Napier ( ; ) is a city on the eastern 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 ...

of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lined with Norfolk pines, and extensive

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture. For these attributes, Napier is sometimes romantically referred to as the "

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Papers Past
some archives were lost in the 1931 earthquake. Herewith, an article 4 days later that quotes it. --> Napier is located on the territory of

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 ...

, one of the country's largest

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

, and as a city has been shaped by nearly two centuries of migration. Its population is about About south of Napier is the inland city of

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 ...

. These two neighbouring cities are often called "The Bay Cities" or "The Twin Cities" of New Zealand, with the two cities and the surrounding towns of Havelock North and Clive having a combined population of . The City of Napier has a land area of and a population density of 540.0 per square kilometre. Napier is the nexus of the largest

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

centre in the Southern Hemisphere, and it has the primary export seaport for northeastern New Zealand – which is the largest producer of apples, pears, and stone fruit in New Zealand. The Hawke's Bay wine region is now the second largest in New Zealand after Marlborough, and grapes grown around Hastings and Napier are sent through the Port of Napier for export. Large amounts of sheep's wool, frozen meat, wood pulp, and timber also pass through Napier annually for export. Smaller amounts of these materials are shipped via road and railway to the large metropolitan areas of New Zealand itself, such as

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, Wellington and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. Napier is a popular tourist city, with a unique concentration of 1930s Art Deco, and to a lesser extent Spanish Mission, architecture, built after much of the city was razed in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. It also has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue of the figure in local

mythology, Pania, on Marine Parade ( ''Pania of the Reef''). Thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Tremains Art Deco Weekend event, a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history. Other notable tourist events attracting many outsiders to the region annually include F.A.W.C! Food and Wine Classic events, and the Mission Estate Concert at Mission Estate Winery in the suburb of Taradale.

History

Māori history

Napier has well-documented Māori history. When the

party of Taraia reached the district many centuries ago, the Whatumamoa, Rangitāne, Ngāti Awa and elements of the Ngāti Tara

lived in the nearby areas of Petane, Te Whanganui-a-Orotu and Waiohiki. Ngāti Kahungunu later became the dominant force from

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori language, Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa''), officially named Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay, is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for ...

to Wellington. Chief Te Ahuriri cut a channel from the lagoon to the sea at Ahuriri because the Westshore entrance had become blocked, threatening cultivations surrounding the lagoon and the fishing villages on the islands in the lagoon. The rivers were continually feeding freshwater into the area. Ngāti Kahungunu were one of the first Māori tribes that European settlers had contact with.

European settlers history

Captain James Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to see the future site of Napier when they sailed down the east coast in October 1769. He commented: "On each side of this bluff head is a low, narrow sand or stone beach, between these beaches and the mainland is a pretty large lake of salt water I suppose." He said the harbour entrance was at the Westshore end of the shingle beach. After 1830, the site was visited and later settled by European traders, whalers and missionaries. By the 1850s, farmers and hotel-keepers arrived. The Crown purchased the Ahuriri block (including the site of Napier) in 1851. In 1854

Alfred Domett Alfred Domett (20 May 18112 November 1887) was the fourth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand, a close friend of the poet Robert Browning and author of the epic poem ''Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream''. Born in Englan ...

, a future Prime Minister of New Zealand, was appointed as the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the resident magistrate at the village of Ahuriri. It was decided to place a planned town here, its streets and avenues were laid out, and the new town named for Sir Charles Napier, a military leader during the "Battle of Meeanee" fought in the country of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, in the Indian subcontinent. Domett named many streets in Napier to commemorate the colonial era of the

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Development was generally confined to the hills and to the port area of Ahuriri. In the early years, Napier covered almost exclusively an oblong group of hills (the Scinde Island) which was nearly entirely surrounded by the ocean, but from which ran out two single spits, one to the north and one to the south. There was a swamp between the now Hastings Street and Wellesley Road, and the sea extended to Clive Square. Napier was designated as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in 1874, but the development of the surrounding marshlands and reclamation proceeded slowly. Napier was the administrative centre for the Hawke's Bay Province from 1858 until the abolition of New Zealand's provincial governments in 1876.

