The Gisborne Herald
‘Systemic failure’
Aman’s elective bowel surgery proved straightforward, but three days after the procedure he deteriorated rapidly and died. The 62-year-old’s death was linked to a “systemic failure” in his care and a failure to recognise his deteriorating condition on...
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Te Kā uta cafe brings new path to support
Stormy weather couldn’t dull spirits as Gisborne rallied for the official opening of a new kind of mental health support space. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey officially opened Te Kāuta cafe’s doors on Gladstone Rd, in the city centre, yesterday...
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Plan for a drought El Nino to bring heat, wind and water shortages
It might not feel like it right now, but this year’s El Nino will bring dry and windy conditions to the East Coast over the next few months. East Coast farmers are considering how to plan for potential water shortages. El Nino was officially declared...
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‘Hard landing’
Emergency services responded to an incident involving a helicopter at Gisborne Airport just after 2pm yesterday. A police spokesperson described the incident as a “hard landing”. The helicopter came down on the grass alongside the western side of the...
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Kennedy secures world junior gold and NZ first
Gisborne teenager Jacqueline Kennedy made New Zealand canoeing history at the weekend when she won this country’s first gold medal at the world junior championships. She did it in the women’s K1 500m event at the 2026 International Canoe Federation...
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Tairā whiti misses out
Local leaders have called a $14.5 million government investment in support for rough sleepers “deeply disappointing” after Tairāwhiti was left out of the funding. Minister for Housing Chris Bishop and Associate Minister for Housing Tama Potaka...
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KAITI’S BIG IMPACT
Gisborne’s Kaiti School has won the Excellence in Student Engagement and Attendance category at the inaugural New Zealand Education Excellence Awards. Principal Billie-Jean Potaka-Ayton said she was proud of the achievement and inspired by all of the...
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Vacancy rate not affecting care quality
A28% senior doctor vacancy rate is not reflected in the quality of healthcare at Gisborne Hospital, chief medical officer Dr Nejat Zeyneloglu says. His comment comes after recent reports that the vacancy rate would be down to 10% by the end of the...
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‘Incredible season’
The hammer fell on nearly $11 million in sales as the 2026 Gisborne East Coast combined breeds bull season shattered the previous record set last year. Just over 620 rising 2-year-old bulls were sold at Tairāwhiti and Wairoa Angus, Simmental and...
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200 properties still stickered after storms
Properties across Tairāwhiti continue to feel the effects of severe weather, with 40 remaining red-stickered and 194 yellow-stickered. Of those, 16 red and 25 yellow are from the storm in January, while the remaining 24 red and 169 yellow stickers date...
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Supreme Court blocks local man’s extradition
AGisborne man wanted by police for more than 10 years after an alleged assault in a Perth carpark will not be forced to return to face Australian courts. His barrister this week said the man is “very grateful and relieved” to have the prospect of...
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Suspicious blaze strikes Gisborne church again
AGisborne church site with a history of fires has been hit again and the latest is being treated as suspicious. Fire damaged the rear of St David’s Church at the Rutene Rd and De Latour Rd corner early this morning. A police inquiry is under way. It...
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Tributes flow for beloved crash victim
Aman just days away from celebrating his 35th birthday is being remembered as a loving father, son, brother and friend after a fatal crash. Family tributes online have named William Zane Hori Te Rangi as the victim of a van crash near Gisborne. “He...
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More than just strength
“It’s like a game of chess, and very technical. The way you set up your hand has a lot to do with whether you win or lose. It’s more than just strength.” Gisborne personal trainer Alivia Groves, 28, is talking about armwrestling. She has won the New...
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Woman beats odds to reach 65th birthday
Fifteen years ago, East Coast woman Delys Hooper was given three months to live. This week, she celebrated her 65th birthday. Hooper was diagnosed with an ultra-rare form of cancer of the appendix, pseudomyxoma peritonei, in 2011. Hers was the second...
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Final girders in place
The $50 million rebuild of the cyclone-devastated Hikuwai No 1 Bridge on State Highway 35 reached a major milestone yesterday with the installation of its final girder. The bridge, 20 kilometres north of Tolaga Bay, was washed away during Cyclone...
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‘I love my band’
Gisborne’s War Memorial Theatre came alive on Friday night as the region’s most promising young bands took the stage for the 2026 Smokefreerockquest East Coast Tairāwhiti regional final. It was a case of best to last as Copium, a seven-piece band from...
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‘I’d have been toast’
June is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and New Zealanders are being urged to educate themselves on the symptoms of bowel cancer. Survivor Wendy Linton spoke with Gisborne Herald reporter Zoe Mills about the importance of screening and living life to the...
