Hastings community gathers to commemorate 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and earthquake survivor Peter Price head to the clock tower to lay a wreath. Photo / Supplied

Peter Price was just 2 years old when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Hawke’s Bay in 1931, but he remembers it had a profound and ongoing impact on his family as he grew up.

On Friday, members of the community, survivors, school representatives and Hastings district councillors gathered near the town clock in the Hastings city centre to remember the tragedy that shook the region on February 3, 1931, at 10.47am, changing the face of Hastings city and the wider region forever.

Still New Zealand’s most devastating natural disaster, the earthquake killed 256 people, 93 of those from Hastings, and injured more than 2500 people.

Hastings Boys' High School students perform a haka after the ceremony. Photo / Supplied

Peter Price addressed those gathered, sharing that he was the 10th of 12 children and that after the earthquake his mother put him in a pushchair and headed to Parkvale School to collect his brothers and sisters.

“My sister had her arms locked around the headmaster. On the way home I was fascinated at the water from the swimming pool falling out and going down the street like a river, and also the cows jumping out of the paddocks.”

Although his family came through relatively unscathed, he remembered them talking of the suffering of others, and of his mother cooking for an extra 18 people for two weeks.

1931 earthquake survivor Peter Price spoke about his memories of the earthquake aftermath. Photo / Supplied

Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst also addressed the crowd, acknowledging families who lost loved ones, people who were injured and those who survived that tragic day; as well as the months of hardship that followed the quake.

“This anniversary every year reminds us of the fragility of human life. We remember people’s bravery, their strength and their resilience.

“Hastings’ 1931 community toiled frantically to rescue those trapped or injured by the quake, and many worked tirelessly to rebuild our town and restore our district.

“We are grateful for their foresight and their single-minded vision to rebuild Hastings, a city of which we are justly proud today.”