Hawkes Bay Earthquake Memorial Napier

Two hundred and fifty two people died during or after the Hawkes Bay earthquake of 3 February 1931. Here are buried 101, 86 in a common grave. In keeping with the style of the time, an Art Deco styled obelisk was designed by the Napier architect J.A. Louis Hay.

The low marble tablet beyond the obelisk is inscribed with the names of the victims and ‘Their sun is gone down while it is yet day’. There are a few plantings around the memorial, usually involving a lavender hedge.

Image Credit: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, Auckland Weekly News 1932 "THEIR SUN IS GONE DOWN WHILE IT WAS YET DAY": IMPRESSIVE MEMORIAL NOW MARKS THE LAST RESTING-PLACE OF NAPIER EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS"


NZPlaces would appreciate an image of the memorial.