Gift from the Sea
The 1931 Napier earthquake took a great toll, but it also gave; many of the places we know today were once under water! Find out what happened when the land shook and rose, creating new opportunities for the future.
Stories from the library vault are collected from the Napier Libraries Heritage Collection. To find out more see our website https://bit.ly/3G92ELN or visit our Napier or Taradale branch.
Images taken from the Napier Libraries Heritage Collection and MTG Online Photograph Collection:
Ladies Sailing Day, Westshore, 1910s
Beacons Airport, 1936
Ahuriri Lagoon Reclamation, 1934
Fowler, M. (2013). Michael Fowler’s Historic Hawkes Bay. Michael Fowler Publishing Ltd.
Napier Sailing Club Regatta, Ahuriri Lagoon, 31 January 1931
Boats high and dry
Stranded fish in Ahuriri Lagoon
Photo taken from the Northumberland at the moment the quake hit
Photo taken from the Northumberland mid-afternoon on the day of the quake
Conly, G. (1980). The Shock of ’31: The Hawkes Bay Earthquake. A.H. & A. W. Reed Ltd.
The Aerodrome circa 1935
Fowler, M.B. (2020). Wings Over Hawke’s Bay: The Story of Our Airport. Hawkes Bay Airport Limited.
Marine Parade Sea Wall circa 1910 – Frank Duncan & Co. (n.d.). Paddling pool, Marine Parade Napier [Photograph]. MTG Online Photograph Collection https://collection.mtghawkesbay.com/o...
Marine Parade circa 1935, sea wall on right – Aerial Photograph of Marine Parade, Napier [Photograph]. (n.d.). MTG Online Photograph Collection https://collection.mtghawkesbay.com/o...
Marine Parade from the air, 1940 – Napier Centennial Committee. (1940). Century of Progress 1840 - 1940: Napier Centennial Souvenir Programme. Daily Telegraph.
Map of Napier 1928
Map of Napier 1932
Napier Libraries Heritage Collection