Tasman Region

The Tasman Region (English: Tasman Regional Council ) is located in the extreme north-west of New Zealand's South Island and assumes addition to the duties of a region also in a district, so it is a unitary authority. The most important metropolitan area in the larger area around Tasman is the city of Nelson, which saw administratively is a separate unitary authority but. Seat of government is Richmond, a suburb of the above-mentioned city.

Geography

The Tasman region covers a 9771 km ² large area on the north- westernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island. In the southwest of the Matiri Ranges and the Tasman Mountains form the border with the West Coast Region, while the Tasman region is limited to a natural way in the northwest of the Tasman Sea. The northern border is formed by the Golden Bay and Tasman Bay, while the eastern areas of the unitary authority extend into the metropolitan area of ​​Nelson and occupies parts of the Spencer Mountains, the Saint Arnaud Ranges and the Richmond Ranges, the region of Marlborough separates. In the south, finally, the Victoria Ranges form a natural border to the regions of Canterbury and West Coast; here is the 1875 meter high Mount Owen, the highest mountain in the region. The landscape of the region is extremely diverse: from the mountainous areas to the south across valleys and plains in the center, which are crossed by numerous rivers, such as the Buller River, the Motueka River, the Aorere River, the Takaka River or the Wairoa River, to lush forests and golden beaches. Unique is Farewell Spit, a 40 -kilometer spit on the north- western tip of the island, which consists for the most part from the extensive beach areas.

Further comprising the Tasman region the very scenic Nelson Lakes National Park, the Abel Tasman National Park and the Kahurangi National Park. All the scenic attractions of the area attract many thousands of tourists every year.

History

According to the traditions of the Māori waka reached the first named Uruao the area of today's Tasman region in the 12th century. Archaeological finds prove that the natives of New Zealand exploring the whole region, but mainly settled on the coast, where they found plenty of food. From the frequent changes of different strains include historians, this period was marked by violent skirmishes.

In 1642 the Dutchman Abel Tasman anchored in the bay now known as Golden Bay. When attempting to go ashore, the Māori him were hostile. Several Dutch sailors were killed and Tasman, after which the region was finally named, named the bay "Murderer 's Bay " and never set foot on New Zealand soil. It was not until more than one hundred years later, more precisely in 1769, the bay was given by the British James Cook its current name.

From 1828 on, penetrated an association of numerous Māori tribes of the North Island ( including Ngāti Toa ) to the South Island and populated the area from Farewell Spit to the Wairau River. Under Arthur Wakefield, founder of the New Zealand Company, the first settlers in 1842, the current region. During the 1850s, new settlements were founded and started mainly in the Waimea Plains to the agricultural use of the area. When it was discovered near Collingwood gold in 1856, the first true gold rush began in the history of the Pacific state. Near Onekaka large iron deposits were discovered at the Golden Bay that were mined to the 1930s. End of the 19th century began with the fruit growing in the sun-drenched region, which is in addition to tourism since the mid-20th century one of the most important industries of the Tasman Region.

Population

According to the latest estimates by the government of New Zealand lived in 2006 about 47,700 people in the region Tasman. Overall, this population represents about 1.1% of New Zealand's total population; Much of the population is in Richmond itself at home ( over 10,000 people); especially the northern district recorded over the last ten years a considerable increase in population: From 1996 to 2006, the population increased by 23%. Other major towns are Brightwater Collingwood, Murchison, Wakefield, Saint Arnaud, Motueka, Mapua, Riwaka, Takaka, Tapawera and Kaiteriteri.

Despite this strong growth, the region is one of the more sparsely populated areas in New Zealand, mainly because of the fact that there are no major metropolitan areas and that 58 % of the total area of national parks is taken.

In no other region of the country, the European population is so big - it lies at 82.7 %. The highest growth of the ethnic group of Māori, with an increase of 60.5 % since 1991.

In the Tasman District also lies the village of Upper Moutere, which was founded in the 1850s by the first German immigrants to New Zealand and was called until 1917 sarau. Even today there are traces of German settlement history.