20th century

On 3 February 1931, most of Napier and nearby Hastings were levelled by an earthquake. The collapse of buildings and the ensuing fires killed 256 people. Some 4000 hectares of today's Napier were undersea before the earthquake raised it above sea level. The earthquake uplifted an area of 1500 km² with a maximum of 2.7 m of uplift. In Hastings, about 1 m of ground subsidence occurred. The centre of Napier, destroyed by the earthquake, was rebuilt in the

style popular in the 1930s. Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures in the 1960s to 1980s, most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognised as architecturally important, and it has been protected and restored since the 1990s. Napier and the area of South Beach, Miami, Florida, are considered to be the two best-preserved Art Deco towns (with the town of

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, being mostly decorated in the somewhat later

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

style of Art Deco). Beginning in 2007, Napier was nominated as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. This is the first cultural site in New Zealand to be so nominated. It was denied World Heritage status in 2011 as it did not meet the appropriate criteria. Still, the report of the application acknowledged the Art Deco heritage as "first and foremost of outstanding value to all New Zealanders". In January 1945, the entered and departed from the port of Napier undetected. This event became the basis of a widely circulated postwar tall tale that the captain of this U-boat, Heinrich Timm, had led crewmen ashore near Napier to milk cows to supplement their meagre rations.

Modern history

Napier was the scene of an armed attack by cannabis dealer Jan Molenaar on three police officers searching his home in May 2009. He killed one officer, and wounded two others and a civilian. He continued to fire shots from his house, which police besieged, until he committed suicide 40 hours later. On 9 November 2020, a local state of emergency was declared in Napier after the region received 237 mm of rainfall across 24 hours – the most daily rainfall in the city since 1963 and the second most since records began. The event caused widespread flooding, slips, power cuts and evacuations. On 14 February 2023, floods caused by Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed bridges over the Tutaekuri River, and damaged a major regional electrical substation at Redclyffe, which cut power to much of northern Hawke's Bay including its telecommunication infrastructure. Flooding also caused extensive property damage to Esk Valley, Taradale and Meeanee, as well as loss of crops, livestock and several human lives.

Geography and climate

The city is on Napier Hill and the surrounding Heretaunga Plains at the southeastern edge of Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that dominates the east coast of New Zealand's

. The coastline of the city was substantially altered by a large earthquake in 1931. About two thirds of Napier's land area is rural. The topography puts Napier in danger from a tsunami, as the centre of the commercial city is near sea level – should the sea ever crest Marine Parade, the sea would run through to Ahuriri. Furthermore, by virtue of its pre-1931 existence, the bulk of Napier is susceptible to soil liquefaction, the risk classed as Very High for the main urban area excluding the hill. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Napier has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb''). The climate is warm and relatively dry, resulting from its location on the east coast of the North Island. Most of New Zealand's weather patterns cross the country from the west, and the city lies in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...

of the North Island Volcanic Plateau and surrounding ranges such as the Kaweka Range.

Suburbs

Suburbs of Napier include: *Ahuriri Ward: ** Ahuriri ** Bay View ** Napier Port ** Bluff Hill ** Hospital Hill ** Onekawa (north part) **Pandora ** Westshore *Nelson Park Ward: ** Awatoto (north part) ** Maraenui ** Marewa (south part) ** Napier CBD ** Napier South ** Onekawa (south part) ** Pirimai (south part) *Onekawa-Tamatea Ward: ** Marewa (north part) ** Onekawa (rest) ***Onekawa Central ***Onekawa West ** Pirimai (north part) ** Tamatea ***Tamatea North ***Tamatea South *Taradale Ward: ** Awatoto (south part) ** Greenmeadows **Jervoistown **Lagoon Farm ** Meeanee **Orutu Park ** Poraiti ** Taradale ***Taradale North ***Taradale South ** Te Awa

Demographics

The Napier urban area, as defined by

Statistics New Zealand Statistics New Zealand (), branded as Stats NZ, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the collection of statistics related to the economy, population and society of New Zealand. To this end, Stats NZ produces New Zealand c ...

