Gisborne District

The Gisborne District is an area of northeastern New Zealand governed by the Gisborne District Council. A unitary authority, it is also known as the Gisborne Region. It is named after its largest settlement, the city of Gisborne. The region is also commonly referred to as the East Coast.The region is commonly divided into the East Cape and Poverty Bay. It is bounded by mountain ranges to the west, rugged country to the south, and faces east onto the Pacific Ocean.NamesGisborne is named for an early Colonial Secretary William Gisborne. The council is located in the town of Gisborne (locally referred to as the City of Gisborne).The region was formerly known as the East Coast, although the region is often divided into the East Coast proper (or East Cape), north of the city, and Poverty Bay, the area including and surrounding the city. The region is also sometimes referred to as the East Cape, although that also refers specifically to the promontory at the northeastern extremity. More recently, it has been called Eastland, although that can also include Opotiki in the eastern Bay of Plenty to the northwest, and Wairoa to the south.Its Māori name, Te Tai Rāwhiti, means the Coast of the Sunrise, reflecting the fact that it is the first part of the New Zealand mainland to see the sun rise.