This article is about the local government region; the article Hawke Bay relates to the bay itself.

Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand.

Geography

The region is situated on the east coast of the North Island. The region bears the former name of what is now Hawke Bay, a large semi-circular bay which extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from the Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers. The region is frequently referred to with a definite article, as "The Hawke's Bay", and the use of the apostrophe in the name is now officially regarded as optional.

The Hawke's Bay region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a mountainous interior atretching up to the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges.

The region's boundaries vary somewhat from the former provincial boundaries of Hawke's Bay, and some towns in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region to the southwest, such as Dannevirke and Woodville regard themselves as still part of the Hawke's Bay.

The region consists of Wairoa District, Hastings District, Napier City, and Central Hawke's Bay District, as well as a small part of Taupo District.

Population

The region's population at the 2001 census was 142,947. Of these, 53,661 lived in the city of Napier.

The main urban areas are Napier and Hastings. Smaller communities include Wairoa, Taradale, Havelock North, Tikokino, Waipawa, Waipukurau, and Takapau.

The region has a significant Maori population (22% of the total population at the 2001 census). A major local Maori tribe is Ngati Kahungunu.

Climate and agriculture

The climate is dry and temperate. Hawke's Bay is renowned for its horticulture with large orchards and vineyards on the plains. In the hilly parts of the region sheep and cattle farming predominates, with forestry blocks in the roughest areas.

Other information

Hawke's Bay also has a useful and innovative approach to community-wide care of diabetes mellitus featuring shared records held in a web-based computer system.

One trivial fact is that the region has a hill with the longest place name in New Zealand, and one of the longest in the world. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu is an unremarkable hill in southern Hawke's Bay, not far from Waipukurau.