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A visit to my hometown of Napier, in Hawke's Bay, North Island, New...

dwyllis

By dwyllis

8 comments


The photos below, were taken in my hometown of Napier, which is a picturesque small coastal city. Napier is known internationally for being one of the best & most beautiful examples of an Art Deco city & tourists come from all over the world to view the inner-city, which was rebuilt in stylistic Art Deco form in 1931. The building of the inner-city area took place after a big earthquake at around 11am on 3rd February 1931, followed by massive gas explosions & fire, destroyed virtually the entire inner-city. My mother lived through this earthquake & was to vividly remember that day for the rest of her life. But the result was that the rebuilding of Napier, in the time of the Great Depression, provided unemployed men with jobs for many months … no social services in those days, so extremely hard on families with no income. There are parts of Napier which were not badly affected by the quake, & still retain their graceful Victorian & Edwardian villas, but it is the inner-city with its Art Deco charm, which draws a multitude of people from all over ….. & of course the lovely hot summers which Napier enjoys, & the beautiful turquoise ocean which frames it. Due to its great climate, Napier has grown into a large wine-producing region, & there are many big wine-estates with picturesque vineyards covering the hills.

More blog posts by dwyllis

Previous post: A tour around some lovely gardens in sub-tropical Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand

Next post: Winter in my little corner of the world



Comments

 

Looks like such a beautiful place!

6 May, 2012

 

Was lucky enough to visit on a holiday to New Zealand 5 years ago - a beautiful country!

6 May, 2012

 

how lovely, those waterfalls are stunning, beautiful photos, i really like those palm trees and those amazing wooden doors with the decorations around

6 May, 2012

 

Your photographs are superb. A good advertisement for the area, and its a beautiful place. What a lovely place to grow up and live. Thank you for showing those pics

6 May, 2012

 

My godson is backpacking at the moment and has landed in NZ. he says it is beautiful and wishes he had allowed more time to explore there. I love your photos + blog Dw. One thing that struck me was the cleanliness everywhere. Wonderful.

6 May, 2012

 

Now that looks a stunning place, your photo`s are smashing Dwyllis......

6 May, 2012

 

My friend at work lived in New Zealand for 12 months & goes back as often as possible, I now see why it is wonderful.

9 May, 2012

 

Wow how beautiful. Must be a lovely place to live. It reminds me of Florida with warm evenings and the shops being open late at night. I love the art deco buildings and especially that beautiful doorway with the ironwork flowers around it - you are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Thank you for showing us your city.

9 May, 2012

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