
Tuesday 3 February 1931 - a typical calm hot Hawke's Bay summer day.
At 10.46.43am Hawke's Bay was devastated by two violent shocks in quick succession, followed for days by aftershocks.
The earthquake of magnitude 7.8* was recorded all around the world. *Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS).
The town centres of Napier and Hastings were the worst affected, with masonry buildings and brick facades collapsing. Wooden buildings were less damaged but fire destroyed many of these.
The fires were worst in Napier where no water was available as the water supply system was destroyed. In Hastings most fires were generally contained with some water being available. Power cuts affected the water pumps. The Grand Hotel, already badly damaged, caught fire.
There were many casualties - 256 were killed, 2 missing, over 400 hospitalised with serious injuries. The Nurses Home on the hill in Napier collapsed, killing nurses who were sleeping after night duty. There were sad stories of people being buried alive.
The following are some of the books held in the Hastings District Libraries on the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake, listed with the most recent at the top. Most Hawke's Bay local history books include sections on the 'quake and aftermath.
In memory of those who lost their lives in Hastings and District
"Their sun went down before it was noon"
The list below has been compiled by Hastings Library staff from various sources.
We will be pleased to hear of any further information you may have. Please email [email protected] or phone +64 06 871 5000.
Memorial plaques to those who died were installed at the clock by the Hastings District Council in 1995.
Alexander, Thomas Wilson, 45, Paki Paki
Allan, Sylvia Margaret Fordie, 16, Hastings
Alloway, Ivy Patricia, 18, Hastings
Ashworth née McCarter, Mrs Ellen, 37, Tikokino
Barrett née Atkins, Mrs Sarah Naomi, Hastings
Bartle, William Morley, 61, Hastings
Bartlett née Caldow, Mrs Mary Hodge, 48, Hastings
Berry née Bartlett, Mrs Myra George, 28, Napier
Bohan [Bohane] née Sullivan, Mrs Ellen, 58, Hastings
Bohan, Kathleen, 16, Hastings
Brace, Henry Herbert, 40, Hastings
Brooker, Henry, 55, Paki Paki
Brown, Raymond Kenneth Broburg, 21, Hastings
Buck, Mary Teresa, Hastings
Butler, Gwendoline Ethel, 22, Havelock North
Cambridge, Olive Gwendoline, 18, Hastings
Cleary, Gladys Alma, 24, Hastings
Cockerill née Turner, Mrs Emma Clara, 78, Hastings
Cole née Barnes, Mrs Ethel Rose, 30, Hastings
Cole, Peter Henry, 3, Hastings
Cole, William Edwin Francis, 4, Hastings
Colebourne, John Henry, 73, Hastings
Collins, Mary, 70 Hastings
Cook, Thomas, 42, Havelock North
Couper, Brian, 2, 622 Ellison Road, Hastings
Couper, Phillipa Maud, 12, Otane
Crawford, John Herbert [William?], 35, of Hastings
Dimond, Thomas Henry, 20, Hastings
Drummond, Charles Gordon, 18, Hastings
Dyer, Herbert, 54, Hastings
Ellis née Burr, Olive Frances, 27, Greenmeadows
Farmery, Gladys Lilian, 21, Hastings
Fredsberg, Rex Ernest, 13, Hastings
Gigg, Albert James, 19, Hastings
Gill, Thomas Henry, 56, Hastings
Gondringer, Father (Bernard Joseph), Hastings
Goodall, Albert Edward, 36, Hastings
Goodall, Annie May, 22, Hastings
Graham, Raymond Stanley, 18, Hastings
Grant, Gordon Hill, 40, Hastings
Grudnoff, Nina, 18, Hastings
Harris, Doreen Myra, 4, Hastings
Hawkins, Rita 2 weeks, Hastings
Haxton, Doris Emma, 28, Hastings
Haxton, Sabina May, 26, Hastings
Heighway, James Woodford, 34, Hastings
Heney, Cyril Herbert, 14, Hastings
Holland, Edward (Edmund) Alfred, 35, Hastings
Hong Young Nan, 29, Hastings
Hooper, Brian, 2, Hastings
Horsley née Clarke, Mrs Constance Emily, 33, Hastings
Houlahan, Eleanor (Elinor) May, 30, Hastings
Hunt, William James, 56, Hastings
Jenkins, Lily, 16, Hastings
Jensen née Woodrow, Agnes Mary, 62, Haumoana
Jones, Ernest Cecil, 47, Hastings
Jones, Grace Brandon, 19, Hastings