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‘Bloody devastating’
Residents and landowners who have spent three years believing a replacement bridge over a river near Tokomaru Bay are devastated at being told funding for the project has been declined by NZ Transport Agency. Pauariki Bridge, originally built in 1937,...
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East Cape midwife stole $100k for ‘fantasy’ plan
As the only midwife on the East Cape, Corrina Parata walked for an hour during Cyclone Gabrielle to give supplies to a pregnant woman in distress. But being the only midwife within 200km, working long hours and feeling professionally isolated saw...
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Proposal to close Titirangi at night
Illegal dumping and vandalism on Titirangi/Kaiti Hill have prompted a proposal to restrict vehicle access overnight. Titirangi has been a regular dumping spot for such items as household rubbish, bedding and animal carcasses. The general proposal is...
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‘Huge breach of trust’
A former Oranga Tamariki caregiver who sexually abused three vulnerable boys threatened to selfharm when one of them chose to stay with a family member rather than return to his care. John Raye Tamanui, 71, appeared for sentencing in Gisborne District...
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Young fisher nets national honour
Gisborne local Elly Lincoln has been named the 2026 Sunderland Young Fisher of the Year. She was announced the winner at a ceremony held as part of the New Zealand Federation of Commercial Fishermen Conference and AGM in Wellington last week. It’s the...
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Honour for clay pioneer
Tokomaru Bay artist Baye Riddell has been honoured for his services to Mā ori clay art. Riddell was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday weekend honours. The renowned potter (Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare)...
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‘Just trying to get by’
Income-related rent will increase from next year as part of a social housing overhaul. Minister of Housing Chris Bishop says reforms are necessary to improve fairness, but social housing tenants say it puts further strain on already struggling...
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A gift from the sea
Gisborne artist Torri Stewart has won the People’s Choice Award for a creation made of moulded bull kelp at the 2026 Small Sculpture Prize in Waiheke, Auckland. The Small Sculpture Prize is a national award for an original freestanding or wall...
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Machine safety ‘watershed’
AGisborne company has been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars following the death of a worker in an industrial waste shredder incident. M.E. Jukes & Son was prosecuted by WorkSafe after the death of worker Maurice Dooling, 47, at the...
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Killing our economy
Unpredictable closures of State Highway 2 in the Waiō weka Gorge are straining business and “killing our local economy”, a new Trust Tairāwhiti report says. Trust Tairāwhiti found closures disrupted an estimated $190 million in annual tradeable gross...
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Dump sign blunder on Awapuni Rd
The national transport agency has apologised and taken down signs erroneously pointing people to a liquid waste dump station no longer in operation in Gisborne. The Awapuni Rd site, run by Brian Hall, was closed in January after providing the service...
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State-of-the-art maize mill rises from ashes
ACorson Grain rebuild in Gisborne’s industrial subdivision is well advanced and set to open in early 2027 – four years after fire destroyed the company’s original maize processing plant. Seven Gisborne fire crews, with volunteer brigades, fought the...
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From ‘scared’ child to legendary mountaineer
Before ascending mountains from Antarctica to the Andes to Himalaya, Sir Graeme Dingle was once a “painfully shy” child from Gisborne. The acclaimed Kiwi explorer has shared memories from a childhood in Gisborne as he launches a fundraising initiative...
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‘I’d cut those things down instantly’
Residents of Gisborne’s Elsdon Best St say children have been injured by the street’s “dangerous” footpaths. The roots of liquidambar trees. commonly known as sweetgums, have uplifted sections of concrete in the street located off Campion Rd in...
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Online platform boosts te reo classrooms
The teachers behind a new classroom tool to support te reo Māori teachers want to provide “great resources” for schools across the country. Whatakai Rokiroki is an online resource platform that provides te reo Māori teachers with classroom resources...
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‘We’re really stoked that it’s been found’
Achance drive around Gisborne led to the discovery of a white 1965 Thunderbird convertible stolen from a garage last week. Keen classic car man Rick Brenchley and Mark Tilley, whose parents Ralph (the late) and Margaret Tilley owned the car, were...
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Fired port workers get partial vindication
Port workers Paul McMillan and Dion Robin had made a number of complaints about a colleague’s unsafe practices, but when they refused to work a shift with the man, they were fired. The pair took their case to the Employment Relations Authority after...
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Children addicted
One Tairā whiti health provider has observed children “as young as 8 who are addicted” as the region continues to tackle youth vaping. While youth vaping is decreasing in Gisborne and nationwide, nearly twice as many Year 10 students in the Gisborne...
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Crisis Recovery Cafe to open next month
Gisborne’s first Crisis Recovery Cafe is due to open next month as part of a national roll-out of mental health and addiction support services. A $1 million tender was awarded to Te Kupenga Net Trust in September. Crisis recovery cafes are peer-run...
