Napier. New Zealand. A city of colourful Art Deco buildings. All built in the 1930s after the city centre was destroyed in the 1931 earthquake.
Historical Background. Edward Gibbon Wakefield established the New Zealand Company to settle the land in 1839 just after the establishment of SA. He began his settlements in Wellington with his brother in charge, followed by later settlements in Whanganui, New Plymouth and Nelson. He also established the Canterbury Association with Robert Godley for the settlement of Christchurch in 1848. NZ was established as a serious of very separate settlements and the major cities of NZ today reflect that early history. His original Wellington settlement covered the area from Wellington to Napier and Hastings. Napier was a favoured spot in the Hawkes Bay region (named by Captain Cook in 1769) as it had a good port. The Crown purchased land from the Maoris in 1851 in Hawkes Bay. Before this purchase in 1851 William Colenso, a Cornishman had established a mission station here to work with the Maori in 1844. He was dismissed from the Missionary Society in 1852 as he had fathered a child with their Maori maid in 1850.His wife separated from him in 1853 but they never divorced. Colenso stayed on as a settler in Hawkes Bay. He became a MP for Napier in the national parliament in 1861. The illegitimate son Wiremu left NZ when he grew up and returned to live in Cornwall. A few settlers began to arrive in Hawks Bay around 1852 and in 1854 a town named Napier was laid out. It was named after Sir Charles Napier the British Army Commander in Chief in India who had died in 1853. As more settlers came to Hawkes Bay in the mid-1850s a public meeting in Napier moved to separate from the province of Wellington which they did in 1858. The port and the rich agricultural lands of Hawkes Bay provided wealth to the city of Napier. The region was known as a major export port of NZ wool. More recently it has become known as the fruit bowl on NZ. It produces kiwi fruits, grapes (for wine), stone fruits etc. Timber is also exported from the port of Napier. Just a few kilometres away is the city of Hastings. Napier has around 62,000 inhabitants and Hastings 80,000. The district has 165,000 residents.
The coastal flood plains are traversed by five rivers flowing down from the central tablelands and volcanic area. The major river is the Wairoa River. Hawkes Bay is a very seismically active region of NZ with over 50 damaging earthquakes recorded since 1800 but only 6 of these have occurred since 1934. The early 1930s was a dramatic period for Hawkes Bay. A major earthquake occurred on 3rd February 1931 followed by subsequent earthquakes over the next three years. The 7.8 scale earthquake of 1931 was centred 15 kilometres from Napier. It struck mid-morning and killed 256 people and injured thousands with over 400 hundred admitted to hospital. Hundreds of aftershocks resulted. It remains NZ worst earthquake eclipsing even the more recent Christchurch earthquakes for damage and death. Most of the buildings of the city centres of Napier and Hastings were destroyed. Hawkes Bay lies almost directly on the fault line caused by the abutting of the Australia and Pacific tectonic plates. The coastline at Napier was raised two metres with 40 square kilometres of seabed being raised to create dry land! A 4,000 acre lagoon was drained and today Hawkes Bay airport, industrial estates and new housing lies on this reclaimed land. The earthquake set off fires (and many buildings were made of wood) and the fires raged for several day destroying what was left of some buildings. Fires were controlled very quickly in Hastings. The two cities were quite quickly rebuilt with government support within two years at the height of the Depression. Building regulations were changed and well-known architects rebuilt the cities in Art Deco style influenced by the rise of California with its Aztec and Spanish influenced Art Deco architecture. Even today there are only four specially designed buildings taller than five storeys in Napier. On a more positive note Napier decided to prosper from the earthquake and its Art Deco heritage. The Art Deco Trust was formed in 1985 and still operates an internationally recognised Art Deco festival each year in February. With local government support the Art Deco Trust employs 10 people and uses the services of 120 volunteers. It operates a shop, it runs tours, it turns over more than $1.5 a year and it prints publications etc. It encourages the preservation of Napier’s Art Deco buildings and helps with restoration. It attracts around 25,000 people to Napier each year. Citizens of Napier dress in 1930s style for the Festival, vintage cars from the era are part of the festival, a public great Gatsby arty is held in a city park, movie events, art shows, many jazz musical events, balls, dinners, parades, and an Art Deco spotter competition are all part of the festival. The Art Deco Trust shop opens all year selling 1930s hats, women’s’ fashion, jewellery, Art Deco style statues, glassware, china, books, posters etc. Among the 200 events is the Art Deco Dog Parade. I wonder what that is?
