My Beautiful Country Hawke's Bay..

Living in Hawke's Bay
The Hawke's Bay region is New Zealand's leading food and wine region and is situated on the east coast of the North Island. It stretches from the Mahia Peninsula to the beaches of Porangahau, through mountain ranges and Te Urewera National Park. In the east, it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, and the Ruahine, Kaweka, Huiarau and Ahimanawa ranges in the west.
The region comprises Napier City, Hastings, Central Hawke's Bay and Wairoa Districts, and a small portion of Taupo and Rangitikei Districts. Once marketed as the Fruit Bowl of New Zealand, Hawke's Bay's fertile soil, 320km of coastline, and long, hot summers and cool winters provide ideal conditions for an economy dependent on the production and processing of food and wine.
Population:
While some locals say the region's lifestyle is attracting an increasing number of people away from the main
New Zealand centres, population figures are yet to reflect this. The population of the Hawke's Bay region ; encompassing the local authorities of Wairoa District, Napier City, Hastings District and Central Hawke's Bay ;
has been almost static (0.1% per year) for several years.
Statistics New Zealand expects the population to grow by only 0.6% during the next five years. The majority of Hawke's Bay's young adults leave the region for further study, career opportunities or overseas experience.
Most do not return. As a result, the region has fewer 20 to 30-year-olds than the national average.
Of the young adults that do stay or return, only 5% have a formal university-level qualification ; half the
New Zealand average. The lack of higher skilled jobs in the Hawke's Bay region is reflected in its average income, which is 89% of the New Zealand average. According to the 2001 Census, 24% of the Hawke's Bay resident population identified with Maori and 79% with Pakeha/European.
Accessibility and infrastructure:
Hawke's Bay has a well-developed roading system, with relatively low traffic volumes.
It also has an airport and a port, both located at Napier.
Features and attractions:
It is more than fresh produce and a good climate that have attracted people to the Hawke's Bay.
The region also has Te Urewera National Park, and natural landmarks such as Te Mata Peak, which climbs
400m above sea level and offers views across the region, and Cape Kidnappers.
There are many opportunities for outdoor pursuits such as fishing, hunting, tramping and surfing.
Cape Kidnappers is home to 20,000 gannets ; the world's largest and most accessible mainland gannet colony.
Until recently it was the only known mainland gannet colony in the world. In February 1931,
a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale shook the region and claimed the lives of 351 people.
After the quake, fires swept through the cities of Napier and Hastings. Napier was rebuilt in the style of Art Deco, which has made it internationally famous. Particularly well known is the National Tobacco Company building frontage, which was designed by Louis Hay between 1932 and 1933.
It is often described as Napier's most famous Art Deco building. The city hosts the popular Art Deco
Weekend in February each year and the mid-winter Deco Decanted. Hastings was rebuilt in a mix of Spanish Mission and Art Deco style architecture.
Both cities were rebuilt during the Depression, when the world's building industry almost stood still, there are no other towns or cities in the world built entirely in these styles.
Napier:
Napier originated as a port town, and while only 20km from Hastings, it is far from identical to its horticulture-dominated twin city.
Its leading industries are business, property and financial services, food processing and construction.
The city of around 56,000 draws many other Hawke's Bay residents to its cafes and retail stores.
The economy of Napier depends on the income generated by the Port of Napier, which handles over 80% of all North Island wool exports along with wood, food and import cargoes.
Hastings:
Hastings has a population of around 71,000, and with its long, hot summers and mild winters,
makes it perfect for growing fresh produce and grapes.
The region is New Zealand's largest horticulture growing region (along with Canterbury), and exports
50% of the country's pipfruit. Most of this comes from the Hastings District, with 85% of Hawke's Bay's horticultural land. Hastings hosts a Matariki Festival every year in June, to celebrate Maori or lunar New Year. Matariki is the Maori name for the cluster of stars (Pleiades), of which seven are usually visible to the naked eye. These are seen as a mother and her six beautiful daughters.
Surrounding areas The town of Wairoa (literally, long river) lies on the Wairoa River.
Its largely rural district is made up of flat land along 130km of coastline and in river valleys, and large areas of
rural hill country used for sheep farming and forestry.
One in five employees in Wairoa are involved in agriculture or fishing. Wairoa's population is declining,
losing 12% of its population between the 1991 and 2001 censuses. Despite a relatively high birth rate,
a large number of young people leave for work and education opportunities elsewhere. Wairoa has the highest proportion of Maori of any local authority in New Zealand ; 55% of its 8,880 residents are Maori. Most are affiliated to Ngati Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa iwi, closely followed by Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Porou, Tuhoe and Rongomaiwahine (Te Mahia).
While nationally only 4.5% of New Zealanders speak Maori, Wairoa is well above this, with
20% of its residents able to speak Maori. The Central Hawke's Bay District has a population of around 13,000, which is spread across two main towns ; Waipukarau and Waipawa ;
and a number of small villages such as Tikokino, Otane, Takapau and Ongaonga.
