Geography
Between 1858 and 1876, Hawke's Bay formed the Hawke's Bay Province as a Province of New Zealand, after being separated from the Wellington Province following a meeting in Napier in February 1858.
On February 3rd 1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated following New Zealand's worst natural disaster. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale killed 256 people. Napier began re-building and now the city is world famous for its Art Deco buildings and celebrates its heritage each February with the Art Deco Weekend.

History
The region's population at the 2006 census was 147,783. Of these, 55,359 lived in Napier City. The main urban areas are Napier and Hastings. Smaller communities include Wairoa, Havelock North, Tikokino, Waipawa, Waipukurau, and Takapau. The region has a significant Māori population (24% of the total population at the 2006 census). A major local Māori tribe is Ngāti Kahungunu.

Climate and agriculture
Hawke's Bay has a useful and innovative approach to community-wide care of diabetes mellitus featuring shared records held in a web-based computer system.
The region is served by a variety of radio stations with Classic Hits, Bay City Radio, and Newstalk ZB being the most popular stations according to official statistics from the Research International Radio Survey October 2006. Hawke's Bay also has its own TV station, Channel 51, which provides a mix of news and information programmes hosted by local personalities.
Hawke's Bay produces some of New Zealand's finest wines and once a year Harvest Hawke's Bay celebrates the fact by offering a three day wine and food festival. This event attracts many thousands.
Napier is home to the annual Mission Concert held early each year. The event held at the Mission Estate Winery in Greenmeadows has attracted big names over the year's including Kenny Rogers, Shirley Bassey, Rod Stewart, B52's, Belinda Carlisle, Ray Charles, and Eric Clapton. Each concert is attended by around 25,000 people.
One trivial fact is that the region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and the second longest in the world according to the Guiness Book of Records. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from Waipukurau.