Whale Rider http://www.trifter.com/tags/Whale Rider New posts about Whale Rider Whangara http://www.trifter.com/Asia-&-Pacific/New-Zealand/Whangara.102266 Whangara is in the region known as Te Tairawhiti on the east coast of the north island on New Zealand. It is near the city of Gisborne.

Whangara has a long Maori history and is now most famous for being the setting of the book and film The Whale Rider.

The first people to live in this region came as a migration from Eastern Polynesia about seven hundred years ago. In legend Paikea travelled to New Zealand on the back of a whale, this is commemorated by a carving on the meeting house in Whangara.

Captain Cook landed nearby Whangara in 1769 where contact between Maori and Europeans first began.

The Te Tairawhiti (Eastland) region has the highest proportion of Maoris in New Zealand. Maori is commonly spoken in this area. Many famous Maori leaders artists and sportsmen come from the region. Witi Lhimaera the author of Whale Rider is among them.

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