The region has retained most of its historic homesteads and many Central Hawke's Bay residents are proud
of their stately gardens. The area's seven beaches and rivers offer some of the best trout fishing in the world.
The area of Porongahau has two claims to fame: its seafood, and being in the
Guinness Book of Records for having the longest place name in the world:
Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu.
This means, 'The hilltop where Tamatea with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, traveller over land and sea, played his koauau to his beloved'.
Facts and statistics:
In 2005, Hawke's Bay employed 63,466 people.
There were 16,433 businesses in the region in 2005.
The largest occupational group in the Hawke's Bay in 2005 were the manufacturing and building sectors, employing 16,439 people, or 25.9% of the region's FTEs
In 2004, the median income of people in Hawke's Bay Region was $20,592, compared with $21,944 for all of
New Zealand.
The average house price in the Hawke's Bay region in the year to June 2005 was $274,289.
The population of the Hawke's Bay region was 149,400 in 2005, a change of just 0.1% since 1996.
A total of 56,400 people lived in Napier City and 71,400 in the Hastings district in 2005.
According to the 2001 Census, 24% of the Hawke's Bay population were Maori and 79% Pakeha.
The Hawke's Bay region covers an area of 12,770 square km, which is 4.7% of the New Zealand total area.
The Hawke's Bay region's traditional industries are horticulture and agriculture, which are supported by the food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry. These industries employed a total of 17,213 full-time workers
in 2005. The largest sector in terms of GDP and employment was manufacturing and building, with a
contribution of $1.1 billion (1996 $) and employed 16,439 FTEs.
The construction industry has been expanding steadily since 2001, when there were 3,422 FTEs, compared to 4,805 in 2005. Employment opportunities in the Hawke's Bay region are expected to continue growing.
However, with the region's economy focused around primary industries,
New Zealand's low unemployment rate is making it particularly difficult for these industries to find staff.
The combination of Hawke's Bay's high economic growth and a sluggish population growth is exacerbating this problem.
Work is plentiful for fruit-pickers (especially during seasonal peaks), factory workers and farm assistants.
Among the higher-skilled occupations, farm managers, financial accountants, chefs, orchardists and food technologists are in demand. For the Hawke's Bay economy to continue growing strongly, the region needs to
attract more residents. Until the recent property boom, the low earnings were partly offset by the region's
lower living costs. For example, at the 2001 Census, the region's average weekly rent was $138,
compared to $174 for all of New Zealand.
House prices have increased significantly in the last few years. However, Hawke's Bay still sits below New Zealand's average house price at $274,289 in the year to June 2005.
In Central Hawke's Bay and Wairoa (excluding coastal areas such as Mahia), house prices are significantly lower. Primary Sector:
Horticulture Along with Canterbury, Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's largest horticulture growing region,
with around 18,000 hectares under cultivation. It is a significant producer of apples, squash, onions and olives.
It exports over 50% of New Zealand's pipfruit and stonefruit, and is a major producer of kiwifruit, berryfruit,
wine, cut flowers, vegetables and specialist crops such as saffron, truffles and herbs.
The low profitability of pipfruit means many orchardists are replacing apples with grapes or outdoor vegetables
such as asparagus. About 800 hectares of pipfruit were pulled in the winters of 2003 and 2004.
The local pipfruit industry is expected to contract further during the next few years. However, employment opportunities across the horticulture industry will remain stable. Orchardists and fruit pickers will move into
other areas such as viticulture.
Viticulture:
The Hawke's Bay region is New Zealand's oldest and second largest wine-producing area, with an estimated
4,326 hectares (22% of the country's productive vineyard area) in 2005.
This was 12% up on the previous year and about three times the area in 1995 (1,642 hectares).
The viticulture sector has grown significantly in recent years, due to the investment of large and often global companies. The diverse geography of Hawke's Bay has enabled its grape-growers to produce a mix of white (44.5%) and red (55.5%) wine, and a range of wine varieties and flavours.
The dominant red grape in 2005 was merlot and the dominant white grape was chardonnay.
The Gimblett Gravels area in Hastings ; home to 34 wineries and grape growers ; has the perfect gravelly soils and warm climate for Bordeaux-type red wines and syrah.
Increasing competition from Australia is expected to slow growth in the industry during the next few years.
More Australian producers are moving into higher-value red wines, which will threaten the markets of local
boutique wineries. Also, the competitive price of Australian wine will put pressure on the mid-price market. Agriculture:
Agriculture has been the backbone of the regional economy since the 1940s.
In 2005 it employed 7,360 people in occupations such as dairy farmer, farm assistant, crop farmer and
farmer/farm manager. Recently, farmers have been having difficulty finding skilled labour, from skilled farm assistants to senior staff in farms and agribusinesses.
In recent years, the higher returns and favourable climatic conditions of the last few years ; the best since the mid-1970s ; have allowed farmers to begin re-investing in their farms.
