MTG Hawkes Bay

MTG stands for Museum Theatre Gallery, three functions in one building on Napier's Marine Parade. Its most-visited material is the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake: a magnitude 7.8 shock that killed 256 people, destroyed Napier and Hastings, and lifted about forty square kilometres of seabed to create the land the airport now stands on. The museum holds survivor accounts, film and objects, and the audiovisual presentation is the part visitors remember. The rebuild that followed is why Napier looks the way it does - reconstructed rapidly in the early 1930s in art deco and Spanish Mission, giving one of the more complete concentrations of period architecture anywhere. The museum also holds a significant taonga Maori collection from Ngati Kahungunu, and a decorative arts and Hawke's Bay collection. The art deco walking tours of the city start nearby and make more sense after the earthquake material.

What you actually see

• The 1931 earthquake material - survivor accounts, film and objects.
• The taonga Maori collection - Ngati Kahungunu holdings.
• The rebuild story - why the city is art deco.
• The theatre and gallery - the programming alongside the museum.

When to go

Any season - indoors. February for the Art Deco Festival, when the city fills. Do the museum before the walking tour, not after.

Honest expectations

Ticketed for visitors. It is a regional museum - the earthquake section carries the visit and the rest is modest. Exhibitions rotate, so parts may be closed.

Nearby

The art deco quarter is immediately inland; Marine Parade and the aquarium are alongside.