Napier ( Māori: Ahuriri) is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke’s Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about 62,100 as of the June 2016.

About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighbouring cities are often called „The Bay Cities“ or „The Twin Cities“ of New Zealand. The total population of the Napier-Hastings Urban Area is 131,000 people, which makes it the sixth-largest urban area in New Zealand, closely followed by Dunedin (118,500), and trailing the Hamilton Urban Area (230,000), and Tauranga (134,400).

Napier is about 320 kilometres northeast of the capital city of Wellington. Napier (62,100) has a smaller population than its neighbouring city of Hastings (68,900) but is seen as the main centre due to it being closer in distance to both the seaport and the main airport that service Hawke’s Bay. The City of Napier has a land area of 106 square kilometres and a population density of 540.0 per square kilometre.

Napier is the nexus of the largest wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere, and it has the primary export seaport for northeastern New Zealand – which is the largest producer of apples, pears, and stone fruit in New Zealand. Napier has also become an important grape and wine production area, with the grapes grown around Hastings and Napier being sent through the Port of Napier for export. Large amounts of sheep’s wool, frozen meat, wood pulp, and timber also pass through Napier annually for export. Smaller amounts of these materials are shipped via road and railway to the large metropolitan areas of New Zealand itself, such as Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton.

Napier is a popular tourist city, with a unique concentration of 1930s Art Deco architecture, built after much of the city was razed in the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake. It also has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania of the Reef. Thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Tremains Art Deco Weekend event, a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history. Other notable tourist events attracting many outsiders to the region annually include F.A.W.C! Food and Wine Classic events, and the Mission Estate Concert at Mission Estate and Winery in the suburb of Taradale.

Source: Wikipedia