About Hawke’s Bay – A Region of Abundance.
Hawke’s Bay – A Region of Abundance
Bounded by the mountain ranges to the west that divide New Zealand’s North Island, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean, nature has provided Hawke’s Bay with its own distinctive and superior climate and geography. Early European settlers in the mid 19th Century recognised that, and established a strong rural based economy and population pattern, which with subsequent agricultural and horticultural development, continues to underpin the economy of the region today.
Climate and Geography
The North Island’s central mountain ranges impact significantly on New Zealand’s predominantly westerly weather pattern. On the eastern side of the mountain divide Hawke’s Bay experiences a relatively sheltered climate and a comparatively warm and pleasant Mediterranean climate is the result. Most of the Hawke’s Bay region experiences only moderately cold winters, followed by pleasantly warm to moderately hot summers. While the foothills close to the western mountain ranges together with much of Northern and Southern Hawke’s Bay usually experience above average, higher rainfall, most of Hawke’s Bay enjoys an annual average of about 800 mm. This is usually distributed between April (or mid to late autumn), though to the beginning of January (or early summer). Mild, but in exceptional years, more accute drought conditions are often experienced between mid summer through to mid or late autumn.
From Southern through to Northern Hawke’s Bay, the closely linked Ruahine and Kaweka ranges fall away to the rolling hill country and fertile plains that combine to form most of Hawkes Bay. The mountains and hills are drained by a myriad of streams and rivers that merge to form the Mohaka, the Tutaekuri, the Ngaruroro and the Tuki Tuki Rivers, providing water to the region’s industry and population as well as some of New Zealand’s very best trout fishing. These rivers contribute to an underground acquafer carrying large volumes of pristine filtered water only metres below some of the best horticultural land on the plains of Hawke’s Bay.
Hawke’s Bay can therefore claim an ideal combination of strong soils for pastoral farming, fertile plains laid down by the network of rivers for horticultural crops, and light free draining soils for the grape growing industry. Add rainfall when required, rivers for irrigation and stockwater, and warmth and sunlight hours when needed, the result is an environment supporting a great lifestyle, and highly productive and efficient land based industries.
Economic Development
From the first wave of 19th century European settlement and up until relatively recent years, pastoral farming dominated the economic, social and political direction of Hawke’s Bay. Serviced early on by Meat Processors exporting frozen lamb through the Port of Napier to the growing United Kingdom Market, and Wool and Hide Processors, the pastoral sector continued to flourish. Following World War II the extensive and fertile Heretaunga plains surrounding the cities of Hastings and Napier became equally well known for it’s rapidly developing orcharding industry. The establishment of J Wattie Canneries (Now Heinz-Wattie) supported and accelerated this development, and now the growing, freezing, canning, dehydrating and export of a vast range of food crops and added value food products has developed and combined to form one of Hawke’s Bay’s most important industries and employers.
More recently Hawke’s Bay became recognised as containing soil types, and over substantial areas an environment considered ideal for the cultivation of cool climate Bordeaux style wine grapes. While wine grapes have been established in the Bay since the 19th century, it was not until the late 1970’s and 1980’s that the major wine industry in its present form was established. Today Hawke’s Bay is one of New Zealand’s largest grape growing and wine making regions and has achieved considerable international recognition for many of its wine styles and wineries.
Four Districts and Two Cities
Hawke’s Bay is administered by four District Councils, which with the City of Napier and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are responsible for providing the services required by urban, rural, and commercial land owners and the general population. Although providing their ratepayers with the localised services required in their districts, they combine their Economic Development and Tourism activities, forming Hawke’s Bay Incorporated to promote the development of the region as a whole.
Northern Hawke’s Bay – the Wairoa District
Substantially separated from mainstream Hawke’s Bay by the rugged Mangaharuru Ranges and steep coastal foothills, Northern Hawke,s Bay is based around the small coastal rural township of Wairoa. Established originally to service the agricultural industry, Wairoa is approximately one hour and fifty minutes driving distance north from the city of Napier on a sometimes steep and winding, but otherwise high quality State Highway 2.
The economy of Northern Hawke’s Bay is centred on hill country pastoral farming, and lacking the population, access to the international Port of Napier, and breadth of available soil types, does not enjoy the industrial or economic diversity of other Districts within Hawke’s Bay. The Wairoa District is however justifiably well known for its beautiful unspoilt coastline, beaches, fishing and diving. The most popular beaches are found at Mahia Peninsular and offer some of the best known and most spectacular surfing in New Zealand. Inland from Wairoa, the beautiful Lake Waikaremoana situated in the unspoiled wilderness of the rugged Te Urewera National Park offers spectacular scenery, hunting and fishing. The Wairoa District can also claim some of New Zealand’s most scenic and productive wild trout fishing rivers, many of which are readily accessible to the public.
Napier and the Hastings District
Although only 18kms apart, the twin cities of Napier and Hastings have developed their own distinctive characters and economic strengths.
The City of Napier, with a population of 53,500 is administered by the Napier City Council, and provides the region’s transport connection to the rest of the country and to the world. Napier Airport has regular flights or connections to and from all key domestic centres, and has been upgraded to manage the increasing traffic and larger aeroplanes accessing the region. Similarly, the Port of Napier continues to grow and develop to accommodate increased export volumes of agricultural, horticultural, forestry based products, and manufactured products directed through the Port from Hawke’s Bay and the surrounding region’s.
As a result of the rebuilding programme following the devastating 1931 Napier Earthquake the City of Napier has a large number of fine examples of Art Deco Architecture. Now known internationally as the “Art Deco City,” Napier has a full programme of Art Deco events attracting growing numbers of visitors to Hawke’s Bay.
Hastings City, well known for its outstanding examples of Spanish Mission Architecture, and with a population of 67,000 is the centre of the Hastings District. Although like Napier it has developed a manufacturing base to service it’s land based industries, agriculture and horticulture have traditionally been the mainstay of the economy and are still of major importance. Consequently the centre of the regions livestock industry is Stortford Lodge on the outskirts of Hastings, where the major stock firms or agents and the district’s stock sale yards are located. Similarly, fruit and vegetable export packhouses and coolstores, and food processing companies are established in and around Hastings to service the orchards and vegetable growers located on the surrounding Heretaunga Plains.
The region’s large number of outstanding wineries, winery restaurants and specialist food producers has encouraged the development of the “Wine Country Food Trail”, with many wineries and winery restaurants open to the public, and proving to be a major attraction and experience in their own right. The District also has a wide range of sporting, recreational and cultural activities available to visitors and residents. These include the Hawke’s Bay Art Trail, some of New Zealand’s better beaches, golf courses, uncrowded trout fishing rivers, as well as access to hunting and tramping through the Ruahine, Kaweka and Kaimanawa mountain ranges.
Central Hawke’s Bay
The Central Hawkes Bay District is based around the thriving rural townships of Waipukurau and Waipawa, which lie about thirty-five kilometres south of the City of Hastings on State Highway 2. With a population of almost 13,000, the district is administered by the Central Hawkes Bay District Council, and as it contains much of Hawke’s Bay’s most productive farmland, has a largely pastoral, horticultural, and cropping based economy. The Ruahine mountain ranges are a dominating feature on the long western boundary of the District, and the eastern boundary is the largely unspoiled Pacific coastline. There are a number of well known and accessible beaches offering swimming, surfing, boating and fishing, with many kilometres of wide, golden, unspoiled beaches to explore. Inland the Tuki Tuki, Waipawa and a number of smaller streams offer excellent, uncrowded and accessible trout fishing.
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