What is special about Napier and Art Deco? Art Deco as a design and architectural style emerged at the Paris Exhibition of 1925. It became popular throughout the 1920s, 1930s and even into the 1940s. The style was applied to buildings, especially American skyscrapers, jewellery, china, lighting, furniture, etc. Unlike the Art Nouveau style which had emerged around 1900 with colours, curves and flowing detail the Art Deco style was rectangular, geometric and modern industrial techniques were used to achieve this style doing away with handicraft and hand worked items. Just think of the designs used in the Poirot detective TV series from Agatha Christie. The designers drew their inspirations from old European, Mayan, Aztec, and in the case of New Zealand, Maori design elements. The European influences led to the Spanish Mission style of architecture with simulated adobe brick, rounded terracotta window shades, roof tiles, roof parapets etc. The American influences developed Mayan and Aztec and sometimes North American Indian elements with zigzags, stepped patterns etc. One special feature of Art Deco buildings was the colourful and soft pastel shades of varying depths of colour used on the decorative features. Art Deco buildings can be found across the world with many in Adelaide but unlike Napier there is no concentration of buildings in any one area and they have not been maintained since the 1930s. Art Deco buildings in Adelaide no longer have some of the design elements as they have been removed with modernisation, the colour schemes have been painted out and often replaced with current gaudy or grey colour schemes designed to hide the Art Deco elements. But several country towns in SA have many Art Deco buildings as they were being built and developed in the early 1930s – for example, Barmera and Renmark in the Riverland. Art Deco was popular for 1930s hotels in Adelaide and suburbs and Art Deco, especially the Spanish Mission style was popular for domestic housing in the 1930s. Napier, along with Miami in Florida and Santa Barbara in California have concentrations of Art Deco buildings, but Miami has especially grand multi storey buildings in the Art Deco style that you do not find in Napier. Napier Art Deco Trust applied for UNESCO World Heritage status for the city and its Art Deco heritage but this was rejected. Napier is special because of the earthquake behind the erection of the Art Deco buildings and the use of Maori motifs in some of its buildings.
Within days of the earthquake the NZ government established a Rehabilitation Committee and all houses could have one chimney repaired free of charge before residents re-occupied their homes. The government loaned money to start the rebuilding of commercial premises (but not to banks or international companies) near Civic Square. Loans were granted interest free for up to three years for commercial businesses. Two government Commissioners were appointed to oversee works and loans. They immediately contacted some Napier architects. The architects sought out ideas from American architectural pattern books and photographs and the five leading architectural practices agreed to share their limited resources and to rebuild with the city with a sense of unity and common style. The leading architectural firms were Finch and Westerholm who specialised in Spanish Mission style; Louis Hay a local who was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright in America and his best building was the National Tobacco Company building; Natusch & Sons who specialised in houses and restrained Art Deco style; E A Williams who produced some quite flamboyant buildings; and J T Watson who became the Napier Borough Architect and is known for the Colonnade, Sunbay, Parker Fountain, esplanade Soundshell and the Egyptian inspired Municipal Theatre. Most of the central business district of Napier was rebuilt within two years although Art Deco buildings were still being erected in the late 1930s.
Napier. New Zealand. A city of colourful Art Deco buildings. All built in the 1930s after the city centre was destroyed in the 1931 earthquake.
Historical Background. Edward Gibbon Wakefield established the New Zealand Company to settle the land in 1839 just after the establishment of SA. He began his settlements in Wellington with his brother in charge, followed by later settlements in Whanganui, New Plymouth and Nelson. He also established the Canterbury Association with Robert Godley for the settlement of Christchurch in 1848. NZ was established as a serious of very separate settlements and the major cities of NZ today reflect that early history. His original Wellington settlement covered the area from Wellington to Napier and Hastings. Napier was a favoured spot in the Hawkes Bay region (named by Captain Cook in 1769) as it had a good port. The Crown purchased land from the Maoris in 1851 in Hawkes Bay. Before this purchase in 1851 William Colenso, a Cornishman had established a mission station here to work with the Maori in 1844. He was dismissed from the Missionary Society in 1852 as he had fathered a child with their Maori maid in 1850.His wife separated from him in 1853 but they never divorced. Colenso stayed on as a settler in Hawkes Bay. He became a MP for Napier in the national parliament in 1861. The illegitimate son Wiremu left NZ when he grew up and returned to live in Cornwall. A few settlers began to arrive in Hawks Bay around 1852 and in 1854 a town named Napier was laid out. It was named after Sir Charles Napier the British Army Commander in Chief in India who had died in 1853. As more settlers came to Hawkes Bay in the mid-1850s a public meeting in Napier moved to separate from the province of Wellington which they did in 1858. The port and the rich agricultural lands of Hawkes Bay provided wealth to the city of Napier. The region was known as a major export port of NZ wool. More recently it has become known as the fruit bowl on NZ. It produces kiwi fruits, grapes (for wine), stone fruits etc. Timber is also exported from the port of Napier. Just a few kilometres away is the city of Hastings. Napier has around 62,000 inhabitants and Hastings 80,000. The district has 165,000 residents.