, is coterminous with the Napier City territorial authority and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Napier City had a population of 64,695 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 2,454 people (3.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 7,455 people (13.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 31,212 males, 33,270 females and 213 people of other genders in 24,858 dwellings. 2.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 42.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 11,913 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 11,115 (17.2%) aged 15 to 29, 27,990 (43.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 13,674 (21.1%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 79.0% 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 ...

); 24.2% Māori; 4.2% Pasifika; 6.5% Asian; 1.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori language by 5.7%, Samoan by 1.3% and other languages by 8.1%. No language could be spoken by 1.8% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. 2023 NZ Census Population Density - Napier City

2023 NZ Census Population Density - Napier City

Religious affiliations were 30.6%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 2.7% Māori religious beliefs, 0.8%

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 1.4% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.8%, and 6.9% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 7,893 (15.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 29,085 (55.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 13,293 (25.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 4,845 people (9.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 25,656 (48.6%) people were employed full-time, 6,813 (12.9%) were part-time, and 1,452 (2.8%) were unemployed.

Tourism and architecture

Napier's major tourist attraction is its architecture, which draws

and architecture enthusiasts from around the world. The rebuilding period after the 1931 earthquake coincided with the short-lived and rapidly changing Art Deco era and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, when little "mainstreet" development was being undertaken elsewhere. As a result, Napier's architecture is strikingly different from any other city; the other notable Art Deco city, Miami Beach, has

Art Deco. The whole centre of Napier was rebuilt simultaneously. Other tourist attractions in Napier include MTG Hawke's Bay (the museum, art gallery and theatre) which features information on both the 1931 earthquake and Napier's redesign as an Art Deco city, the National Aquarium, the Napier Prison, the Soundshell and the '' Pania of the Reef'' statue. The Pania statue on Marine Parade is regarded in Napier in much the same way that the '' Little Mermaid'' statue is regarded in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. In October 2005, the statue was stolen, but it was recovered a week later, largely unharmed. Marineland was a tourist attraction from 1965 until it closed in 2009. The National Aquarium is one of the foremost aquariums in New Zealand. The historic Napier Prison is the oldest prison in New Zealand and visitors can learn about the history of prisons as well as witness the path of the 1931 earthquake. It is the only place in Napier where some of the earthquake damage has been left in place. Since 1988, tourists have flocked to Napier for the annual Art Deco Festival in February. In 2018, the festival celebrated its 30th year, attracting an estimated 45,000 people. The Mission Estate Winery Concert in the Napier suburb of Greenmeadows which has featured Chris De Burgh, Olivia Newton-John, Eric Clapton, Kenny Rogers, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Sting performing with the NZ Symphony Orchestra, Shirley Bassey, Beach Boys, Doobie Brothers, Tom Jones, and in 2013 Barry Gibb with Carol King. Attractions nearby include the Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colony and many vineyards bordering Taradale, Hastings City, and north of Napier around Bay View and the Esk Valley. Many people use Napier as a gateway to Hawke's Bay, flying in to Hawke's Bay Airport at Westshore from

Wellington City Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, 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 List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Tourists also enter Napier by State Highway 2 along the coast and State Highway 5 from

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 rail line in and out of Hawke's Bay had a passenger service until 2001.

