Creator unknown: Panoramic negative of Napier showing the effects of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake

Panoramic negative of Napier taken from Bluff Hill. Shows the effects of the Hawke's Bay earthquake of 3 Feb 1931 and subsequent fire. Taken by an unidentified photographer, possibly in March or April 1931.

Photograph includes Masonic Bar building, rebuilt at the site of the Masonic Hotel after the earthquake. Recovery work is evident with some debris cleared and chimneys, visible in earlier photographic records of the destruction, demolished. The ruins of St Paul's Presbyterian Church are in the bottom right of the image (a tent is erected in the grounds) and the ruins of Waiapu Cathedral of St John the Baptist are on the bottom left. Other buildings include Public Trust Building, E & D Building, Dalgety's, Bigins Central Hotel, H. B. Motor Co Limited, Hawke's Bay Tribune, Municipal Library, and Hannah's Buildings.

Inscriptions: Photographer's title on negative - bottom right - "NAPIER New Zealand" 1931 (AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE) No. 1.

See R. J. Thomson's panoramic images at Library reference number PA6-277, PA6-544, PA6-545, and PAColl-D-819-2 for views of the earthquake damage from a similar vantage point (at an earlier time).

Quantity: 1 b&w original negative(s) panorama.

Physical Description: Panoramic film negative, 1.65 x 24.6 cm

Provenance: The negative had been given to the donor's husband, Gus van der Mespel, in 1958 at a meeting of the Levin Film Society. The President of the Society had received the negative from a friend in Napier who had thought the item was moving film because of its size. The item was not suitable for the Society so it was offered to the members.