Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Napier

Our next port of call was to Napier, which was pretty badly damaged by an earthquake back in Feb. 1931. The earthquake destroyed a lot of the CBD, what didn't get destroyed in the earthquake, was destroyed in the fire that followed the earthquake. Apparently a bunsen burner used in the chemist shop was shaken over and the chemicals nearby caught on fire. There was no water to fight the fire as the earthquake damaged the water mains. So, the city was rebuilt in 1932 and in the Art Deco style and many of the buildings have been retained and restored.

These houses however are known as the Six Sisters and were built in 1897 by a sea faring man who had six daughters and wanted them out of his house! !!! So to do that he built them each a house. They are currently a coffee house, 2 B&B's and the others house businesses
We went on a tour of Napier and stopped at the top of the hill behind the city and this was the view over the Port. The area to the left all came up out of the sea during the earthquake and so solved a problem for the people of Napier as they didnt have anywhere for their town to expand to before the earthquake. It is one of the worst disasters in NZ, as 256 people lost their lives and thousands were injured.
I had a walk around after the tour and took many photos of buildings,there are Art deco styles, some Art Nouveau and Spanish Mission,
My favourite, a combination of Art deco and Art Nouveau.


Buildings built on the corner had to have angled corners at the front, the two men in charge of the rebuilding said the pace of life was getting faster, more cars were on the road and people in cars had to be able to see around the corners.  

Art Deco and Spanish Mission style along side each other. 




Pretty fancy top of the building for the Kiwi man cave!! Lol!!


Great door way.

Lots of lovely lead light around the town centre



There is a lot of this street art all over Napier, encouraged by the council,  all the art done last year had to have a sea theme, a new series is starting this week.
We had a great day out and about, Eve found an antique shop with loads of postcards so she was very happy.
Imhave managed to get a little sewing done

And some more stars
Last night all I could manage was glueing fabric to the paper, pretty exciting stuff!!!
Ok that is enough for today, more to come tomorrow.
Happy days.








11 comments:

  1. Lovely buildings. Hope you have caught up on some sleep

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  2. How interesting! Glad to see you are able to fit some stitching in,.

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  3. I went to Napier some years ago but didn't stop for good look like you have.... fun seeing and reading more about it...
    Hugz

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  4. Good morning Sue,wow lots of amazing pics there,you and Eve are having a ball,the places you have been going is amazing and well done with your stars.

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  5. Looks like a lovely place to explore , I love the style of the buildings.

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  6. Hi Sue, Lovely to see you have made it to Napier. It is such a wonderful old city. My Dad was born & grew up there so we used to make lots of trips over. I did not appreciate the old architecture when I was younger though!! My Dad was alive during the great Napier Earthquake, I think he was about 5. Safe travels Sue x x

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  7. Such beautiful and interesting buildings....love the 6 Sisters story. Keep having fun x

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  8. Thanks for allowing me to come along with you around Napier again. I liked the town when I was there too... xox

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  9. Napier sure has risen up from the rubble and ashes to a beauty. Shame you weren't a tad bit earlier you could have enjoyed the Art Deco festival.

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  10. I love all the architecture and the different colours used. Gee, those 6 houses are amazing! Maybe the daughters deliberately stayed put knowing their dad woukd do that lol. Great idea angling corners on buildings..makes sense. Love your pics of doors. I took heaps of door and floor pics O/S..luv them. You are certainly making the most of your visit. Looks so much fun.

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  11. It is a lovely city - we used to go down that way for the big Horse of the Year show and try to manage a night in Napier for a meal - always a lovely atmosphere. My in-laws were at the art Deco festival a few weeks ago -apparently that was a good time!

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