Hawke's Bay () is a
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
on the east coast of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
's
North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
. The region is named for
Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of
Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of
Napier and
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, while the more rural parts of the region are served by the towns of
Waipukurau
Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings, New ...
,
Waipawa, and
Wairoa.
Name

Hawke's Bay is named for the bay to its east,
Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of Toulon (1744), ...
by
Captain James Cook during one of his voyages along the coasts of New Zealand.
The Māori language name for Hawke's Bay is ''Te Matau-a-Māui'' ( the fishhook belonging to
Māui). This name comes from a traditional story in which Maui lifted the islands of New Zealand from the waters. The story says that Hawke's Bay is the fishhook that Māui used, with
Portland Island and Cape Kidnappers being the northern and southern barbs of the hook, respectively.
Hawke's Bay is one of only two places in New Zealand with a possessive apostrophe in its name, the other being
Arthur's Pass. Captain Cook originally used an apostrophe in the name for the bay, but was inconsistent and wrote the name without an apostrophe a day later. Many New Zealanders spell the name without an apostrophe.
History
Early history
Bay whaling stations operated on the shores of the bay in the nineteenth century.
Hawke's Bay Province was founded in 1858 as a
province of New Zealand, after being separated from the
Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858. The Province was abolished in 1876 along with all other provinces in New Zealand. It was replaced with a Provincial District.
1931 earthquake
On February 3, 1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated by New Zealand's worst natural disaster,
an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the
Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
, which killed 256 people. Napier rebuilt and now the city is world-famous for its Art Deco buildings, and celebrates its heritage each February with th
Art Deco Weekend MTG Hawke's Bay, formerly Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery, has an exhibition on the earthquake, its causes and impact.
Second World War
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
German submarine ''U-862'' entered the waters around Napier undetected, surfacing by the Sound Shell. The submarine fired a torpedo at the ''Pukeko'', a steamer leaving the Port of Napier, but narrowly missed.
Cyclone Gabrielle
On the 13th and 14 February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle caused extensive damage in Hawke's Bay as it passed over the North Island. Power, phone service and internet access was cut to over 16,000 properties when the main Redcliffe substation was damaged in floodwaters after the
Tutaekuri River burst its banks. Downstream, 1,000 people were evacuated from low-lying plains surrounding the river, where significant parts of Taradale, Meeanee and Awatoto were submerged.
The floodwaters destroyed 4 bridges, including Redcliffe Bridge, a major crossing just south of Taradale. SH2 and SH51 bridges were heavily damaged, but did not collapse. A span of the
Palmerston North-Gisborne Line crossing the Tutaekuri River also collapsed. The
Ngaruroro River also breached its banks, flooding the town of Omahu where 20 people required evacuation via helicopter.
In Wairoa, the
Wairoa River breached its banks, flooding approximately 15 percent of the town. Access to Wairoa was cut off after extensive damage on SH2's Mohaka River Bridge in the south, and landslides also closing SH2 to the north. Water supply in Central Hawke's Bay failed, and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for eastern Waipawa after the Waipara river rose to record levels. The total cost and damages are unknown at this time.
Geography
The region is situated on the east coast of the
North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
. It bears the former name of what is now
Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from
Māhia Peninsula to
Cape Kidnappers.
The Hawke's Bay Region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the
Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile
Heretaunga Plains around
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the
Kaweka and
Ruahine Ranges. The prominent peak
Taraponui is located inland.
Five major rivers flow to the Hawke's Bay coast. From north to south, they are the
Wairoa River,
Mohaka River,
Tutaekuri River,
Ngaruroro River and
Tukituki River.
Lake Waikaremoana, situated in northern Hawke's Bay, roughly 35 km from the coast, is the largest lake in Hawke's Bay, the fourth largest in the North Island and the 16th largest in New Zealand.
The region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and the longest in the world according to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an otherwise unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from
Waipukurau
Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings, New ...
.
File:Cape Kidnappers from south.jpg, Cape Kidnappers
File:Kayaking the Gr.5 Mohaka River.jpg, Mohaka River
File:Hawke's Bay region view.jpg, Countryside
File:Tukituki River and Te Mata Peak, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, 12 May 2006 (145004910) (cropped).jpg, Tukituki River and Te Mata Peak
File:Kaweka Range, New Zealand 06.JPG, Kaweka Ranges
Demographics
Hawke's Bay Region covers
and had an estimated population of as of percent of New Zealand's population, with a population density of people per km
2. Around percent of the region's population lives in the
Napier-Hastings conurbation.

