17th -19th February in Napier is Art Deco weekend when they celebrate the rebuilding of the town in the 1930s following the devastating earthquake in February 1931. The whole town - plus many thousands of visitors - dress up in period costume. There is a whole range of events and the town is filled with cars from the period. There are air displays from single engined prop planes. It really is like being transported back in time.
Judi and Felicity looking the part
Dancers at the opening reception
Air New Zealand put on a show of different stewardess uniforms since 1940 - Laura managed to join them for a photo!
Many cruise ships try to visit Napier for this weekend....
A bit of wishful thinking on my part!
Truly an event for all ages!
This is a great event to attend as a visitor, especially as a guest of one of the organisers! The theme for this years event was the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Air Force - but it was actually the Navy that played a key part in the events of 1931. This was before the Royal New Zealand Navy came into existence - in those days it was the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy. It so happened that at 7am on the morning of the earthquake, HMS Veronica arrived in Napier and was tied up on the key by the time the tremor struck 3 hours later. All the land based communications were destroyed but fortunately the ship was able to radio for assistance and the crew played a critical part in stabilising the situation on shore. Rick asked me if I would write something for their magazine from a visitors point of view - so I have decided to write something about HMS Veronica and her Captain - one Commander Horace L. Morgan from Helston.
We had a quieter day on Sunday, getting packed up for our trip to the South Island.
No comments:
Post a Comment