Every old house, villa and cottage in Hawke's Bay has a potentially colourful story behind it - but trying to unearth its history was often hampered by something that happened 86 years ago.
"In 1931 when the earthquake struck most of our records were destroyed so there is a big gap in that area of knowledge," Historic Places Hawke's Bay chair Barbara Arnott said.
"I terms of people wanting to research the history of their old homes that is a real issue."
Mrs Arnott said she was aware that local councils and libraries often fielded inquiries from people wanting to learn more about some residential properties throughout the region, especially old villas and cottages which had histories stretching back well before the earthquake and even into the 19th century.
"Records were lost but yes, there are still some records out there - it is knowing how to find them."