This has contributed to the region's solid economic growth. The majority of farms are located in the Hastings District. Hawke's Bay livestock consists of 4.3 million sheep (23% of the North Island flock);
613,000 beef cattle (19% of the North Island herd); and 147,000 deer (24% of the North Island herd). Manufacturing Sector:
Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing The food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry
employed 6,133 people in 2005. Meat processing is the largest employer, with 3,507 FTEs in 2005.
Many of these workers are employed by Hastings-based Richmond, the country's biggest meat processor and exporter. Progressive Meats, also in Hastings, and Wairoa's Affco and the Frasertown Meat Company
also employ meat processors. These plants serve a large area, including the Wairarapa, Manawatu and Gisborne. The plants have access to large numbers of stock, the railway line and the Port of Napier for
transporting export meat.
Food manufacturer Heinz Wattie's is the largest employer in the Hawke's Bay region. It employs about 500 permanent employees and up to 800 season workers at its Hastings factory, where it produces canned fruit and vegetables, frozen vegetables, organic vegetables, baked beans, spaghetti, soups and sauces.
US-based frozen foods company, McCain Foods, is another significant food manufacturer, processing
vegetables at its Hastings site.
The food manufacturing sector has been boosted in recent years by exporting added-value products.
The sector is moving away from traditional canned, frozen and processed foods, towards creatively packaged convenience and exotic foods, and its specialist food producers are finding niche export markets.
Local Initiatives:
British American Tobacco (BAT), a Napier-based multinational tobacco company, is one of the largest manufacturers in the region. BAT employs about 184 staff in Hawke's Bay (2005) ; half of the number of people working in tobacco manufacturing in New Zealand. It produces around two billion cigarettes a year, the bulk of which are sold in New Zealand.
Production volumes are expected to continue increasing, particularly for roll-your-own tobacco.
The Wine Country Food Trail promotion, which features 85 specialist food producers and farm gate sellers, is helping to grow the wine, food and tourism industries in the region. The region also holds farmers markets on Saturday (Napier) and Sunday (Hastings) mornings. A farmers market is also held in amongst the grapevines in Havelock North during the summer season.
Food Hawke's Bay, the creation of the Hawke's Bay Economic Development Agency, helps small food producers improve their business skills and add further value to their products.
It is working with the local polytechnic, the Eastern Institute of Technology, to develop industry-focused food science courses.
Developing and emerging industries:
The Hawke's Bay has an export-based economy, but to generate growth and higher incomes it must add further value to its exports.
Emerging industries such as the electrical engineering and equipment manufacturing industry, and the wood and paper product manufacturing industry are developing knowledge-orientated, innovative products to export to specialist markets.
Tourism is also an emerging and growing industry.
Electrical engineering and equipment manufacturing The electrical engineering and metal product, machinery and equipment manufacturing industries are made up of 450 businesses, which employ about 2,180 people.
They have developed export markets, with specialisations based around food processing, water technology and automation that are used in industries ranging from sawmilling to fishing, construction and water transport.
Wood and paper product manufacturing industry:
Hawke's Bay is one of New Zealand's major wood and paper product manufacturing regions.
In 2004 there was about 128,000 hectares of planted production forest, and about 25.5 million cubic metres of standing volume.
Wood Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's largest wood and paper product manufacturing industry cluster group,
with 40 companies and 19 support organisations. Most wood processing occurs at a primary level;
for example, the region mainly exports logs and sawn timber. However, the cluster group aims to expand the industry through added-value product and technology development.
For example, developing plywood and veneer, moulded and fabricated wood component businesses.
The cluster is helping to foster the furniture design and manufacturing industry in Hawke's Bay, which will add value to radiata and specialty timbers.
Tourism:
Tourism is a small but emerging industry in the Hawke's Bay region.
There were 2.23 million visits to Hawke's bay in 2004, of which 279,000 (12.5%) were international visitors.
Most of these people visited the city of Napier, the region's coastal southern areas and/or the wineries.
Also, Hawke's Bay has recently been recognised as being part of two main visitor trails: the wine trail from Wellington to Gisborne and the tourist route to Wellington from Auckland.
The number of people visiting the Hawke's Bay region is expected to continue to increase, mostly from
international tourists. As international visitors stay longer and spend more money, this growth will flow on to the region's viticulture and food manufacturing sectors, and the hospitality and retail trade industries.
Retirement and active lifestyle sector:
The active lifestyle and retirement sector is an emerging industry in Hawke's Bay. The region is already a popular lifestyle choice for semi-retired and retired people due to its climate, recreation opportunities, cafes and world-class restaurants, and relaxed pace of life.
In Napier City, for example, 38% of residents are aged 45 or over. As the sector continues to grow,
the demand for rest home managers and rest home nurses, as well as other health and recreation professionals,
will also grow.
Summary:
The Hawke's Bay has long hot summers and cool winters and its economy is centred around agriculture, horticulture and viticulture, which are supported by the food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing industry. Its relaxed lifestyle and agreeable climate are attracting increasing numbers of tourists, and it is a very popular destination for semi-retired and retired people. New, emerging industries include metal product, machinery and equipment manufacturing such as electronic and fabricated metal products; and animal by-products processing.