Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve
Introduction
The Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve, which commemorates the first European landfall and meeting with Maori in New Zealand (1769), is situated beside the Esplanade Road, on an area of reclaimed land close to the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
The site of Cook's first New Zealand landfall was also the landing place of the Horouta and Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru waka (canoes) which carried Maori to the district.
The landing site has changed a great deal since that time and the old shore line is marked only by a noticeable dip in the ground in front of the obelisk.
Since the historic landfall in 1769, the landing site where the Maori and European worlds first met has changed dramatically, although it continues to be recognised as a place of national significance.
Location
The Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve is located on Kaiti Beach Road in Gisborne.
Activities
Historic sites