The coastal flood plains are traversed by five rivers flowing down from the central tablelands and volcanic area. The major river is the Wairoa River. Hawkes Bay is a very seismically active region of NZ with over 50 damaging earthquakes recorded since 1800 but only 6 of these have occurred since 1934. The early 1930s was a dramatic period for Hawkes Bay. A major earthquake occurred on 3rd February 1931 followed by subsequent earthquakes over the next three years. The 7.8 scale earthquake of 1931 was centred 15 kilometres from Napier. It struck mid-morning and killed 256 people and injured thousands with over 400 hundred admitted to hospital. Hundreds of aftershocks resulted. It remains NZ worst earthquake eclipsing even the more recent Christchurch earthquakes for damage and death. Most of the buildings of the city centres of Napier and Hastings were destroyed. Hawkes Bay lies almost directly on the fault line caused by the abutting of the Australia and Pacific tectonic plates. The coastline at Napier was raised two metres with 40 square kilometres of seabed being raised to create dry land! A 4,000 acre lagoon was drained and today Hawkes Bay airport, industrial estates and new housing lies on this reclaimed land. The earthquake set off fires (and many buildings were made of wood) and the fires raged for several day destroying what was left of some buildings. Fires were controlled very quickly in Hastings. The two cities were quite quickly rebuilt with government support within two years at the height of the Depression. Building regulations were changed and well-known architects rebuilt the cities in Art Deco style influenced by the rise of California with its Aztec and Spanish influenced Art Deco architecture. Even today there are only four specially designed buildings taller than five storeys in Napier. On a more positive note Napier decided to prosper from the earthquake and its Art Deco heritage. The Art Deco Trust was formed in 1985 and still operates an internationally recognised Art Deco festival each year in February. With local government support the Art Deco Trust employs 10 people and uses the services of 120 volunteers. It operates a shop, it runs tours, it turns over more than $1.5 a year and it prints publications etc. It encourages the preservation of Napier’s Art Deco buildings and helps with restoration. It attracts around 25,000 people to Napier each year. Citizens of Napier dress in 1930s style for the Festival, vintage cars from the era are part of the festival, a public great Gatsby arty is held in a city park, movie events, art shows, many jazz musical events, balls, dinners, parades, and an Art Deco spotter competition are all part of the festival. The Art Deco Trust shop opens all year selling 1930s hats, women’s’ fashion, jewellery, Art Deco style statues, glassware, china, books, posters etc. Among the 200 events is the Art Deco Dog Parade. I wonder what that is?
What is special about Napier and Art Deco? Art Deco as a design and architectural style emerged at the Paris Exhibition of 1925. It became popular throughout the 1920s, 1930s and even into the 1940s. The style was applied to buildings, especially American skyscrapers, jewellery, china, lighting, furniture, etc. Unlike the Art Nouveau style which had emerged around 1900 with colours, curves and flowing detail the Art Deco style was rectangular, geometric and modern industrial techniques were used to achieve this style doing away with handicraft and hand worked items. Just think of the designs used in the Poirot detective TV series from Agatha Christie. The designers drew their inspirations from old European, Mayan, Aztec, and in the case of New Zealand, Maori design elements. The European influences led to the Spanish Mission style of architecture with simulated adobe brick, rounded terracotta window shades, roof tiles, roof parapets etc. The American influences developed Mayan and Aztec and sometimes North American Indian elements with zigzags, stepped patterns etc. One special feature of Art Deco buildings was the colourful and soft pastel shades of varying depths of colour used on the decorative features. Art Deco buildings can be found across the world with many in Adelaide but unlike Napier there is no concentration of buildings in any one area and they have not been maintained since the 1930s. Art Deco buildings in Adelaide no longer have some of the design elements as they have been removed with modernisation, the colour schemes have been painted out and often replaced with current gaudy or grey colour schemes designed to hide the Art Deco elements. But several country towns in SA have many Art Deco buildings as they were being built and developed in the early 1930s – for example, Barmera and Renmark in the Riverland. Art Deco was popular for 1930s hotels in Adelaide and suburbs and Art Deco, especially the Spanish Mission style was popular for domestic housing in the 1930s. Napier, along with Miami in Florida and Santa Barbara in California have concentrations of Art Deco buildings, but Miami has especially grand multi storey buildings in the Art Deco style that you do not find in Napier. Napier Art Deco Trust applied for UNESCO World Heritage status for the city and its Art Deco heritage but this was rejected. Napier is special because of the earthquake behind the erection of the Art Deco buildings and the use of Maori motifs in some of its buildings.
Within days of the earthquake the NZ government established a Rehabilitation Committee and all houses could have one chimney repaired free of charge before residents re-occupied their homes. The government loaned money to start the rebuilding of commercial premises (but not to banks or international companies) near Civic Square. Loans were granted interest free for up to three years for commercial businesses. Two government Commissioners were appointed to oversee works and loans. They immediately contacted some Napier architects. The architects sought out ideas from American architectural pattern books and photographs and the five leading architectural practices agreed to share their limited resources and to rebuild with the city with a sense of unity and common style. The leading architectural firms were Finch and Westerholm who specialised in Spanish Mission style; Louis Hay a local who was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright in America and his best building was the National Tobacco Company building; Natusch & Sons who specialised in houses and restrained Art Deco style; E A Williams who produced some quite flamboyant buildings; and J T Watson who became the Napier Borough Architect and is known for the Colonnade, Sunbay, Parker Fountain, esplanade Soundshell and the Egyptian inspired Municipal Theatre. Most of the central business district of Napier was rebuilt within two years although Art Deco buildings were still being erected in the late 1930s.