Hawke's Bay Region had a population of 175,074 in the
2023 New Zealand census
The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 8,706 people (5.2%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 23,895 people (15.8%) since the
2013 census. There were 85,497 males, 89,055 females and 516 people of
other genders in 63,735 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 34,641 people (19.8%) aged under 15 years, 30,249 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 76,266 (43.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 33,918 (19.4%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 73.3%
European (
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 28.6%
Māori; 6.2%
Pasifika; 6.5%
Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.5%, Māori language by 7.2%, Samoan by 1.9% and other languages by 8.2%. No language could be spoken by 1.9% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
The major local Māori tribe is
Ngāti Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...
.
Religious affiliations were 33.6%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.9%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.5%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 3.3%
Māori religious beliefs, 0.6%
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.5%
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, 0.1%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 52.5%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 20,490 (14.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 77,136 (54.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 36,423 (25.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 12,315 people (8.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 69,846 (49.7%) people were employed full-time, 18,585 (13.2%) were part-time, and 3,948 (2.8%) were unemployed.
Below is a list of urban areas that contain more than 1,000 population.
Other towns and settlements in Hawke's Bay include:
*
Tuai
*
Frasertown
*
Nūhaka
*
Mahia Beach
*
Whirinaki
*
Whakatu
*
Haumoana
*
Te Awanga
*
Waimārama
*
Tikokino
*
Ongaonga
*
Takapau
*
Ōtāne
*
Pōrangahau
Economy
The subnational gross domestic product (GDP) of Hawke's Bay was estimated at NZ$8.67 billion in the year to March 2019, 2.9% of New Zealand's national GDP. The regional GDP per capita was estimated at $50,251 in the same period. In the year to March 2018, primary industries contributed $1.14 billion (13.9%) to the regional GDP, goods-producing industries contributed $1.84 billion (22.3%), service industries contributed $4.56 billion (55.3%), and taxes and duties contributed $707 million (8.6%).
Agriculture
The region is renowned for its horticulture, with large orchards and vineyards on the plains. In the hilly parts of the region sheep and cattle farming predominates, with forestry blocks in the roughest areas.
Hawke's Bay has of horticultural land, the third largest area in New Zealand behind
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and
Marlborough. The largest crops by land area are
apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
s (4,750 ha), wine grapes (3,620 ha),
squash (3,390 ha), and
pea
Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...
s and
bean
A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...
s (1,360 ha).
Wine
The climate is dry and temperate, and the long, hot summers and cool winters offer excellent weather for growing grapes. Missionaries in the mid 19th century planted the first vines in Hawke's Bay and it is now an important place for full bodied red wines. The wine region is the second largest after the
Marlborough wine region, with of vineyards and 91 operating wineries in 2018.
Aerospace
Hawke's Bay is home to
Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab Corporation is a Public company, publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and List of launch service providers, launch service provider. Its Rocket Lab Electron, Electron orbital rocket launches Small satellite, small satellites, and ha ...
's
Launch Complex 1, New Zealand's first orbital launch site, on
Māhia Peninsula.
Wairoa District is home to ''Space Coast New Zealand'', a stretch of coastline from which space launches can be viewed.
Rocket Lab launches its
Electron
The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...
rockets several times a year, after its first successful launch of ''
Humanity Star'' in January 2018.
Infrastructure
Air travel
Hawke's Bay is served by
Hawke's Bay Airport (also known as Napier Airport). 452,000 travellers passed through the terminal in the 12 months to June 2013. This increased to 652,426 in the 12 months to June 2017.
Hastings Aerodrome
Hastings Aerodrome is a small airport in Hastings, New Zealand, Hastings, Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It is sometimes referred to as Bridge Pa Aerodrome. It is owned and operated by the Hawke's Bay & East Coast Aero Club Inc ...
is a smaller
uncontrolled airport in
Bridge Pa near Hastings.
Roads
Inter-regional travel into and out of Hawke's Bay is served by
State Highway 2 and
State Highway 5, as well as the
Taihape-Napier Road also known as "The Gentle Annie".
State Highway 38 also connects inter-regionally, although it is less used due to being partially unsealed.
State Highway 2 enters the region coming south from Gisborne, connecting the East Cape region to Hawke's Bay. It continues through Nūhaka and then Wairoa, crossing over the Mohaka River near the
Mohaka Viaduct
The Mohaka Viaduct is a railway viaduct spanning the Mohaka River in northern Hawke’s Bay, on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, near the small settlement of Raupunga. It was built between 1930 and 1937 by the New Zealand Minis ...
