Horoera is a village and rural community in Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It is located east of Te Araroa and north of East Cape, at Horoera Point.[1]
It features the Matahi O Te Tau Marae and meeting house,[2] a tribal meeting place of the Ngāti Porou hapū of Te Whānau a Hunaara.[3] The marae is named after the area's fertility.[4]
The community has traditionally been made up of a group of closely related families, whose life centred around the marae.[5] The area's isolation made life difficult for European settlers,[6] and poverty has forced many local Māori to migrate to larger centres.[5]
In 2017, New Zealand Transport Agency upgraded the Horoera Bridge,[7] giving campervans and other heavy vehicles full access to the East Cape Lighthouse.[8] It replaced a temporary Bailey bridge installed in 2015.[9]
In October 2020, the Government committed $5,756,639 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae and 28 others across the Gisborne District. The funding was expected to create 205 jobs.[10]