The Mayor of Central Hawke's Bay officiates over the Central Hawke's Bay District of New Zealand's North Island. [1]
Central Hawke's Bay District was formed through the 1989 local government reforms by amalgamating Waipukurau and Waipawa districts. [2] The inaugural mayor was Hugh Hamilton who served for two terms from 1989 to 1995. [3]
The current mayor of Central Hawke's Bay is Alex Walker. [4] She is a business owner who lives on a small farm with her shearer husband and children. [5]
Since its formation in 1989, Central Hawke's Bay District has had six mayors. The following is a complete list:
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugh Hamilton |  | 1989–1995 |
| 2 | Hamish Kynoch | | 1995–2001 [6] [7] |
| 3 | Tim Gilbertson | | 2001–2007 [6] |
| 4 | Trish Giddens | | 2007–2010 [8] |
| 5 | Peter Butler |  | 2010–2016 [9] |
| 6 | Alex Walker | | 2016–present |
Hawke's Bay is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural parts of the region are served by the towns of Waipukurau, Waipawa, and Wairoa.
The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on 3 February, killing 256, injuring thousands and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and had a magnitude of 7.8 Ms. There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks, with 597 being recorded by the end of February. The main shock could be felt in much of New Zealand, with reliable reports coming in from as far south as Timaru, on the east coast of the South Island.
Hastings is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings is 51,500, with a further 15,200 people in Havelock North and 2,090 in Clive. Hastings is about 18 kilometres inland of the coastal city of Napier. These two neighbouring cities are often called "The Bay Cities" or "The Twin Cities".
Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a combination of rural and urban communities, while city councils administer the larger urban areas. Five territorial authorities also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are unitary authorities. The Chatham Islands Council is a sui generis territorial authority that is similar to a unitary authority.
Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings.
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is 118 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Gisborne, on State Highway 2. It is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park, which is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities, with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
Hastings District is a Territorial authority district within the Hawke's Bay Region, on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It covers the southern half of the Hawke's Bay coast, excluding Napier City, which is a separate territorial authority. Hastings District Council is headquartered in the city of Hastings, the district's largest town.
The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line (PNGL) is a secondary main line railway in the North Island of New Zealand. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk at Palmerston North and runs east through the Manawatū Gorge to Woodville, where it meets the Wairarapa Line, and then proceeds to Hastings and Napier in Hawke's Bay before following the coast north to Gisborne. Construction began in 1872, but the entire line was not completed until 1942. The line crosses the runway of Gisborne Airport, one of the world's only railways to do so since Pakistan's Khyber Pass Railway closed.
The Harapaki Wind Farm is a wind farm project in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. Construction began in June 2021 and is expected to continue for three years.
Tauranga City Council is the local government authority for Tauranga City in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the 158,000 people of Tauranga. The last Mayor of Tauranga was Tenby Powell, who resigned in November 2020. The council consists of 11 members elected from three wards and at-large, and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected at large. Marty Grenfell is currently the CEO of Tauranga City Council.
The Mangapōike River is a river beginning in the Gisborne Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from sources south of Waingake, reaching the Wairoa River in Hawke's Bay 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of Frasertown. Mangapōike River was Gazetted as an official name on 28 November 2022.
The New Zealand Poet Laureate is a poet appointed by the National Library of New Zealand to represent New Zealand's community of poets, to promote and advocate for poetry, and to produce a number of published works during their three-year tenure as laureate.
Anna Louise Lorck is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served in the New Zealand House of Representatives as the MP for Tukituki from 2020 to 2023.
Kotemaori is a village and rural community located in the Wairoa District of the Hawke's Bay Region, in New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raupunga and Putorino, to the west of Wairoa. The settlement itself lies immediately to the south of the highway.
The Mayor of Tararua officiates over the Tararua District of New Zealand's North Island.
Ormondville is a locality in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located inland, south of Waipukurau and west of Flemington, Hawke's Bay.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in New Zealand.
Te Angiangi Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering a marine area of 446 hectares in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It was established in 1997 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.