. It then winds through the hills of northern Hawke's Bay, passing by
Lake Tūtira. It meets the ocean and then passes through Whirinaki where it intersects with the end of State Highway 5. After cutting by
Bay View, it passes by Hawke's Bay Airport as it enters Napier next to
Pandora Pond. As it goes through Napier it is concurrent with
State Highway 50 passing by Taradale. The
Hawke's Bay Expressway forms the next section of the road as it crosses over the
Tutaekuri and
Ngaruroro rivers. The road then bisects Hastings and Flaxmere. The road continues through the
Heretaunga Plains into Central Hawke's Bay, connecting the towns of Ōtāne, Waipawa, and Waipukurau. It then heads towards Takapau where it meets the other end of State Highway 50. After Takapau it heads into the Tararua District and through the towns of
Norsewood and
Dannevirke
Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...
. State Highway 2 is the main route heading south from Napier-Hastings to get to major centres such as
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...
and
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
.
State Highway 5 enters Hawke's Bay from the north-west as the Napier-Taupo Road. It serves as the main connection between Hawke's Bay and the main centres up north – including Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, and Taupō. It travels through the hilly interior of the region. It meets up with State Highway 2 after passing through Eskdale.
The Taihape-Napier Road serves as an inland route between Hawke's Bay and the
Rangitikei and
Ruapehu districts, creating a connection to the towns of
Taihape
Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town ...
,
Waiouru, and
Ohakune.
State Highway 50 starts in
Ahuriri in Napier and after being concurrent with State Highway 2, splits off and connects the more interior sections of the region – including the settlements of
Fernhill,
Maraekakaho,
Tikokino,
Ongaonga, and
Ashley Clinton. The road terminates at an intersection with State Highway 2 near Takapau.
Government
Regional
The region is governed by Hawke's Bay Regional Council, which has its main office and council chamber in Napier. The council consists of eleven elected members and holds elections every three years. As of 26 October 2022 the councillors are:
Proposal for a unitary authority
Between 2013 and 2015 the
Local Government Commission considered amalgamating Hawke's Bay Regional Council, its four constituent territorial authorities (
Napier City Council,
Central Hawke's Bay District Council,
Hastings District Council and
Wairoa District Council), and the small parts of the
Rangitikei District Council (the rural community of
Ngamahanga) and
Taupo District Council (the rural community of
Taharua) that fall within the Hawke's Bay Region into a unitary authority that would hold all local decision-making powers for the region. This proposal was initiated by an application from a group called "A Better Hawke's Bay" and followed the
Government-led amalgamation of eight local authorities into the new
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
in 2010 and a 2012 "prosperity study" that found a similar amalgamation in Hawke's Bay could save up to $25m per year. A previous proposal to merge Napier and Hastings, though supported by Hastings residents, was defeated in a public referendum in 1999.
The Local Government Commission released an initial proposal in November 2013. After taking public submissions on the proposal, the Commission issued a final proposal in June 2015. The final proposal was that Hawke's Bay would be governed by a unitary council comprising a governing body (one mayor elected at-large and eighteen councillors elected across five wards) with subsidiary decision-making made by five local boards (each with six to nine elected members).
Under the
Local Government Act, the public had the right to demand a binding referendum on whether the amalgamation should proceed; such a demand would be valid if it was signed by at least 10% of the affected electors in one of the affected districts. Two days after the final proposal was issued, a valid referendum demand signed by more than 10% of the affected electors in the Rangitikei district was received (there were only twelve affected electors in that district, therefore only two signatures were required to trigger the poll
). The referendum was held by post. Voting concluded on Tuesday 15 September 2015. Because 66% of electors opposed the change,
the proposal was defeated and did not progress further. Results broken down to the council level showed that only Hastings district electors favoured amalgamation (52% in favour). Napier (84% opposed), Wairoa District (88% opposed) and Central Hawke's Bay (58%) were opposed. Only four votes were returned from Rangitikei (two each way); no votes were returned from Taupo district.
Sub-regional

Government at the level below regional is organised into
territorial authorities, consisting of
Hastings District,
Wairoa District,
Central Hawke's Bay District, and
Napier City. The localities of Taharua in the
Taupo District and
Ngamatea in the
Rangitikei District are also within the boundaries of the region. It does not include the
Tararua District
The Tararua District is a Districts of New Zealand, district near the south-east corner of New Zealand's North Island that is administered by the Tararua District Council. It has a population of and an area of 4,364.62 km².
The district' ...
,
Dannevirke
Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...
,
Woodville or
Norsewood, which have been under the
Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council (also known as Horizons Regional Council) since the
1989 local government reforms
The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...
.
File:Sandra Hazlehurst 2021 (cropped).jpg, Sandra Hazlehurst
File:Craig Little 2024 (cropped).jpg, Craig Little
File:Alex Walker 2025.jpg, Alex Walker
File:Kirsten Wise 2025.jpg, Kirsten Wise
National
Hawke's Bay is covered by five
general electorates — namely
Napier,
Tukituki,
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...
