Events In History
-
3 February 1931Hawke's Bay earthquake strikesNew Zealand's deadliest earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, destroyed much of central Napier and Hastings and killed more than 250 people. Read more...
-
7 September 1921Springboks play NZ Maoris for first time‘Bad enough having play team officially designated New Zealand Natives’, a South African journalist wrote of the match between the Springboks and a New Zealand Maoris XV at Napier. Read more...
Articles
Regional rugby
The passion and parochialism of provincial rugby has helped give the game a special place in New Zealand’s social and sporting history. Read brief histories, highlights and quirky facts about each of New Zealand's 26 regional rugby teams.
- Page 15 - Hawke's Bay rugbyHistory and highlights of rugby in the Hawke's Bay
Related keywords
Napier runs south from Bluff Hill, a small promontory of Hawke Bay, along the coast and inland towards Hastings. Rebuilt in an art deco style after the 1931 earthquake, the CBD is a bustling place, with many boutique fashion stores, galleries, restaurants and bars. Napier is separated from Hastings, its neighbour and rival, by orchards and vineyards, and by Napier’s strongly held attitudes about its identity. Founded in 1855 by the government, Napier (formerly known as Ahuriri) is Hawke’s Bay’s oldest town. The town was established on a small semi-island between the sea and an inner harbour, which was prone to flooding. However, it was an ideal location for a port, which was why Napier became the leading town of the region. Lack of space remained a problem until 1931, when the Hawke’s Bay earthquake raised the inner harbour.
