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Napier (Ahuriri in Māori) is an important port city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Ten kilometres to the south lies Hastings, Napier's twin city. The two are sometimes known in New Zealand as "The Twin Cities".
The town is 332 kilometres (about four hours) northeast by road from the capital, Wellington. It has a population smaller than Hastings, but as Hastings is administered as a district, Napier is the only city in the Hawke's Bay region, which is the largest crossbred wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest apple, pear and stone fruit producing areas in New Zealand. It has also become an important grape growing and wine production area with the fruit passing from the growers around Metropolitan Hastings and then to Napier for exporting. There are large frozen meat, wool, pulp and timber tonnages passing through Napier’s port.
Napier is a popular retirement town and tourist resort, and has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania Of The Reef. Her statue is regarded in Napier in much the same way that the Little Mermaid statue is regarded in Copenhagen, and bears some similarities to its Scandinavian equivalent.
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The town is on the Bluff Hill headland and the surrounding plain at the southeastern edge of Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay that dominates the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The coastline of the town was substantially altered by a large earthquake in 1931. Several smaller towns lie close to the city, some of which (such as Taradale) are now little more than large suburbs. Other surrounding towns include Bay View, to the north, Clive, to the south, and Flaxmere, west of Hastings.
The town enjoys some of the highest sunshine hours in New Zealand, its warm, relatively dry climate the result of its location on the east coast, a mediterranean climate delivered from the waters to the north, and its strategic position in Hawke's Bay. Most of New Zealand's weather patterns cross the country from the west, and the town lies in the rain shadow of the North Island Volcanic Plateau and surrounding ranges such as the Kaweka Range. However, the town is prone to the remnants of tropical cyclones from the central Pacific Ocean, which occasionally are still at storm strength by the time that they have reached Hawke's Bay.
INapier's major tourist attraction is the town itself, which draws Art Deco and architecture enthusiasts from around the world. The rebuilding period after the 1931 earthquake coincided with the shortlived and rapidly changing Art Deco era and the Great Depression, when little 'mainstreet' development was being undertaken elsewhere. As a result Napier's architecture is strikingly different from any other city; the other notable Art Deco city, Miami Beach, has Streamline Moderne Art Deco. The whole centre of Napier was rebuilt simultaneously. In many ways it resembles a film set as it has whole streets of 'in period' buildings, but it is a real city and the buildings are original. Santa Barbara, California was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1925 and is notable for its Spanish Mission Style buildings.
Other tourist attractions in Napier include Marineland, the National Aquarium and the Soundshell. Attractions nearby include the Cape Kidnappers Gannet Colony and many vineyards bordering Hastings City. Many people use Napier as a gateway to Hawkes Bay, flying in to the Hawkes Bay airport at Westshore from Wellington City, Auckland and Christchurch. From Napier, tourists explore Hastings City, Havelock North, Wairoa and Cape Kidnappers.
Tourists flock to Napier in February for Art Deco weekend and the Mission Concert Weekend. The large wine industry hosts the Annual Harvest Hawkes Bay Weekend.
Many tourists enter Napier by State Highway 2, by rail (though this is becoming uncommon) or by air. Hawkes Bay is served by Hawkes Bay Airport which is located north of the marina.
The range of industries in Napier and its environs include the electronics industry, the surrounding area wool trade, and the manufacture of fertilizer and wine. Napier is home to one of New Zealand's largest smoking tobacco plants. On 9 September 2005 British American Tobacco announced it would close the iconic Rothmans factory, due to diminished demand. Production will be moved to Australia. The famous art deco-style factory has been producing up to 2.2 billion cigarettes a year for the New Zealand and Pacific Island markets. In March 1999, 19 people lost their jobs there because "fewer people are smoking".
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