Sheep were in such bad condition it wasn't worth sending them to the boiling down works and crops of oats and potatoes failed. And when any grass growth came after rain - swarms of grasshoppers devoured the young grass as soon as it shot up.
In Napier during December 1878 a description was written of the drought. The writer stated "Instead of bright green well-covered hills and fertile plains, the visitor from Wellington will see dark brown hills, and withered, dried-up looking plains".
They went on to say, "After hearing the inhabitants talk, he will soon learn that there is only one thing about which they do talk, only one thing of which they seem to think, that only one subject engages their minds and completely monopolises them...they are everlastingly asking each other one question with damning irritation, that one question being, "when do you think it is going to rain?"".
John Chambers of Mokopeka (between Havelock North and Waimarama) published in 1926 records since 1891 of rainfall at his farm.
At that time a drought was also visiting Hawke's Bay, and Napier paper the Daily Telegraph noted "From one end to the other Hawke's Bay pastures are parched and the station-holder has had a trying time".
John's records of rainfall showed the driest year since 1891 was the summer of 1914/15. During this drought farmers were forced to ship stock by rail to regions which had plentiful grass.
The Napier Chamber of Commerce requested that the railways transport the stock back to Hawke's Bay at a reduced rate, but the application was too late to be of any use.
Sir Robert Stout (1844-1930), Chief Justice of New Zealand had a few things to say about the 1915 drought in Hawke's Bay.
Robert had estimated the drought of 1914/15 to have cost at least £200,000 ($29 million today) to Hawke's Bay, and thought it would be a good idea to emulate the ancient civilisations of Ceylon by creating water reservoirs which would be used to irrigate the Heretaunga Plains and hills.
Eustace Lane took exception to this idea, but suggested all that is needed is to tap into the aquifer of artesian water as it moves slowly over the Heretaunga Plains towards the sea. Eustace said "If this supply were properly developed and economically used, many thousands of acres could be cheaply irrigated".
This did occur over the next 40 or so years without restrictions and "sink a well" became the answer to supplying water to farms and orchards. By 1921, 1100 artesian wells were operational in the Hawke's Bay rural areas.
The effect on Hawke's Bay horticulture of droughts was noted on market reports throughout New Zealand. Apples and pears were described as being small with the cause being drought.
It wasn't only farmers that were being affected by a lack of water as Westshore residents in November 1914 faced a crisis when their rain tanks - their only supply of water, ran dry.
Water had to be carted from the North British Freezing Works at Port Ahuriri, which had its own water supply. In the next 100 years more crippling droughts have occurred, with 1945/46 being particularly bad. In recent years droughts have occurred in 1997/98, 2006-2009 and 2012 to 2013.
Hawke's Bay, due to its location and geography is prone to droughts, and on the flipside can suffer torrential rain downpours. Many years of river and flood control mean the province does not flood like it used to do, but its harsh droughts remain a future reality.
