Gore District, New Zealand

Geography

The Gore District is located in the south of the South Island. The two neighbouring districts are Southland in the west and Clutha in the east. The district has a land area of 1,251.62 square kilometres (483.25 sq mi). The seat of the district council is in the town of Gore.

The district has a population of 12,500 (June 2016); Gore is the main centre. Other places in the district include Waikaka, Otama, Mandeville, Maitland, Croydon Bush, Whiterigg, Pukerau, Waitane, Waimumu, Charlton, Mataura, Tuturau, Ferndale, Kaiwera, and Otaraia.

History

The European history of Gore started in 1855 with the arrival of Scottish settlers. After the town site was surveyed, the provincial superintendent, James Alexander Robertson Menzies, named the site for his friend, the Governor of New Zealand, Thomas Gore Browne. The original name of the township, Long Ford or Longford, remained for some time, but when the railway reached the town, the shorter name became common and was also applied to the wider district. The township of Gore was incorporated and became a borough council in 1885.

In the local government reform in 1989, the Gore and Mataura borough councils and parts of Southland County Council were amalgamated to form Gore District.

Governance

The district council is headed by a mayor who is elected at large, and complemented by eleven councillors from various wards. Five councillors represent the Gore ward, one councillor each represents the Mataura, Kaiwera-Waimumu, and Waikaka wards, and there is one further district-wide ward that is represented by three councillors. The current mayor, Tracy Hicks, was first elected in the 2004 local elections. He replaced Owen O'Connor who retired in 2004.

Current body

As of 2016, the current council members are:-