Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named after Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural parts of the region are served by the towns of Waipukurau, Waipawa, and Wairoa.
Name
Hawke's Bay is named after the bay to its east, Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke by Captain James Cook during one of his voyages along the coasts of New Zealand.The Māori language name for Hawke's Bay is Te Matau-a-Māui. This name comes from a traditional story in which Maui lifted the islands of New Zealand from the waters. The story says that Hawke's Bay is the fishhook that Māui used, with Portland Island and Cape Kidnappers being the northern and southern barbs of the hook, respectively.
Hawke's Bay is one of only two places in New Zealand with a possessive apostrophe in its name, the other being Arthur's Pass. Captain Cook originally used an apostrophe in the name for the bay, but was inconsistent and wrote the name without an apostrophe a day later. Many New Zealanders spell the name without an apostrophe.
History
Early history
Bay whaling stations operated on the shores of the bay in the nineteenth century.Hawke's Bay Province was founded in 1858 as a province of New Zealand, after being separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858. The Province was abolished in 1876 along with all other provinces in New Zealand. It was replaced with a Provincial District.
1931 earthquake
On February 3, 1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated by New Zealand's worst natural disaster, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter magnitude scale, which killed 256 people. Napier rebuilt and now the city is world-famous for its Art Deco buildings, and celebrates its heritage each February with the . MTG Hawke's Bay, formerly Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery, has an exhibition on the earthquake, its causes and impact.Second World War
During the Second World War, the German submarine U-862 entered the waters around Napier undetected, surfacing by the Sound Shell. The submarine fired a torpedo at the Pukeko, a steamer leaving the Port of Napier, but narrowly missed.Cyclone Gabrielle
On the 13th and 14 February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle caused extensive damage in Hawke's Bay as it passed over the North Island. Power, phone service and internet access was cut to over 16,000 properties when the main Redcliffe substation was damaged in floodwaters after the Tutaekuri River burst its banks. Downstream, 1,000 people were evacuated from low-lying plains surrounding the river, where significant parts of Taradale, Meeanee and Awatoto were submerged.The floodwaters destroyed 4 bridges, including Redcliffe Bridge, a major crossing just south of Taradale. SH2 and SH51 bridges were heavily damaged, but did not collapse. A span of the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line crossing the Tutaekuri River also collapsed. The Ngaruroro River also breached its banks, flooding the town of Omahu where 20 people required evacuation via helicopter.
In Wairoa, the Wairoa River breached its banks, flooding approximately 15 percent of the town. Access to Wairoa was cut off after extensive damage on SH2's Mohaka River Bridge in the south, and landslides also closing SH2 to the north. Water supply in Central Hawke's Bay failed, and a mandatory evacuation was ordered for eastern Waipawa after the Waipara river rose to record levels. The total cost and damages are unknown at this time.
Geography
The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island. It bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Māhia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers.The Hawke's Bay Region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges. The prominent peak Taraponui is located inland.
Five major rivers flow to the Hawke's Bay coast. From north to south, they are the Wairoa River, Mohaka River, Tutaekuri River, Ngaruroro River and Tukituki River. Lake Waikaremoana, situated in northern Hawke's Bay, roughly 35 km from the coast, is the largest lake in Hawke's Bay, the fourth largest in the North Island and the 16th largest in New Zealand.
The region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and the longest in the world according to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an otherwise unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from Waipukurau.
Demographics
Hawke's Bay Region covers and had an estimated population of as of percent of New Zealand's population, with a population density of people per km2. Around percent of the region's population lives in the Napier-Hastings conurbation.Hawke's Bay Region had a population of 175,074 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 8,706 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 23,895 people since the 2013 census. There were 85,497 males, 89,055 females and 516 people of other genders in 63,735 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.4 years. There were 34,641 people aged under 15 years, 30,249 aged 15 to 29, 76,266 aged 30 to 64, and 33,918 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 73.3% European ; 28.6% Māori; 6.2% Pasifika; 6.5% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.5%, Māori language by 7.2%, Samoan by 1.9% and other languages by 8.2%. No language could be spoken by 1.9%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
| Nationality | Population |
| England | 6,840 |
| Australia | 2,625 |
| India | 2,076 |
| Samoa | 1,665 |
| South Africa | 1,473 |
| Philippines | 942 |
| Scotland | 876 |
| China | 765 |
| Netherlands | 738 |
| United States | 657 |
The major local Māori tribe is Ngāti Kahungunu.
Religious affiliations were 33.6% Christian, 0.9% Hindu, 0.5% Islam, 3.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.5%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 20,490 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 77,136 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 36,423 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 12,315 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 69,846 people were employed full-time, 18,585 were part-time, and 3,948 were unemployed.
Below is a list of urban areas that contain more than 1,000 population.
| Urban area | Population ( | % of region |
| Napier | % | |
| Hastings | % | |
| Havelock North | % | |
| Waipukurau | % | |
| Wairoa | % | |
| Waipawa | % | |
| Clive | % | |
| Haumoana | 1,160 | 0.6% |
Other towns and settlements in Hawke's Bay include:
- Tuai
- Frasertown
- Nūhaka
- Mahia Beach
- Whirinaki
- Whakatu
- Te Awanga
- Waimārama
- Tikokino
- Ōtāne
- Ongaonga
- Takapau
- Pōrangahau
Economy
Agriculture
The region is renowned for its horticulture, with large orchards and vineyards on the plains. In the hilly parts of the region sheep and cattle farming predominates, with forestry blocks in the roughest areas.Hawke's Bay has of horticultural land, the third largest area in New Zealand behind Canterbury and Marlborough. The largest crops by land area are apples, wine grapes, squash, and peas and beans.