Gisborne, the first city in the world to see the sun each day, is located on the sunny East Coast of the North Island.
The Maori name for the district is Tairawhiti which means "The coast upon which the sun shines across the water". Kaiti Beach, near the city, was where the Maori migration waka, Horouta, landed; and is also the first European landing place in New Zealand.
Captain Cook first set foot here in 1769. European settlement was established in 1831 and the town which developed was named after Hon. William Gisborne, the Colonial Secretary, in 1870.
The Gisborne district (population 45,000) with about 30,000 residing in the city) generally has warm summers and mild winters. Gisborne is one of the sunniest places in New Zealand with average yearly sunshine of around 2200 hours. Temperatures of over 380 C have been recorded and an average 65 days a year have a maximum of over 240 C.
The Poverty Bay plains contain 20,200 ha of rich, alluvial river flats which, combined with mild temperatures, make this district an ideal area for the growing of maize, grapes, kiwifruit, citrus and subtropical fruits. The district is mainly hill-country, well-suited to grazing. Sheep, cattle, deer and goats are farmed. Pinus radiata forests have been planted throughout the region with forestry now a major land use.
While most of our attractions and lifestyles are based on the superb natural features with which the region is blessed, Gisborne also offers good shopping and dining, with an interesting range of specialist shops, cafes, bars and restaurants as well as many of the larger national franchise companies.
Gisborne is serviced by daily passenger and freight, air and bus connections to other main centres in the North Island. There is also a rail freight service and a busy overseas shipping and local fishing port.