It has a rich Maori culture and has survived many major upheavals - most notably the 1931 earthquake, which had a significant influence on the area’s Art Deco architecture and design.
The arrival and history of Maori
Near the ninth century AD, Maori arrived in Heretaunga or Hawke's Bay, settling in the river valleys and along the coast where food was plentiful.
It is believed that Maori came to Heretaunga by canoe, travelling down the coast from the north, landing at Wairoa, Portland Island, the Ahuriri Lagoon at Westshore, and at Waimarama. Their culture flourished, along with gradual deforestation of the land, making this one of the few regions of New Zealand where sheep could be brought in without felling the bush first.
In the sixteenth century, Taraia, great-grandson of the great and prolific chief Kahungunu,
ablished the large tribe of Ngati Kahungunu, which eventually colonised the eastern side of the North Island from Poverty Bay to Wairarapa.
The First Europeans
Captain James Cook and the crew of the HMS Endeavour were probably the first Europeans to set eyes upon Hawkes Bay in October 1769. Cook named the bay after Sir Edward Hawke, First Lord of the Admiralty.
Whalers and flax traders arrived in the early 1800s, and a few Europeans came and went, including perhaps the first permanent resident, Austrian naturalist Frederick Sturm who settled at Mahia in the 1830s, moving to Napier in 1865.
In June 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi arrived in Hawkes Bay for signing.
In 1844 the missionary William Colenso, also a botanist, printer and politician, arrived to establish his mission station at Waitangi, south of Napier.
In 1851, French Catholic missionaries arrived to settle at Pakowhai, bringing with them the first vines to plant for their communion wine.
Farming in Hawke's Bay
The farming future of Hawke’s Bay was sealed in 1848 when James Northwood and Henry Tiffen leased 50,000 acres of land for grazing at Pourerere and Omakere in the area now referred to as
Three thousand Merino sheep arrived in 1849, brought by Henrys brother Fred Tiffen, who drove them up the coast from Wellington.
In 1851 the Government appointed Donald McLean Land Commissioner to prevent uncontrolled purchasing and leasing of Maori land.
By the 1870s, impressive homesteads were being built where pastoralists maintained an enviable life-style.
Meanwhile, the bulk of new settlers, more working class in origin, were arriving in greater numbers, sometimes taking jobs on sheep-stations and more often settling in the towns which were being established: Napier (1853), Waipukurau (1856), Clive (1857), Havelock North and Waipawa (1860), Wairoa (1865), Taradale (1866), Norsewood and Dannevirke (1872), Hastings (1873) and Woodville (1874).
Alarm felt by both local Maori and settlers, at conflict between Maori chiefs rather than between Maori and Pakeha, brought the British Army to Napier in 1858 and to Tikokino in 1863.
In 1858 Hawkes Bay gained independence from Wellington Province, and until the abolition of provincial government in 1876 was governed by the Hawkes Bay Provincial Council from its building at the foot of Shakespeare Road in Napier.
Initially Hawkes Bay was isolated from other parts of the North Island. The Ruahine and Kaweka ranges formed a barrier to the west. Coach services were available but the journey to Taupo took two full days. To the north and south access was easier, but only to relatively unpopulated areas.
Travel to Wellington became much easier after railway construction started in Napier in 1872, reaching Hastings in 1874 and Takapau in 1877. It wasn’t until 1887 that Woodville was reached, and the line was connected to Palmerston North via the difficult Manawatu Gorge in 1891. The northern line was not commenced until 1912 but did not reach Gisborne until 1942.
In 1892, at Mokapeka Station, John Chambers built a hydro electric power station that is still functioning today. By 1912, the horse-drawn coaches on the roads linking Hawkes Bay with the outside world were being replaced by cars. In Napier and Hastings in particular, the Borough Councils were building amenities including swimming baths, theatres, parks, electric lighting systems and a tram service in Napier.
The Great 1931 Earthquake
In 1931, New Zealand’s greatest natural disaster struck Hawkes Bay. At 10.47am on Tuesday February 3rd, an earthquake of magnitude Richter 7.8 struck. In a minute and a half, in two separate shocks, the centre of Napier was almost totally destroyed. Fires quickly broke out and reduced to ashes or gutted what the tremors had left standing. Damage in Hastings was also devastating, although the fires were contained. Wairoa and the smaller towns to the south as far as Dannevirke were affected. There were 258 deaths 162 in Napier, 93 in Hastings and 3 in Wairoa, along with many injuries.
The reconstruction of Napier and Hastings were costly but the benefit was two modern cities and the Ahuriri Lagoon, or Inner Harbour as it was usually known, was raised over two metres, creating the land which Napier desperately needed to expand.
Developments in the 20th Century
In 1934 James Wattie (later Sir James) established a small cannery, which was to grow into one of the largest food manufacturing plants in New Zealand. The homestead of James and Lady Wattie is now the luxury retreat and restaurant - Mangapapa Petit Hotel.
There was period of great population growth following the Second World War, generated largely by the baby boom and immigration with a strong regional economy, based on meat, wool and fruit.
Government subsidies and incentives helped support the regional economy for a period until government policies in the 1980s largely abolished these, abruptly reducing rural spending power with severe impacts on the economies of provincial towns and cities.
Confidence returned to the region with pastoral farming and the wine sector in particular growing strongly. Food processing increased at the same time as Heinz Watties expanded, and we have since seen the addition of many new small to medium sized food businesses. Forestry and wood processing have remained important, along with transport and infrastructure, and service sector industries. The tourism sector continued to grow and develop, with the Art Deco weekend a key milestone which began in its present form in 1988.
Wine, made here for over 150 years has emerged as an international winner and Hawke’s Bay is now New Zealand’s second largest wine region.
Commercial products from the region have diversified in recent times where we have seen saffron, limes, peppers, olives and top end meat products amongst others developed, with the farmers markets popular tasting, and testing grounds.
