Most of central Napier was destroyed when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 3 February 1931. Many buildings that survived the quake (mainly wooden ones) were lost in the subsequent fire, which started when chemists’ bunsen burners were upset. This film was made the day after the earthquake. The town has the appearance of a war zone.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga
Reference:
The Hawkes Bay Disaster. National Film Unit, 1965
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence
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