History
A public library, responsible to and funded by the Gisborne District Council, the H.B. Williams Memorial Library, along with 12 community libraries, serves the 45,000 people of the Gisborne and East Coast district.
Located in the first city in the southern hemisphere to see the morning sun - the library has had a long history by New Zealand standards. It first opened in 1869 as Turanga Library, in a room in the courthouse at a time when there were no roads overland and visitors came by horseback or boat to the district.
As the library grew it moved to various sites until 1967, when a local family gifted a new building in memory of their father. Thus the H.B. Williams Memorial Library was established much as we know it today. The building is a classic example of 1960s architecture and has adapted well to the advent of the information technology.