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Future uncertain
East Coast residents still want answers on the future of a “significant heritage and community landmark” three years on from its closure. Gisborne District Council (GDC) says work to understand the scale of investment required to reopen the 660m-long...
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Kapa haka connection ‘Being at Tamararo is being at home’
Hundreds filled Houhoupiko/Showgrounds Park in Gisborne on the weekend for the senior Tamaroro, Tairawhiti’s regional kapa haka competition. In the event’s 74th year, 17 rōpū (teams) competed for a spot at the national finals, Te Matatini, in...
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‘The kids made the sad building happy'
Picasso-inspired self-portraits are brightening up a corner of Gisborne’s main street. Since October, multiple shopfronts have been transformed with artwork from local artists and community collaborations as part of the council’s Art in the City...
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Three flee house fire
Three people escaped a fire that damaged 80% of a home in the suburb of Riverdale yesterday morning, but the occupants lost most of their possessions. The fire, which engulfed the Kāinga Ora home in Taruheru Cres, is not being treated as...
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Female arborists gather to bridge gender gap
The national arboretum was the venue for a camp that drew participants from across the country to build the network of women in arboriculture. At the second annual Women and Trees NZ camp at Eastwoodhill Arboretum in Gisborne, 32 women took part in...
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‘No confidence’
Tairāwhiti’s tourism industry is taking a huge hit from sporadic closures across the region’s two state highways with one company down 80% in bookings for the summer. Katrina Duncan, who has been running Experience Gisborne and Cycle Gisborne for 17...
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‘Potentially it’s a lifesaver’
Abowel cancer screening project run through Gisborne-based Matai Medical Research Institute is a potential “lifesaver”, the East Coast-connected woman who will be driving it says. Dr Jordon Lima, who originates from Whāngārā and is of Ngāti Porou, Te...
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Family Start providers fear future under SIA
Family Start providers are facing uncertainty about the future of their services before an agency reshuffle takes place. The providers are contracted under Oranga Tamariki to visit whānau and offer advice on child development, mental health and...
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Cyclone inquest hears of unprecedented storm
The head of Tairāwhiti Emergency Management was the first to speak as a series of coronial inquests into the deaths of people when Cyclone Gabrielle struck in 2023 continued in Gisborne this week. The latest of the inquests, being held before Coroner...
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Council moves to tackle crater-ridden road
Gisborne District Council has taken action this week to improve safety on Tiniroto Rd after residents raised concerns about “hundreds” of “crater”-sized potholes. Works today and tomorrow will be undertaken with stop/go traffic management in place,...
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Disability crusader calls out illegal parking
Disabled resident Larni Porou is fed up with people parking illegally in mobility spaces in Gisborne. Porou, who uses a mobility scooter to get around, said she had seen instances of this at Kaiti Hub and in the city centre. The vehicles she saw were...
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Pothole ‘suicide road’
Rural Gisborne residents say “hundreds” of crater-sized potholes are causing vehicles and trucks to swerve across the centre line of what they’ve dubbed the “suicide road”. Tiniroto Rd, which runs from the Wairoa boundary into the Gisborne region,...
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Youths held after dramatic police chase
A car “screamed through” a Gisborne roundabout on the wrong side of the road before spinning out of control in an early morning police chase yesterday. Following the incident at around 7.20am, police said six young people were arrested after a series...
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‘NEXT MINUTE... CRACK!’
The roar of 100km/h-plus winds on Sunday was replaced by the whine of chainsaws on Monday as the region went into clean-up mode following the impact of ex-tropical Cyclone Vaianu. Tairāwhiti got off reasonably lightly compared with other areas, with a...
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Growers brace as cyclone nears region
Tairāwhiti growers are bracing for more wild weather as Cyclone Vaianu bears down on the country. With the rising cost of fuel and road closures already challenging the region, one of Gisborne’s major kiwifruit operations said the storm would feel like...
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Vision for the future
A colourful optometry van called Celia visited Gisborne this week to show prospective funding partners its potential for screening children for eyesight problems at schools. Celia is run by Painga Project, a charity that focuses on equity in schools...
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‘All I saw was two big figures crossing the road’
Acrash with roaming bulls on a highway in the dark wrecked an elderly woman’s car on the same day she spent $2000 on it. Georgina Green says no one has taken responsibility for the loose stock on the road, and she wants something to be done about the...
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Property extremes
An off-grid tiny home that sold for less than half the property’s rateable value and a $4.4 million homestead on 20ha represent the “two extremes” of the Gisborne East Coast property market in 2025. The cheapest property listed on OneRoof to sell in...
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Sawmill fined after two workers badly injured
A Gisborne sawmill has been fined $600,000 and ordered to pay $100,000 in reparations after two workers were seriously injured in separate incidents weeks apart. The first incident left an employee with a 20-centimetre laceration to their arm, which...
