Wairoa District Visitor Information Centre

Wairoa was once a port for sheep and dairy farmers. Prominent on Marine Parade you will see a light house moved here in 1958 from Portland Island on the Mahia Peninsula. It was built in 1877 and originally burned kerosene. At census time over fifty per cent of the population here call themselves Maori. Over New Zealand as a whole the the figure is 15 percent. At the visitor centre you can arrange to see the interior of the Takitimu Marae The meeting house contains some fine modern carvings, which generally conform to the Gisborne school. Since 2005 the Wairoa Maori Film Festival featuring Maori and Indigenous films has been held at the local historic Taihoa Marae. For details see the website.

Image Credits: Koenraad Kuiper