Kirkpatrick née Hickey, Mary Ann, 45, Hastings
Lambert née Allen, Beatrice Elizabeth, Hastings
Leaning, John England, Hastings
Lewis, Percival Hope, Hastings
Lincoln, Eric Charles Earl, Hastings
Love, William Charles, Hastings
Maclennan, John Roderick (Roy), 58, Havelock North
Maye, Thomas John, Hastings
Mcdonald née Thompson, Mrs Ellen Frances, 44, Hastings
Mcdonald, John Spencer (Jock), 22, Hastings
McLean, Mary Hannah, 55, Hastings
McLeod née Horrell, Mrs Edith Mary, 47, Hastings
McLeod née Castle, Mrs Mary Alice, 45, Paki Paki
McMillan, Irvine Harold, 13, Hastings
Morunga, Mrs Ramu Maru (Raina Marie), 45, Bridge Pa
Morunga, Takataroa Mareo, 7, Bridge Pa
Murcott, Doris Mabel (Maud), Woodville or Dannevirke
Murray, Dina Jane, 2, Hastings
Murray née McKay, Mena Mary (Wilhelmina Mary), 36, Hastings
Nuttall, Elsie Ella, 19, Hastings
Ogden, Henry, 35, Hastings
Ogilvie, Bertram Verdun, Hastings
O'Neill, Margaret Teresa, 33, Hastings
Orr, Doris Evelyn, 21, Hastings
Pointon, Edward [Edwin] Arthur (Ted), 56, Hastings
Rattray, Alexander, Edward 55, Riccarton (Christchurch)
Ross, John Alexander, 57, Hastings
Russ, Rodney Francis, 1, Hastings
Ryan, Arthur Lever, 56, Hastings
Schmoll, Ernest George, 57 Hastings
Shackleford, Leonard William, 21, Hastings (of Waipawa)
Smith, Christina, Hastings
Spence, Shona Eileen, 7, Hastings
Steer, Mabel Annie (Ann), 22, Hastings
Stephenson, George Gabriel, 48, Hastings
(Stevenson, George, Hastings)
Symes, George Oliver, 22, Hastings
Thompson, Ivy Julia Carr, 38, Hastings
Tonkin, Horace John, Hastings
Turner, Mrs Leona (Lena), 36, Hastings
Vercoe, Richard Collins (Dick), 40, Hastings
Walker, Herbert, 51, Hastings
Walker, Walter Zealand, 45, Hastings
Walshe née Oxenham, Ada May, 53, Hastings
Wells, Alice Mary [Trilby] (Molly),17, Hastings
Whyte, Patricia (Patsy), 8, Hastings
Collins, Mary, 70, Hastings
McLean, Mary Hannah, 55, Hastings
McMillan, Irvine Harold, 13, Hastings
Ogden, Henry, 35, Hastings
Pointon, Edward Arthur, 56, Hastings
Information supplied by Hastings War Memorial Library Local History and additional information by Hawke’s Bay Today & Ancestry.com on 3rd of February 2016.
Every year on February 3, Hastings commemorates the anniversary of the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake.
A special ceremony open to the general public is held at the Hastings City Centre Mall to remember the day that changed lives in Hastings and wider Hawke's Bay, and to celebrate the city and community around us. Stories of how the event reshaped Hastings are told and wreaths are laid at the clock tower in memory of the lives lost in the earthquake.
The service starts at 10.30am, with the clock tower bells ringing at 10.47, the exact time the quake struck our region.
View our Hawke's Bay Earthquake collection on Hastings Recollect.
Monday | 10.00am - 5.30pm |
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Tuesday | 9.00am - 7.00pm |
Wednesday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Thursday | 9.00am - 7.00pm |
Friday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Saturday | 10.00am - 4.00pm |
Sunday | 1.00pm - 4.00pm |
Monday | 10.00am - 5.30pm |
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Tuesday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Wednesday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Thursday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Friday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Saturday | 10.00am - 4.00pm |
Sunday | CLOSED |
Monday | 10.00am - 5.30pm |
---|---|
Tuesday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Wednesday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Thursday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Friday | 9.00am - 5.30pm |
Saturday | 10.00am - 4.00pm |
Sunday | CLOSED |
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