing site was commemorated by a monument in 1906, on the 137th anniversary of Cooks arrival. Starting in the early 1830s, traders such as Captain John Harris, over the next 30 years, many more European traders and missionaries migrated to the region. In 1868 the government bought 300 hectares of land for a town site, the town was laid out in 1870 and the name changed from Tūranga to Gisborne, after the then colonial secretary, and to avoid confusion with Tauranga. In 1872, Gisbornes first public school was opened and its first newspaper, a town council was formed in 1877. Gisborne is a city located on the east cape of New Zealands North Island
New Zealand
Napier/Hastings