Culture and entertainment

Napier markets itself as the ''Art Deco Capital''. The Hawke's Bay wine region is important to Napier's economy, with over 70 wineries located in the area. The region featured in '' Wine Enthusiast Magazine'' as one of the 10 Best Wine Travel Destinations in 2015. The region is New Zealand's largest apple, pear and stone fruit producer. The Port of Napier and rail network provides quick export of these goods. A large attraction is the Art Deco building designs. Marine Parade is one of Napier's most famous highlights – a tree-lined ocean boulevard with fountains, gardens, mini golf, statues and spas. The National Aquarium is at the south end of Marine Parade. The historic Napier Prison is located off the northern end of Marine Parade. Recent redevelopments of Marine Parade have seen the addition of shaded picnic areas and playgrounds. Napier's theatre scene includes productions put on by the Napier Operatic Society, based at the Tabard Theatre and putting on musicals at the Napier Municipal Theatre, another notable example of Art Deco architecture. There are high street and boutique stores as well as antique shops, art galleries, and studios of potters, wood turners and craftsman. The marina and waterfront in Ahuriri is a sea-tourism attraction. Swimming and family activities are popular in Pandora Pond – a salt water inlet by the inner harbour in Ahuriri – or on the beaches and playgrounds of Marine Parade, Westshore, and Ahuriri. The several rivers that flow through the region are used for water activities, such as jet boating, jet skiing, rowing, kayaking, fishing, whitebaiting and swimming. Development of the region's cycleways and walkways has included dedicated cycle lanes being established on urban streets in the Napier-Hastings urban areas, as well as a large variety of off-road pathways, which are often used as mixed use pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, such as the paths that stretch from Bay View to Clifton. The Hawke's Bay Trails contain nearly 200 km of cycleways that meander through and around the cities, and link the Napier-Hastings urban areas with surrounding suburbs and the local district. The annual model aircraft show 'Warbirds over Awatoto' takes place on the outskirts of Napier. The 2013 gathering attracted 48 pilots and 120 planes.

Economy

The largest industry in Napier and its environs is processing/manufacturing, the major products being food, textiles, wood, metal products and machinery/equipment. Other significant industries for the region include property/business services, rural production/rural services and retail. Napier was once home to one of New Zealand's largest smoking tobacco plants. On 9 September 2005

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...

announced it would close the Rothmans factory, due to diminished demand. Production has moved to Australia. The Art Deco-style factory had been producing up to 2.2 billion cigarettes a year for the New Zealand and Pacific Island markets. In March 1999, 19 people lost their jobs there because "fewer people are smoking".

Government

Local

Napier has been governed by Napier City Council since 1950. Local government reform was mooted in the late 1990s and a referendum was held in 1999 proposing an amalgamation of the Hastings District Council with the Napier City Council. Although supported by approximately two-thirds of Hastings voters, Napier voters rejected the proposal by a similar number and the proposal was defeated. The National Government amended the Local Government Act in 2012 to determine a reorganisation proposal by a majority vote over the entire proposed area, rather than a majority over each existing area, as was previously the case. Yet another change was to allow private submissions to the commission to trigger the process, whereas previously only local councils themselves could request a change in structure or boundary. The legislative restrictions on councils using public funds to support or challenge a final proposal did not apply to private lobby groups or individuals, however. After a lengthy and divisive regional campaign to restructure local government in Hawke's Bay, in 2015 the Local Government Commission put forward a final reorganisation proposal to amalgamate Napier City Council with Wairoa District Council, Hastings District Council and Central Hawke's Bay District Council to form a proposed 'Hawke's Bay Council'. A postal ballot was established to maximise voter returns, and the vote closed on 15 September 2015. An interim count was available later that day, that saw the proposal defeated across the region by about 66%. In Napier, the proposal was rejected by 84% of voters.

National

The city is part of the general electorate and the Māori electorate. In the 2023 general election, Napier was won by Katie Nimon of the National Party and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, of the Labour Party.

Sport

McLean Park is the main sporting venue in Hawke's Bay. The main sports played at the venue are

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

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 ...

. It was used to host matches during the 1987 Rugby World Cup, the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. The city is home to the professional basketball team Hawke's Bay Hawks, which plays in the National Basketball League. It plays its home games in the Pettigrew Green Arena. Meeanee Speedway is a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

venue, located in Meeanee, on Sandy Road. The track races various types of cars, in addition to

. It opened in 1961 and is the home of Hawkes Bay Speedway Club. It has held important speedway events, including qualifying rounds of the Speedway World Championship and finals of the New Zealand Solo Championship.

