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On the morning of the 3rd February the weather was oppressive, typical “earthquake weather” as the residents would later remember. At approximately 10.46am the first quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit the town lasting two and a half minutes. In that short amount of time 256 people throughout Hawkes Bay would lose their lives, huge tracts of land would rise out of the sea and the charming little resort would be nearly completely destroyed. The face of a city changed on a hot summer’s morning in 1931. Napier was a small seaside town that sported a picturesque harbour, tidal flats and lagoons (where residents sailed their yachts) and attractive Victorian buildings comprising a thriving commercial centre. On the morning of the 3rd February the weather was oppressive, typical “earthquake weather” as the residents would later remember. At approximately 10.46am the first quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit the town lasting two and a half minutes. In that short amount of time 256 people throughout Hawkes Bay would lose their lives, huge tracts of land would rise out of the sea and the charming little resort would be nearly completely destroyed.
What buildings hadn’t been damaged by the quake were soon to be
destroyed by fire when a blaze began in a chemist shop in Hastings Street.
Fanned by the wind the flames soon engulfed the town and with the water
mains broken members of the fire brigade had to stand helplessly aside,
unable to save what little remained. The ruins smouldered for days.. Although Napier and Hastings were badly affected the damage also extended northwards to Wairoa and Gisborne and southwards to Waipawa, Waipukurau and Dannevirke. One resident who was living on a farm near the coast at the time vividly recalls the first shock “When the quake began the piano moved across the floor. I ran outside and around the house in time to see the water in our supply tank on its wooden stand rock back and forth, spilling water as it did so. To get to the front lawn and safety I also had to run past our chimney. Bricks were falling down around but not one hit me. When I finally reached the other side I fainted!” With roads and communications cut there seemed little hope of contacting the outside world for help. Fortunately the Royal Navy ship HMS Veronica was in port and alerted the rest of the country by radio while her crew helped rescue victims trapped in the debris. Two cargo ships (the Northumberland and the Taranaki) arrived to aid the survivors as did two cruisers (the Dunedin and Diomede) which sailed down from Auckland complete with supplies and medical personnel. Aftershocks continued for ten days following the quake and to many people these proved as frightening as the major tremors. Temporary camps were set up on the beachfront and at the racecourse until people were able to safely repair or rebuild their homes. In the aftermath it was reckoned that in a city of 16,000 residents Napier lost 161 citizens and in the nearby town of Hastings 93 were killed out of a population of 11,000. More than 200 businesses were damaged. However as the weeks wore on Napier rose Phoenix like from the ashes of the fire and rebuilt a city lovelier than before. People resumed their lives and the great quake of 1931 became the stuff of legend and family photo albums. But even today so many years later when a summer day dawns hot and humid Napier residents will still feel a faint frison of apprehension and whisper “You know it feels like earthquake weather”. ©Jen Longshaw
2001-2006
Please do not copy in any manner, print or electronic,
without permission from the author.
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If
a New Zealander asks if you're feeling crook should you be insulted
or touched at his consideration? And why is going to bed with a hottie
no reason to get excited in the Land of the Long White Cloud?
The first shock
caused the cliff face of the distinctive Bluff Hill to collapse down upon
the road. The second shock shortly later was a jolting upward motion which
caused 4 hectares or 10 acres of Napier’s buildings to collapse
into rubble, killing those people who had earlier run out into the street
for safety. On top of Napier hill the nurse’s home at the Public
Hospital crumbled away killing most of the off-duty staff. Great gaps
appeared in the road swallowing cars and tramlines buckled and twisted
ending Napier’s tram service forever. Rivers changed course as the
land around Napier rose 2 metres (6 feet) high lifting land sixty miles
long and ten miles wide. The Ahuriri Lagoon, which was once a popular
area for sailing, was completely drained leaving an area of 3,600 hectares
(9,000 acres) where the present-day Napier Airport is now situated. A
long line of stately Norfolk Pines that stood like proud sentinels down
the “Marine Parade” or promenade area of the city survived
although where they had once edged sea they now guarded a newly risen
strip of land that was later developed for tourist attractions.
