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Cook's First Landing, after 2 warning shots, a 3rd shot killed a Maori warrior advancing upon landing craft. When Captain James Cook stepped ashore at Poverty Bay on 9 October 1769, he was accompanied not by Marines but by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, two of the most prominent scientists on the voyage. Having spent months making largely successful landings throughout the Pacific, Cook appears to have viewed Gisborne as another opportunity to explore, map and make contact

The Voyager Sculpture, overlooked & unloved, Gisborne NZ Tucked beside Waikanae Creek, half disappearing into long grass and reeds, sits one of Gisborne’s strangest public artworks. Most locals have driven past it dozens of times without really noticing it. And honestly, that’s part of the story. The sculpture is called Voyager, created in 2011 by internationally recognised artist Konstantin Dimopoulos. It was part of Gisborne District Council’s public art push at the time, s

Young Nick's Head from Waikanae Beach, Gisborne NZ Every city has a landmark. Some build one. Gisborne was given one by nature. Rising dramatically from the Pacific Ocean at the southern entrance to Poverty Bay, Young Nick's Head is one of the most recognisable natural features in Gisborne. Locals see it almost every day. Visitors photograph it constantly. And once you've noticed it, it becomes impossible to ignore. The distinctive headland has been watching over the coastlin

Most visitors arrive in Gisborne for the beaches, sunshine, surf, wineries, or relaxed East Coast atmosphere. ​ But beneath the modern city sits one of the most historically important landscapes in New Zealand. ​ This was where Captain James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour first landed in October 1769. It was also the site of the first sustained encounters between Māori and Europeans on New Zealand soil. ​ More than 250 years later, traces of those events still remain scat

A replica of the HMS Endeavour sails into Poverty Bay, Gisborne NZ The authenticity of Captain Cook’s journals is rarely the central point of dispute. Most historians broadly accept that Cook recorded events largely as he perceived and understood them at the time, often with remarkable discipline, observational detail, and restraint. His writing style is notably practical and measured rather than theatrical. Unlike many explorers or colonial figures of the era, Cook generally

Captain Cook Statue, Kaiti Hill, Gisborne NZ There is something deeply revealing about the fate of the Captain Cook statue that stood on Kaiti Hill above Gisborne for fifty years. Not merely revealing about Cook. Revealing about us. Because the story is not actually about bronze. Or plaques. Or whether the sculptor got the buttons on Cook’s naval coat historically accurate. No. The story is about a modern society becoming psychologically incapable of carrying the burden of it

One of the replica Endeavour ships standing above Gladstone Road in Gisborne NZ There is something very strange about watching a civilisation dismantle its own symbols while simultaneously insisting it is becoming morally superior. For decades, two replica Endeavour ships stood above Gladstone Road in Gisborne. Most people hardly noticed them after a while. They became part of the landscape in the same way old churches, war memorials and town clocks become part of the psychol