Transportation

Air

Hawke's Bay Airport is the main airport in the Hawke's Bay region and has domestic flight services. It is jointly owned by the government, Napier City Council, and Hastings District Council, and is operated by Hawke's Bay Airport Ltd. The airport is located in the Napier suburb of Westshore.

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

provides frequent direct flights to and from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Sunair serves Tauranga, Hamilton, Gisborne and Wairoa.

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the ...

, a

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

subsidiary, served Auckland from 2015 to 2019 and Sounds Air used to operate direct flights to Blenheim daily. Smaller charter companies also operate, including Air Napier to Gisborne. The airport was historically referred to as Napier Airport, and its

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

code reflects that: NPE. It is situated on land that was formerly the Ahuriri Lagoon, an area that was raised above sea level by the 1931 Napier earthquake. The airport is located approximately 22 km north of

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 ...

, a smaller airport located close to Hastings that caters mainly for flight training and general aviation.

Pathways

The Hawke's Bay region has extensive cycleways and footpaths that originally began as the 'Rotary Pathways' between Napier and Hastings, and is now known as the 'Hawke's Bay Trails'. The network of pathways links the urban areas of Napier and Hastings, as well as many of the other outlying suburbs of the two cities. Some of the cycleways include dedicated cycling lanes on roads within the city, as well as separate dedicated pathways on roadsides and through parks and other areas, many of which are mixed use pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, such as the paths that stretch from Bay View to Clifton. The Hawke's Bay Trails contain over 200 km of cycleways that meander through and around the Napier-Hastings twin cities. The Napier Rotary Pathway creates a loop that encompasses the city from Esk River, to Westshore, Napier Central, Awatoto, Taradale, Poraiti, and looping back to the Esk Valley. This rotary also has several links to the Hastings Rotary Pathway.

Roads

State Highway 2 is the principal state highway serving Napier, connecting it to Wairoa and Gisborne to the north, and, via Dannevirke, to

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 ...

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

and

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 ...

to the south. Between Napier and Hastings, SH 2 follows the Hawke's Bay Expressway, also known as the Napier-Hastings Expressway, which provides a direct and efficient link between the two cities. Although the Hawke's Bay Expressway bypasses Napier itself, it has connections to many of Napier's arterial roads that lead to the city centre and the Port (such as the junctions at Kennedy Road, Taradale Road, Prebensen Drive and Meeanee Quay) and also intersects with the access road to Hawke's Bay Airport. State Highway 5, known as the Napier-Taupo Road, begins at a junction on SH 2 just north of the Napier suburb of Bay View, and connects Napier and the Hawke's Bay region to

and the central North Island. It is also the main route used for traffic travelling from Napier-Hastings to Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua and Tauranga, as it is quicker than the route through Gisborne taken by SH 2. State Highway 50 connects Napier to the southwestern Hawke's Bay, going through many small settlements. It also connects Napier to many of Hawke's Bay's wineries, of which the region is well known for. It makes up part of the Hawke's Bay Wine Trail. State Highway 51 is an alternative connection between Napier and Hastings, and largely follows the original route of SH 2 between the two cities prior to the completion of the Hawke's Bay Expressway, and SH 2 being shifted to run along it. While the original route followed Meeanee Quay through the suburbs of Westshore and Ahuriri before bridging across the Pandora Pond area of the Napier Inner Harbour marina, the SH 51 route follows Taradale Road instead, meeting up with the original SH 2 route at the southern base of Napier Hill at Hyderabad Road. The route then moves onto Georges Drive, where it borders the southern and western edges of the Napier city centre. It meets up with Marine Parade south of the CBD, and then follows the coast south from Napier through Clive to Hastings.

Buses

Go Bus operates 9 ''Go Bay'' routes in Napier, with funding from Regional Council. Bee Cards replaced goBay cards in August 2020.

