Napier - Earthquakes and art deco

Haku Falls, New Zealand

After leaving behind the not-so pleasant smelling Rotorua, we drove down to Napier, with a couple of quick stop offs along the way. 

The first was at the Haku Falls on the Waitako River. The name is Maori for foam, and you can see why they called it that. Apparently 200,000 litres of water goes over the nine metre drop every second. That is the equivalent of five Olympic swimming pools worth of water every minute.

Haku Falls, New Zealand

Lake Taupo

The second stop was at Lake Taupo for lunch and a look around. There wasn't a great deal here, but it was interesting to see an aeroplane at McDonalds.

Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo

Napier

After lunch, we soon arrived in the beautiful art deco town of Napier. This being New Zealand, with around eight major fault lines running through North Island alone, it is perhaps not surprising that the town was destroyed in an earthquake. Not when we arrived - just previously.

The 7.8 magnitude Hawkes Bay earthquake struck at 10:47am on 3 February 1931. It lasted only two and a half minutes, but in that time many of the buildings in the centre collapsed, caving in on those inside, and raining down the masonry of their ornate edifices on those outside. 258 people were killed, including 161 in Napier, and 93 in Hastings.

Napier

After the quake, came the fires. Chemists in the central business area caught alight, and the fire spread vigorously. That it was brought under control within 36 hours was a testament to the hard work of those involved, as water pressure was ridiculously low and attempts to pump sea water failed when the shingle blocked the hoses. Eleven blocks of the town centre were gutted.

Napier

With insurance companies not paying out for earthquakes, much of the money for rebuilding came from the charitable donations that flooded in. Rather than rushing the rebuild of the town centre, they took the opportunity to do it in a planned way over several years. In the meantime, a temporary shopping area called Tin City was put up.

Being the early thirties, the architectural style was art deco, and that is how the town was rebuilt - a world away from the fancy stonework that killed so many people when it crumbled in the quake. It has made Napier a real destination for art deco fans.

Napier

The quake also presented another opportunity for Napier to improve itself, as it raised the ground level elements slightly, including the seabed near the shoreline, permanently pushing the sea further out.  The town took advantage of this to build a new Marine Parade with gardens and other facilities.

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As someone who likes art deco, I enjoyed being in Napier. You can take guided tours around the town, or do as we did, which was to buy the tour route and notes from the Art Deco Centre.

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