GISBORNE

unitary authority, east-central North Island, New Zealand. The authority includes the eastern side of East Cape (the easternmost promontory of North Island), most of the Raukumara Range, and the Waipaoa and Mata rivers. Gisborne is bounded by the Bay of Plenty local government region to the west and by the Pacific Ocean to the north and east. The cape was the first landing site of Europeans in New Zealand; the British navigator Captain James Cook anchored in Poverty Bay near modern Gisborne city in 1769. A relatively remote area, Gisborne has remained an important centre of Maori settlement. A large part of the authority lies at an elevation of more than 2,000 feet (600 m), and the limited lowland areas are composed of numerous river valleys and narrow coastal alluvial plains. Once heavily forested, the land has been extensively deforested by farming and logging, causing serious soil erosion. The hills are used for grazing; crops are limited to the Poverty Bay flats around Gisborne, which is the only sizable community. Roads circle the coast and cross the peninsula from Gisborne city (southeast) to Opotiki (northwest). Pop. (1992 est.) 44,300. city (district) and port on Poverty Bay, Gisborne unitary authority, east coast of North Island, New Zealand. The city is located where the Waimata and Taruheru rivers join to form the Turanganui. It was the first area in New Zealand visited (1769) by Captain James Cook. It received its first permanent European settlers in 1852 and was surveyed in 1870 and given the name Gisborne for then colonial-secretary Sir William Gisborne. It was given the status of a borough in 1877, and it was constituted a city in 1955. Linked to Wellington by road and rail and to Auckland by road, Gisborne serves a region supporting sheep ranching and vegetable and dairy farming. Industries include commercial fishing, meat freezing, dairy and food processing, wool scouring, engineering works, and hosiery, gas, lime, fertilizer, and tallow plants. The port area is relatively shallow, and tenders serve larger ships at a roadstead in Poverty Bay. Because of its proximity to the International Date Line, Gisborne claims to be the most easterly city in the world. Pop. (1992 est.) 31,400.