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‘No sentence will ever be enough’
Grieving whānau have told a convicted double murderer that he has brought “shame” on his family and is hated “with a passion”. Their comments were made as Libya Tamihere was sentenced yesterday in the High Court at Gisborne to a minimum of 20 years in...
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Crayfish catch limit cut
Catch limits for spiny rock lobster have been reduced for Gisborne after a sustainability review, which found the East Coast population remains under pressure despite earlier limit reductions. Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones announced...
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Communities await help
Gisborne leaders are awaiting the Government’s response to a $29.7 million funding bid for a joint agency/iwi-led recovery plan after January’s severe weather event. The severe rain devastated northern parts of the East Coast, with the aftermath...
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Fuel spike hits aviators
Some flight schools, tour operators and pilots crucial to farming are facing huge fuel cost increases they can’t pass on, an aviation group says. Regional operator Air Ruatōria’s avgas costs were up from $3.17 a litre before the Iran war to $4.21 this...
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Man charged after crash kills kaumā tua
A29-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving causing death in relation to the death of Gisborne man Owen Lloyd. Lloyd, 75, who lived at Whatatutu, died on Friday morning in a vehicle crash on State Highway 2 just north of the Kaitaratahi...
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‘He can rest now’
The kauri bust of Ngāti Porou chief Tamati Tamaiwhakanehua – who signed the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi – has been returned to New Zealand after it was bought from a London auction by one of his descendants. Carved out of fossilised resin, the bust of...
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How to get a home loan
Applying for a mortgage: The home loan application process PART 1 Before you apply for a home loan, you’ll need to get some documentation together. Regardless of whether you’re going direct to a bank as your lender or going through a mortgage adviser...
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Big turnout at relay as funds hit $78k mark
A total of 47 teams took part in last weekend’s Relay for Life event, raising $78,392 for the Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society. Hundreds of people walked amid rain, wind and sunshine, clocking up thousands of laps around the track. “Despite the...
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Touch move criticised
Teams are criticising a decision to move a national schools’ tournament from Rotorua to Gisborne, with concern some will be priced out or unable to find accommodation. The New Zealand Secondary Schools Touch Championships will be held in Gisborne in...
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GHL buys CBD building
The river-end of Lowe St in Gisborne is closer to becoming “more pedestrian and family friendly” after the district council’s commercial arm bought a building that encompasses a set of shops and flats. Gisborne Holdings Ltd (GHL) has purchased the...
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Voyager in decline
The creator of a $70,000 council-commissioned sculpture left overgrown with weeds and invisible from the nearby street has offered to come from Melbourne to “refresh” the work. The once striking red Voyager sculpture on the banks of Gisborne’s...
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‘Near misses daily’
AGisborne student and her father have taken to social media, urging the district council to provide their kura with a pedestrian crossing, after they say a more “pragmatic” email approach was rejected. A raised pedestrian crossing at Te Kura Kaupapa...
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$8m lost every day
Closures of State Highway 2 through Waioweka Gorge cost an estimated $8 million in lost gross domestic product every day. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s (NZTA) 2024 SH2 Waioweka Gorge Corridor Resilience Single Stage Business Case, released to the...
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‘Hundreds’ involved in successful search
Asuccessful search for a vulnerable woman involving “hundreds of people” has been praised as “a powerful reminder” of what can be achieved when a community comes together. A police spokeswoman said the police received a report at 7.25pm on Wednesday...
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‘I don't plan on sleeping’
Cancer Society stalwart Daryl Gowers is set to add another chapter to his extraordinary fundraising story. Having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Gisborne East Coast branch of the Cancer Society, Gowers is to take on one of his more...
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‘Archaic policy’
The Ministry of Education has been accused of being “short-sighted” and “archaic” following changes made to Gisborne school bus routes, which principals say would be “a massive blow” for students and their families. The ministry says it needs to apply...
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Wardens warn move-on orders will not work
As the Government takes action to enable police with powers to issue move-on orders for rough sleepers and acts of public disruption, Gisborne’s Mā ori Wardens warn that this will not resolve the issue. “I don’t think they have thought it through,”...
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Farmer ordered to forfeit $16m in assets
The Gisborne farmer behind New Zealand’s largest-ever GST fraud has been ordered to hand over up to $16 million in real estate and other assets to the Crown. John Richard Bracken, then 54, was jailed for eight years and six months in 2021 after being...
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INSIDE: New era nears as Rugby Park soon to reopen
The long-awaited date for the official reopening of Rugby Park in Gisborne has been set for July 25. It has been described as a “reset moment” for the game in the Poverty Bay union. The two-stage project has largely been carried out by Currie...
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