Rail

The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line runs through Napier. The southern portion of the line between Napier and Palmerston North was built between 1872 and 1891, and the northern portion between Napier and Gisborne from 1912 to 1942. The line from Gisborne enters Napier via the coast, making its way through the city, before eventually turning inland towards Hastings, and onwards to Woodville (where the Wairarapa Line branches off) and Palmerston North. The Napier Port Branch, formerly known as the Ahuriri Branch, is a 2 km railway branch line off the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line that serves the Port of Napier. Napier Railway Station was the main railway station in Napier and an intermediate stop on the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line. It opened on 12 October 1874, when the station and the first section of the line between Napier and Hastings was opened. The line through the Manawatū Gorge to Palmerston North and hence to Wellington was opened on 9 March 1891. The line north of Napier to Gisborne was opened on 3 August 1942, with passenger services from 7 September. Napier was the terminus for both Gisborne and Wellington goods trains, though some passenger trains ran straight through. The original Napier station building was on the corner of Station Street and Millar Street, close to the centre of Napier. The facilities on the site increased to include the passenger station plus a goods yard, locomotive depot, workshop and a way and works branch. The line was on a curve and difficult to work, and the site was limited by level crossings at each end and with no room for expansion. Hence, in a two-year programme to 1991, most functions followed the Way and Works to Pandora Point, at the start of the Ahuriri Branch, leaving only a new InterCity coach and train terminal on the city site, fronting Munroe Street. The old station was closed on 6 October 1990, and was replaced by a new station on 9 June 1991.''Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand'' by Juliet Scoble (2012) The existing station and three-story administrative block built in the late 1950s and early 1960s were demolished and some three hectares of land was available for retail development. A marshalling yard, freight terminal, locomotive depot and other facilities were established at Pandora Point, with a triangle provided to turn trains and giving direct access north and south from the port branch. The Ahuriri yard was closed. The old main line north to Gisborne was realigned to the east to allow a new link road to the Tamatea area of Napier, and railways land was redeveloped as an industrial subdivision. On 7 October 2001 the Bay Express from Wellington to Napier was cancelled and passenger services on the line ceased.

Infrastructure and services

Health

Napier Hospital opened on what is now Hospital Hill in 1880. During the 1990s, hospital services in the Hawke's Bay were rationalised, culminating in Napier Hospital closing in 1998 and most services transferred to Hastings Hospital (now Hawke's Bay Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital). In addition to the services provided by Hawke's Bay Hospital, the

Hawke's Bay District Health Board The Hawke's Bay District Health Board (Hawke's Bay DHB or HBDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. In July 2022, it was merged into the national health service Te Whatu Ora (Health New ...

operates a 24-hour urgent care and outpatient clinic located in central Napier.

Energy

Town gas supply to Napier began in January 1876 following the completion of the Napier gas works on the corner of Wellesley Road and Sale Street. The Napier Borough Council established its first gas street lights in 1879. The Napier Municipal Electricity Department (MED) established the city's first public supply in September 1913, using town gas and later diesel engines for generation and supplied consumers with 230/460 volts DC. Street lighting switched to electricity in 1915. Conversion to the now-standard 230/400 volts AC began in 1925 with the commissioning of a 400 kW Fullager diesel generator, ahead of the arrival of grid power from Mangahao in 1927 and from Waikaremoana in 1929. The Fullager generator remained in service as a peaking plant until it was decommissioned in 1970. Taradale and rural areas around the city were supplied by the Hawke's Bay Electric Power Board, formed in 1924. Natural gas arrived in Napier and Hastings in 1983, with the completion of the high-pressure pipeline from Kapuni gas field in Taranaki via Palmerston North to the cities. Town gas consumers were converted to natural gas over the next five years, culminating in the Napier gas works closing on 21 March 1988. In 1991, the MED merged with the Electric Power Board, later renamed Hawke's Bay Power. The 1998 electricity sector reforms saw the retail base sold to

Contact Energy Contact Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation, electricity generator, a wholesaler of natural gas, and a retailer of electricity retailing, electricity, natural gas, broadband and Liquefied petroleum gas, LPG. It is the second ...

