Other items include armchairs, large TVs, a fridge, mattresses, a car, toys, glass and even children's school projects.
"It's disgusting, look at it. It's in a pristine bit of bush on a tourist road," Mr Gordon said.
What made it worse was that it was on the road leading to Ruapekapeka Pa, site of the final battle of the Northern War of 1845-46 and one of the most significant historic sites in the Mid North.
"I appreciate times are hard and unemployment is high up here, but there's no excuses for this."
Mr Gordon said some of the people responsible would have driven past the nearby Whangae transfer station, so they had to go out of their way to dump illegally.
A large proportion of the rubbish is bottles and cans, which can be dropped off free of charge at Whangae for recycling.
The fly-tip site is about 8km south of Kawakawa at a high point on the road, where a layby is bordered by a fence and a steep bank dropping away into bush. The views would be impressive but for the festering rubbish.
Mr Gordon spotted a small pile of fresh trash on the edge of the layby, including a moon boot and high-vis vests, when he was driving home from a contracting job last Wednesday.
When he took a closer look he was horrified to see much, much more spilling into the bush.
Some items, such as car radios and a computer tablet, appeared to have been stolen and dumped. He has notified the Far North District Council.
In 2015 Mr Gordon organised a clean-up of another illegal dump off Haruru Falls Rd, with a group of volunteers taking about nine hours to fill three large skips. Local firms provided the truck and refreshments while the council provided the bins.
This month he found a car-load of rubbish dumped in a layby on Puketona Rd near Paihia and took it to a transfer station at his own expense. Some items clearly identified the owners but the council told him it could not prosecute without proof of who had dumped it.
The Far North District Council's infrastructure and asset manager, Andy Finch, confirmed a complaint had been received about a sizable illegal rubbish dump on Ruapekapeka Rd.
Staff had conducted an initial inspection but, because the dump was on a steep, bush-covered bank, it was too dangerous to investigate further until the ground dried out.
Staff would start a clean-up before Christmas but until they could fully access the site it was not possible to say what that would involve or how much rubbish could be removed.
"The council shares the frustration residents feel about rubbish illegally dumped in our natural environment and we will prosecute the culprits when sufficient evidence is found," Mr Finch said.
In 2016 Far North ratepayers had to foot the $14,000 bill for cleaning up a massive, 200-metre-long dump site in steep bush beside Ngaiotonga Rd, about 20km from Russell.
Evidence found among the rubbish led to six people being fined $100. One fine was paid while five others were referred to the courts.
Also last year, MP Kelvin Davis and Paihia conservationist Brad Windust cleaned up a dump site in bush at Waikare Gorge, east of Kawakawa.
In July this year another fly-tip, estimated to contain 30cu m of rubbish, was found on Karaka Rd in Parakao, on the border of the Whangarei and Kaipara districts.
In February the Far North District Council adopted a new litter infringement policy setting fines of $100 for minor offences rising to $400 for hazardous, offensive or large amounts of rubbish.
In the worst cases - for offending likely to cause injury, disease or infection - the Litter Act 1979 allows fines of up to $7500 or one month in jail.
