High on a hill overlooking Gisborne, Titirangi was once a pā (fortified village). Reach it via Queens Dr, or on the steep track from the revamped Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site monument down at the port. Near the lookout at the top is yet another Cook edifice, at Cook’s Plaza. Adjacent is a modest pohutukawa tree planted by Princess Diana in 1983.
Also here is a new sculpture of Te Maro, the first of nine Māori men killed by Cook's crew when they landed in Gisborne in 1769. The 10m-high, perforated steel sculpture was erected in 2019 to mark 250 years since 'the most disagreeable day' of Cook's life (and certainly Te Maro's).
