In 1931, New Zealand’s deadliest earthquake devastated the cities of Napier and Hastings. Sailors from the HMS Veronica went offshore and began the rescue effort, and due to the damage caused to telephone and telegraph lines, information about the quake and requests for help were sent by wireless operators on the HMS Veronica and other ships.Mercifully, among the countless stories of tragedy and loss there are also heart-warming stories of survival.
The Mayor of Palmerston North advised the newly formed Napier Citizens' Control Committee that his borough would house 5,000 in a relief centre. The act provided loans for companies (excepting national companies or those with head offices outside Hawke's Bay) and individuals, to assist them to rebuild. Administered by the Lands Department, these "were designed to overcome difficulties about boundaries of properties which [had] been moved by the earthquake" (NCC, Report of Committee of Management: p.16). The response was called 'a genuine triumph of organisation'. Opened at McLean Park by the Governor General, Lord Bledisloe, the carnival's events included band contests, processions, race meetings and bowling tournaments (Campbell, 1975). In the early 'thirties the whole country was in the grip of the Depression, with many people on the East Coast of the North Island affected by falling prices for agricultural exports. From these shops the fire spread into adjoining buildings, and by mid afternoon, the town was completely ablaze. Of those who were allotted places, some were less than happy with their positioning. While some Napier townsfolk were sheltering in tents on the Marine Parade beach and other open spaces (Wright, 2001), the tent town in Nelson Park served as the official evacuation centre for Napier (McGregor, 1998).In Napier and Hastings food depots operated dispensing free meals (McGregor, 1998). To add to the initial devastation of the earthquake, fires burned throughout the city of Napier for a full 36 hours before they could be contained - levelling most buildings that had survived the initial assault of the quake.Napier was not the only city impacted. 30 Jun, 2018 11:00am . The Memorial Square structure incorporated the undamaged Women's Rest Rooms and almost surrounded the Cenotaph while, on Clive Square, the bandstand was likewise swallowed up (McGregor, 1998).
Within the Napier Borough it was noted that there was "no difficulty in the business area [and that] all new buildings [had] been erected on the proper places" (ibid.,17). Another similar block, housing the Associated Banks, was built on the gardens adjacent to St Patrick's Church (McGregor, 1998).