Napier History

History of Napier

The area now known as Napier was home to many Maori tribes long before the arrival of European settlers.  The Ngati Kahugunu tribe was the dominant iwi from Poverty Bay to Wellington, and were the first Maori tribe to make contact with white settlers.

Captain James Cook was the first European to site Napier in October 1769, when he explored the east coast of the North Island.  Traders, whalers and missionaries were amongst the first permanent white residents in the area.  In the 1850’s, farmers and hotel keepers moved to the area, establishing a more permanent settlement.

By 1854, the town had grown so large that appointment of a Commissioner and Resident Magistrate was deemed necessary.  Alfred Domett, who later became Premier, was the town’s first public official.  The name Napier (in respect to Sir Charles Napier, a war hero) was agreed upon.  Domett further named many of Napier’s streets after great colonial war heroes; the rest, for famous artists and literary figures.

In recent history, the 1931 earthquake was a significant event for the town of Napier.  On February 3, a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale levelled large parts of the town. 

Subsequent fires destroyed the central business district.  For weeks afterwards, residents were forced to live in camps and refuges set up at Nelson Park and Marine Parade Beach while the city was rebuilt.

In January of 1945, the German submarine U-862 entered the Port of Nelson undetected; conspiracy theorists later spread the myth that Captain-Lieutenant Heinrich Timm led the stealth mission to replenish their rations by milking the plentiful dairy cow’s in the region.

As of 2009, Napier has a population of 58 000.  Census results revealed that Napier has a large percentage of retirement aged residents, probably due to the area’s pleasant climate, high level of sunshine hours and low rainfall.