Napier is a small community on the eastern shore of the north island. It is an easy afternoon bus ride south and east of Roturua. The outskirts of town include vineyards, sheep farms and seaside recreation. It is the city core that catches your interest and imagination.

Once a community defined by a devastating earthquake in 1931, it has rebuilt itself in the model of the 1920’s. As the land base and buildings changed from the earthquake and subsequent fires, so too did the land upon which defined the city core. The central harbour saw it’s ocean floor rise by two metres (7 feet), and forever changed the shoreline. Land previous under water was now part of the downtown core.

The rebuild of the structures include strict guidelines on materials, safety features, height, and more interestingly, style. As one walks around the city, the colours, building materials, and accents are reminders of an earlier era.

When I initially walked the city streets I smiled at the style and felt a small bit of a nostalgia as to life in the roaring twenties.  There are vehicles and costumes worn by town folk to add to the atmosphere and a small part of me wants to have been part of that era. Yet the city was destroyed in the thirties, and at the start of the Great Depression, any lives were lost due to geological activities.  The aftermath resulted in the loss of homes and jobs. People had to live in tents for over two years.

With further reflection, I struggle with the concept of rebuilding in a particular style or representation of an era past. I understand the need to honour the past, yet communities are living, growing entities reflecting cultural values and beliefs. Local materials and physical landscape help shape the layout of a city, but the architecture depicts a community’s soul. Part of the beauty of this town is the strength and support people gave each other following the earthquake. The people are the ones who performed the heroic deeds of rescuing and supporting each other. And yet, by focussing on a time highlighting an era of over indulgence in comparison to the poverty of the thirties, I wonder about the heart of this community.

Regardless of my intellectual reflections, my heart was touched by the natural beauty of the seaside community and stories of the courage and strength of it’s people.