Eastbourne Herald meets its New Zealand namesake

Having two Eastbournes in the world has caused much confusion over the years.
Mayor Janet Coles with Emma Tilley from the Eastbourne Herald in New ZealandMayor Janet Coles with Emma Tilley from the Eastbourne Herald in New Zealand
Mayor Janet Coles with Emma Tilley from the Eastbourne Herald in New Zealand

So much so that on one occasion during a previous Rugby World Cup, a South African couple mistakenly booked a hotel in the UK seaside resort instead of its New Zealand namesake 12,000 miles away where matches were being played.

Now, the chief reporter from the Eastbourne Herald in Wellington, New Zealand, has visited our own Eastbourne on the south coast and met the town’s mayor and Annemarie Field, the chief reporter of this Eastbourne Herald, to compare notes on the two areas.

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Emily Tilley called in to the Town Hall during a month-long trip to the UK visiting family to exchange gifts from the two towns.

Emily said, “Our Eastbourne is also by the sea but is an outer suburb on the eastern shore of Wellington Harbour with a population of just 5,000 people. We know people often get the two Eastbournes mixed up but there are 18,871 kilometres between the two.

“Our Eastbourne Herald comes out monthly and we also have a website all about the people that make up our wonderful community.

“For such a small place, Eastbourne certainly makes its presence felt.”

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Gifts from Emily to the mayor included a painting by Murray Gibbons, a local resident who set up the Eastbourne Republic in New Zealand, and items from the local tourist board.

Eastbourne in New Zealand is five kilometres south of the main Lower Hutt urban area, and directly across the harbour from the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington city.

It has 2,000 residential homes and is also a popular windsurfing and kitesurfing location due to Wellington’s frequently windy weather.

In 2011 South African couple Michael and Sunette Adendorff mistakenly booked to stay at The Majestic Hotel in Eastbourne, UK, instead of a hotel in the New Zealand location where they had hoped to watch Rugby World Cup matches.

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