High on a hill overlooking Gisborne, Titirangi was once a (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).


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1. Titirangi Lookout

0.02 MILES

On top of Kaiti Hill in Titirangi Reserve, this lookout offers high, wide and handsome views out across the sea.

2. Cook's Plaza

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Near the summit of Kaiti Hill in Titirangi Reserve is Cook's Plaza. Due to a cock-up of historic proportions, the Cook statue here isn’t garbed in British…

3. Sculpture of Te Maro

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On the flanks of Titirangi Reserve is an impressive new sculpture of Te Maro, the first of nine Māori men killed by Cook's crew when they landed in…

4. Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site

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At the foot of Titirangi Reserve is the spot where Captain Cook first landed in NZ in 1769, and where nine Māori were killed by Cook's crew. In 2019, a $5…

5. Captain Cook Statue

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One of Gisborne's gaggle of Captain Cook commemorations, part of which is a globe etched with his roaming routes.

6. Te Tauihu Turanga Whakamana

0.63 MILES

Like a giant sundial, Te Tauihu Turanga Whakamana is a large modern sculpture in the shape of a tauihu (canoe prow) that celebrates early Māori explorers.

7. Statue of Young Nick

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There's no let-up in Gisborne's Endeavour endeavours: in the riverside park is a dynamic statue of Nicholas Young, Captain Cook’s cabin boy, whose eagle…

8. Footrot Flats Statue

0.87 MILES

Gisborne is already well endowed with statues, but this one commemorating the hugely popular Footrot Flats cartoons by Gisborne local, the late Murray…