Postcards of UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List: New Zealand

"The Napier Art Deco Historic Precinct is part of the central business district of the City of Napier, located between the shoreline of Hawke Bay and the coastal margin of the Heretaunga Plains, Hawke's Bay, North Island. Napier township was originally surveyed and laid out in the 1850s. Most of the town centre was destroyed on 3 February 1931 by a major earthquake (measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale) and the ensuing fires. The Hawke's Bay earthquake not only destroyed the centre of Napier, but caused radical changes to the surrounding landscape. It was a natural disaster of major proportions. This destruction resulted in a massive reconstruction of the town centre. Napier became New Zealand's (and indeed the world's) newest city with its own Southern Hemisphere version of Art Deco style. Due to the economic climate and the number of casualties caused by falling masonry and decorative features during the earthquake, the scale of the town centre was limited to one or two storeys and the buildings were decorated with low relief ornamentation. Reinforced concrete was used in construction and the use of older materials such as bricks was shunned. Ornamental motifs used on buildings reflect all of the themes prevalent in Art Deco design, and include authentic Maori designs on both exteriors and interiors of some buildings. These motifs are seen not only in exterior low relief stucco but also in interior plasterwork, leaded glass, metal grilles, flooring and joinery." Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Postcard 1
Spanish Mission style which was developed in California and Southwest USA, was popular in Napier in the post earthquake reconstruction period. Provincial Hotel - Harston's Building - Napier Club - Shakespeares Inn - Gaiety Theatre - Criterion Hotel. Thanks so much to YL and family who visited Napier and remembered that I wanted a postcard of Napier showing the art deco. The postcard was missent to Singapore but arrived finally in Penang island.