This historic area was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Recommendation for Registration considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. In 1868 the Government purchased 741 acres of land for the town site of Gisborne which was surveyed into sections two years later. Settlement had begun in the area with Captain Read who, in 1852, was invited by local Maori chiefs to establish a trading store. For thirty years this enterprising pioneer shaped and influenced the development of Poverty Bay, establishing Gisborne's first hotel (the Albion) and the courthouse as well as introducing his own early currency system involving £1 notes that only he could cash. At the time of his death in 1878 it was estimated that he had created three quarters of the town's business property. From the early 1870s through to WWI Gisborne flourished due to the trade generated by a farming boom. Original timber buildings were replaced with masonry structures in the early decades of this century reflecting the town's confidence in the future. The majority of the buildings within the Peel St/Gladstone area are former banks or commercial premises that have had a variety of uses over the years and are significant for their streetscape value. The Te Rau Press established itself in Gladstone Rd in 1924. Prior to that the building, built by James Erskine, was used for such things as a billiard saloon and social hall.