Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It measures 14,641 square kilometres and contains the major urban areas of Hastings and Napier. It stretches along the east coast on the Pacific Ocean from the Mahia Peninsula in the north to the southern tip of Cape Turnagain. Its western borders include vast parks, including Ruahine Forest Park, Kaweka Forest Park and Te Urewera National Park.

The region is composed of six districts: Wairoa District, Hastings District, Napier City, Central Hawke's Bay District, Taupo District and Rangitikei District. Hawke's Bay is governed by a regional council of nine elected members, with elections held every three years. Hawke's Bay's two major urban area are the cities of Hastings and Napier. The latter is a coastal city with a seaport, while Hastings is about 18 kilometres inland from Napier.

Gourmet, locally produced food and wine have not only become a major part of Hawke's Bay's economy, but also of its cultural identity. Wines and wine grapes produced in the region have become renowned throughout the world, and tourists come every year to visit the vineyards. Rugby is a popular sport in Hawke's Bay. The region's team is the Hawke's Bay Magpies, who play in New Zealand's professional rugby union.

Historical Perspective

Māoris arrived in Hawke's Bay in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries CE. Their settlements were centred around the coast, rivers and waterways. The Ngāti Kahungunu tribal group arrived in the region during the sixteenth century and gradually became the dominant group through warfare and strategic marriages. Māoris began to unite against Europeans who attempted to settle the region in the 1820s. The population of Pacific peoples was unable to defend their land from the armed European invaders, and the tribal population declined sharply. The adversity they faced did create a strong cultural identity among the Ngāti Kahungunu and other Māoris.

Europeans began settling on the land in the 1830s and 1840s. They were mainly pastoral farmers who negotiated land deals directly with the Māoris. Frequently, the land prices were low and sometimes the rightful owners of the land were not consulted. Land continued to be purchased by Europeans in the 1850s, which caused conflict between Māori chiefs.

Hawke's Bay was a province of New Zealand from 1858 to 1876, when the provinces were abolished. It subsequently became a provisional district. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastated the region on 3 February 1931, which injured thousands and killed 256 people. Hastings and Napier were heavily damaged by the earthquake but were rebuilt with great success.

Geography and Climate

The Hawke's Bay region contains a diverse landscape of hills, plains and mountain ranges. The active tectonic forces beneath its surface caused these varied land formations. The titular bay is a semi-circular one that extends about 350 kilometres on the Pacific Ocean, north-east to south-west, from the Mahia Peninsula to the southern extremity of Cape Turnagain. The five major rivers in Hawke's Bay have shifted over thousands of years to create over twenty-five different types of soil, including clay loam, limestone and sand.

Altitude in the region ranges from sea level on the coast to several hundred metres inland on the hillsides and mountain ranges. Central Hawke's Bay features wide fertile plains. This is where the majority of vineyards are located. Southern Hawke's Bay is home to a hill with the longest place name found in any English-language-speaking country, Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu, a Māori name commonly shortened to Taumata.

Hawke's Bay has a Mediterranean-type climate. It experiences a dry and temperate climate, with hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall varies, with droughts common in the summer. The hottest months are December, January and February, when temperatures ranging from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime.

Economy

Hawke's Bay was once known as New Zealand's "fruit bowl", due to its stone and pip fruit production. While these fruits, including apples and cherries, are still important to the region's economy, the production of grapes used for wine has become the major staple since the 1980s. Award-winning wines, particularly cabernets and merlots, are produced in Hawke's Bay. Some of the most famous wines from the region are developed in the Gimblett Gravels district, an area used almost exclusively for wine production.

Pastoral farming and horticulture have been a key part in the region's economy since the nineteenth century. Aside from periods of economic depression in the 1870s, 1880s and 1930s, these two sectors have been consistently essential to Hawke's Bay success. In the 2020s, horticulture farming employed the largest group of Hawke's Bay people in the agricultural sector, followed by sheep and beef farming. The horticulture sectors produce the largest amount of apples, peaches and squash in New Zealand, along with about 5,000 hectares of wine grapes per year. Dairy farming is a small sector of economy but has been significant in some districts around Central Hawke's Bay, including Dannevirke, Woodville and Hastings.

After agriculture, forestry and fishing, the next major employment sector in Hawke's Bay is manufacturing, followed by professional services. Tourism makes up a small part of the region's economy. Tourists are drawn to the area for its vineyards, golf, cycling and other outdoor activities.

Demographics

According to a 2023 census, roughly 175,074 people live in the Hawke's Bay region. This is an increase of 5.23 per cent from the 2018 census. About three-quarters of the population live in a small part of the region. Hastings is the most populated city in Hawke's Bay with a population of about 91,900, followed by Napier with a population of 67,500. These two cities account for roughly 80.5 per cent of the region's population. The majority of the region's population is female and about 53,502 identify as Māori.

The New Zealand Administration of Health has reported that Hawke's Bay population tends to be older than the national average, and there are proportionally more people in the more deprived sections of the population than the national average as well. Census data has shown that the relatively isolated northern district population has the lowest income and unemployment, as well as the lowest number of people with school qualifications.

Bibliography

"About Napier." Napier City Council, 2016, www.napier.govt.nz/napier/about/history/early-napier. Accessed 11 June 2024.

"Hawke's Bay Earthquake." Christchurch City Libraries, 2016, my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/hawkes-bay-earthquake. Accessed 29 Dec. 2016.

"Census 2023 Results: Hawke’s Bay Bucks National Ageing Trend in Latest Census Data." New Zealand Herald, 28 May 2024, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/census-2023-results-hawkes-bay-bucks-national-ageing-trend-in-latest-census-data/CPNMHOTRS5EWPPXHJBUTTXYR6Q/. Accessed 12 June 2024.

McGregor, Robert. The Hawke's Bay Earthquake: New Zealand's Natural Disaster. Art Deco Trust, 1998.

Pollock, Kerryn. "Hawke's Bay Region." Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2 July 2015, www.teara.govt.nz/en/hawkes-bay-region. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Wright, Matthew. Hawke's Bay: The History of a Province. Dunmore Press, 1994.