Most twentieth-century systems were electric with overhead wires , apart from the Takapuna ( Auckland ) steam tramway ( 1910 – 1927 ) and Gisborne , which had two battery-electric trams ( 1913 – 1929 ) . The only system to be closed during this period was Napier , in 1931 after the Napier earthquake . Several long suburban lines were replaced by buses , e.g. Christchurch City to Richmond , Burwood and North Beach in 1934 , and to Linwood in 1936
Napier earthquake
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Trams in New Zealand