Michael Fowler's historic Hawke's Bay

With fists raised as a sign of defiance, the staff of Roachs' Limited celebrate the opening in April ,1931, of their temporary store on the corner of King and Heretaunga streets, Hastings (note that the building is set five feet back from the pavement).

The 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake destroyed their previous 1909 Edwardian-style building, killing eight customers and nine staff - the most deaths in a single building.

While some blamed the Roachs' building collapse on the removal of pillars to make more display space, others blamed poor design.

Prominent architect of the day, Reginald Ford of Auckland, warned in 1926 of many unsafe New Zealand brick buildings, and after the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake stated "were any other city or town in New Zealand tested by earthquake today the result would be much the same as in Napier or Hastings".

The architect of Roachs' 1909 building was Sidney Luttrell (1872-1932) of Christchurch.

Many remaining Luttrell buildings, and others designed from his era, were demolished after structural failure during the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury and Christchurch earthquakes - as were, tragically, many modern-era buildings.

Michael Fowler will be holding a talk "Sibling Rivalry: The Growing Pains of Hastings and Napier 1879-1935" at 7.30pm, November 3, 2011 at the Havelock North Community Centre. Tickets from Poppies Bookstore Havelock North.