, with the remaining lines business renamed Hawke's Bay Networks and later Unison Networks. In February 2004, the city and wider Hawke's Bay region lost natural gas supply for six days after a flood washed away a bridge near Ashhurst supporting the high-pressure pipeline to the region.

Water supply and sanitation

Napier's reticulated water supply is drawn from the Heretaunga Plains artesian aquifer below the city through seven bores. The city's water demand averages per day, with demand in summer peaking at per day. The city's wastewater plant is at Awatoto, and treated wastewater is discharged into Hawke Bay via a outfall pipe. The Awatoto wastewater plant and outfall were opened in 1973, replacing the previous outfall at Perfume Point in Ahuriri. The wastewater plant was initially a comminutor station and was upgraded in 1991 with milliscreens and in 2014 with biological trickling filters.

Schools and higher education

Napier has five state secondary schools: Napier Boys' High School, Napier Girls' High School, William Colenso College, Tamatea High School and Taradale High School. Other secondary schools include Sacred Heart College and St Joseph's Māori Girls' College, both state integrated Catholic girls' schools, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Hou, a Māori language immersion school. The Eastern Institute of Technology in Taradale is the main tertiary education provider for Napier and the Hawke's Bay.

Media

The Hastings-based '' Hawke's Bay Today'' is the main daily newspaper serving Napier. The newspaper was established in 1999 following the merger of the Napier-based ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' with the Hastings-based '' Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune''. The city's main television and FM radio transmitter is the Mount Erin transmitter atop Kohinurākau, south-southwest of central Napier. Television arrived in the city in 1962 with the commissioning of a private

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

relaying Wellington's WNTV1 (now part of TVNZ 1). Official coverage came in 1966 with the commissioning of the Mount Erin transmitter.

Notable people

*Sir Ian Axford – space scientist * Mike Boon – comedian * Adele Broadbent (born 1968), children's author *Sir

Ashley Bloomfield Sir Ashley Robin Bloomfield (born March 1966) is a New Zealand public health official. He served as the chief executive of the Ministry of Health (New Zealand), Ministry of Health and the country's Director-General of Health from 2018 to 2022. ...

– Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health and the country's Director-General of Health, born in Napier * Frank Livingstone Combs – Teacher and author, born in Napier * Thomas Allan Napier Corson – businessman and local politician, born in Napier * Jamie Curry – YouTube Personality * Archibald George William Dunningham – one of the founders of modern librarianship in New Zealand * Spencer Gollan – sportsman and racehorse owner * Debbie Harwood – singer with When The Cat's Away * Paul Henare – basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers and the Tall Blacks * Alfred Hindmarsh – politician * Chris Jackson – former New Zealand international and Napier City Rovers association football player * Anna Kavan, British novelist, lived in Napier in 1942–43 * Phil Lamason – WWII pilot – born in Napier * Simon Mannering –

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

rugby league player and captain * Paratene Matchitt – artist * Stuart Nash – politician * Dean Parker – writer and political commentator (born in Napier) * Nyree Dawn Porter – actress * John Psathas – composer *Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell KCB, KCMG – born in Napier * Renée – feminist writer, playwright, novelist and short story writer * Darren Smith – field hockey player * Anna Elizabeth Jerome Spencer- Educator * Percy Storkey – soldier and

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

winner * Chris Tremain – politician * Kel Tremain – rugby player * Shane Young – Mixed Martial Arts fighter

Sister cities

Napier City Council recognises three

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

relationships: *

Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China * Tomakomai, Japan * Victoria,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada

References

External links

City of Napier official website
* {{Authority control Art Deco Port cities in New Zealand Populated places in Hawke's Bay Former provincial capitals of New Zealand Art Deco architecture in New Zealand Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in New Zealand