,
Rangitīkei, and
Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...
. The bulk of the region is contained within the Napier and Tukituki electorates, the former comprising most of the northern part of the region (including Napier and Wairoa), whilst the latter comprises much of the central parts of the region and the area around Hastings, including Havelock North and Clive. Wairarapa, which extends across parts of
Greater Wellington and Manawatū-Whanganui, includes much of Central Hawke's Bay District, including Waipukurau and Waipawa. The Rangitīkei and Taupō electorates do not contain much of any population within the region.
Napier and Tukituki are often called '
bellwether
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.[bellwether]
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Re ...
' electorates. Since the introduction of
Mixed-Member Proportional elections in New Zealand, both electorates have been held by both
Labour and
National members of parliament, often shifting in a way similar to that of the nation as a whole.
Hawke's Bay is also covered by three
Māori electorates
In Politics of New Zealand, New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats (), are a special category of New Zealand electorates, electorate that give Reserved political positions, reserved positions to repre ...
— namely
Ikaroa-Rāwhiti,
Waiariki, and
Te Tai Hauāuru. The vast majority of the population of the region is within the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate.
File:WEDD, Catherine - Tukituki (cropped).png, Catherine Wedd
File:NIMON, Katie - Napier (cropped).png, Katie Nimon
File:BUTTERICK, Mike - Wairarapa (cropped).png, Mike Butterick
File:Cushla Tangaere-Manuel 2023 cropped headshot.jpg, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel
Culture and lifestyle
Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day
Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day is an annual day of celebration held on the Friday before Labour Day. It is celebrated throughout the old provincial boundaries of Hawke's Bay.
Media
The region is served by a variety of radio stations including Radio Kahungunu, The Hits 89.5, More FM, access station Radio Hawke's Bay (formally Radio Kidnappers) and local station Bay FM. As well, most of the national commercial and non-commercial operators have transmitters covering the region.
Parks and nature
Hawke's Bay is home to numerous parks, forests, beaches and various other natural attractions.
Napier and Hastings are home to many parks, with major parks including Cornwall, Frimley, and Windsor Parks in Hastings, and Anderson Park, Park Island, Taradale Park and the Botanical Gardens in Napier.
Located in Windsor Park is
Splash Planet, an
amusement
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with pos ...
and
water park
A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...
that is open in the summer.
Cape Kidnappers, a headland at the south-eastern extremity of Hawke Bay, is a popular tourist attraction. The cape has been identified as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
due to being a breeding site for over 6500 pairs of
Australasian gannets.
Food
The
Hawke's Bay wine region produces some of New Zealand's finest wines, celebrated together with local cuisine twice a year with the ''Food And Wine Classic'' festivals. These take place over several weekends in winter and ten days in summer, attracting thousands of visitors, many from overseas.
Music
Napier is home to the Mission Concert held early each year since 1993. The event, held at the
Mission Estate Winery in
Taradale, has attracted performers such as
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
,
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
,
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
The B-52's
The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...
,
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female rock bands of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a sol ...
,
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
, and
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
. The 2009 concert attraction was to be
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
, but the concert was cancelled because of rain.
UK music artist Tycho Jones was staying in Hastings, Hawkes Bay when he was inspired to write the track Don't Be Afraid, produced by
Jonathan Quarmby.
Sport
The
Hawke's Bay Rugby Union's representative team, the Magpies, plays in New Zealand's annual professional domestic
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition, the
Mitre 10 Cup. The team represents the Hawke's Bay Region in provincial representative rugby, and draws its players from the constituent clubs who are affiliated to the provincial union. The team play their home matches in
McLean Park
McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand, Napier, New Zealand. The two main sports played at the ground are cricket and rugby union. It is one of the largest List of cricket grounds in New Zealand, cricket grounds in New Zealand.
...
in Napier. Players representing Hawke's Bay are also eligible to play for the
Hurricanes
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
in the annual transnational
Super Rugby competition. Hawke's Bay has produced
a number of All Blacks.
The
Hawke's Bay Hawks compete in the
New Zealand National Basketball League.
Seismicity
Hawke's Bay is one of the most seismically active regions in New Zealand and has experienced many large and often damaging earthquakes. More than 50 damaging earthquakes have been recorded in the region since the 1800s.
References
External links
Hawke's Bay Regional CouncilOfficial Hawke's Bay Tourism PortalOfficial Newcomers website– free information service for newcomers to Hawke's Bay
*
Hawke's Bay Province and Provincial District. ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', edited by A. H. McLintock, Wellington, 1966
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkes Bay
Whaling stations in New Zealand
Regions of New Zealand