NAPIER  , a seaport on the

east coast of North Island, New Zealand, capital of the provincial district of Hawke's Bay, 200 M. by rail N.E. of Wellington . Pop . (1906) 9454 . The main portion of the town stretches along the flat shoreland of Hawke's Bay, while the suburbs extend over the hills to the north . The site consists of a picturesque peninsula known as Scinde Island . The harbour (Port Ahuriri) is sheltered by a break-water . The cathedral church of St John (1888) for the bishopric of Waiapu, is one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in New Zealand, . imitating the Early English style in brick . An athenaeum, a small hospital, a lunatic asylum, a philosophical society and an - acclimatization society are among the public institutions . The town (named after Sir Charles James Napier) is under municipal government, and returns a member to the New Zealand House of Representatives . The district is agricultural, and large quantities of wool and tinned and frozen meats are exported . There is railway communication with Wellington, New Plymouth, and the Wairarapa, Wanganui and Manawatu districts . Numerous old native pas or fortified villages are seen in the neighbourhood .