Prior to the 1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake , the hill was almost surrounded with water , with just two shingle spits running north and south , and was known as '' ' Scinde Island ' '' . The earthquake raised the Napier area and the sea receded from around the island and the spits . Scinde Island was named after the province of Sindh , then in India and now in Pakistan . The Napier soccer club Scindians derived their name from Scinde Island
1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Napier Hill