Art Deco Napier, New Zealand
Our next stop in New Zealand after Rotorua was Napier, a town which is famous for having been rebuilt in Art Deco style in the 1930s following the destruction of many of its buildings in an earthquake.
Our trip via Intercity bus to Napier was rather eventful. Hawkes Bay, where Napier is located, suffered torrential rain at the time, and there were landslides across the mountainous roads that blocked all traffic. We just made it before the road became impassable due to a landslide.
When we arrived in Napier, I expected our accommodation to be in town, walking distance from the bus stop. Unfortunately, it seemed that our travel agent had lost the plot, and booked us at a motor inn miles out of town on the freeway.
It gets even better - when we arrived at said accommodation, we were told that we did not have a booking. It appears that between us booking the holiday and taking it, the business that ran the motor inn had been sold, and the sellers neglected to pass on the existing bookings to the new owners. The new owner did not want us to call the travel agent (presumably because it would jeopardise his future bookings), and pulled a favour from a friend at another motor inn (slightly closer to town but still quite a hike), who kindly agreed to put us up on a moment's notice.We could have stayed in a lovely Art Deco house, but the owner told us it was very cold and hard to heat, so we opted for the more conventional motor inn brick box - no frills but it was a roof over our head. The owners were just lovely, a British couple who had migrated from the UK. However, the travel agent's initial madness meant that we were stuck a fair hike out of town without a car, and my mum can't walk far. This drama all took place on my mother's birthday, so the dreadful weather, combined with the accommodation debacle, made for a very unhappy mother on her birthday. I had planned to take her to a nice restaurant for her milestone birthday, but that was also off the cards, so we glumly ate takeaway Chinese out of plastic containers that night. Sorry Mum.
Personal dramas aside, Napier is an interesting place to visit because of its Art Deco roots. Much of the town has embraced the Art Deco connection. Behold this fabulous bus shelter, decorated with Art Deco inspired murals:
Many of the buildings in town are from the Art Deco era - here's a happy snap of the nearest Art Deco building we found on the day of arrival:
There are many Art Deco houses in Napier:
However, unless you do a lot of research and know what and where to look, you will miss many of the Art Deco treasures. For that reason, we did a half day Napier Art Deco Tour with Hawkes Bay Scenic Tours.
One of the grandest examples of Art Deco architecture in Napier is not in the main part of town at all. It is the National Tobacco Company building:
From the outside, this building is a stunning example of Art Deco architecture. You can't go in, and the inside seems to be mainly a shell, but the very grand exterior of this building is well worth seeking out for look.
The tour also covered various Art Deco houses in the back streets of Napier, including the ones above and these:
Here is an example of Art Deco architecture taken randomly from the tour bus, which is now a restaurant:
The Art Deco tour will show you where to find the Art Deco treasures in Napier; however, it is only 2.5 hours and is mainly done by bus, so I recommend going back yourself afterwards to see the places that you are shown on the tour at leisure, and to take photographs.
Here are the photos of Art Deco and other interesting architecture in Napier, together with Art Deco inspired art works, that I took when I went back into town after the tour. Enjoy!!
The following shots are from in and around the Masonic Hotel in Napier - it is so grand that even Queen Elizabeth II has stayed there, and we could have stayed there for around the same price as the motor inn that the off kilter travel agent booked for us:
This is the Napier Soundshell, built in 1935, and found down by the Hawkes Bay shoreline:
These are the Marine Parade gardens, located near the Soundshell, and planted on land reclaimed from the sea after the earthquake in the 1930s using rubble from the quake:
Although not Art Deco, here is one of my favourite Napier landmarks, The Six Sisters, along Marine Parade:
The story behind the "sisters" is that an architect built one identical house for each of his six daughters during the Victorian era, and the houses survived the earthquake in the 1930s. All kinds of business now occupy the houses today, including The Six Sisters Coffee House:
Marine Parade features the Ecliptic Millenial Arch, which lines up with the place where the sun rose on the first day of the new millenium:
Also on Marine Parade is the Spirit of Napier statue by Frank Szirmay, representing the rise of Napier out of the rubble of the 1931 earthquake:
Going back into town, here are some more examples of the Napier Art Deco and Art Deco inspired architecture and art:
This later sculpture is a companion piece, and features a boy waving at Sheila:
Enjoy some more of Napier:
While my trip to Napier is not what I'd hoped due to the combination of the weather and the accommodation mess, I did enjoy getting to see first hand the Art Deco architecture which features heavily throughout the town.
2 Neeve Place, Napier NZ 4112
Ph: +64 6844 5693
Art Deco Trust
7 Tennyson St, Napier NZ
Ph: +64 6835 0022
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