Napier (Ahuriri in MÄori) is a port city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. It has a population of 57,900 (June 2008 estimate). Twenty-two kilometres to the south lies Hastings, Napier's twin city.
The city is 332 kilometres northeast by road from the capital, Wellington. It has a population slightly smaller than the Hastings District, but as Hastings is administered as a district, Napier is the only official city in the Hawke's Bay region. Napier is the largest crossbred wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest apple, pear and stone fruit producing areas in New Zealand. It has also become an important grape growing and wine production area with the fruit passing from the growers around Metropolitan Hastings and then to Napier for exporting. There are large frozen meat, wool, pulp and timber tonnages passing through Napier's port.
Napier, gateway to Hawke's Bay Wine Country (as the region is branded), is a popular tourist city, and has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania of the Reef. Her statue is regarded in Napier in much the same way that the Little Mermaid statue is regarded in Copenhagen. In October 2005 the statue was stolen, but it was recovered a week later, largely unharmed.
Thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Art Deco Weekend event - a celebration of Napier's Art Deco herritage and history. Details on this event can be found at www.artdeconapier.com
