Napier, New Zealand, was rebuilt in the Art Deco style after being largely razed by the Hawke's Bay earthquake of 3 February 1931 and is the world's most thoroughly art deco city. Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognized as architecturally unique, and from the 1990s onwards had been protected and restored. As of 2007, Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated.[53][54] According to the World Heritage Trust, when Napier is compared to the other cites noted for their art deco architecture, Miami Beach, Santa Barbara, Bandung, Indonesia (originally planned as the future capital of Java), and Asmara in Eritrea (built by the Italians as a model colonial city), "none... surpass Napier in style and coherence.[55]
Hastings, New Zealand was also rebuilt in Art Deco style following the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, and many fine deco buildings survive.
Australia also has many surviving examples of Art Deco architecture. Among the most notable are 'mini-skyscrapers' such as the Grace Building (Sydney) and the Manchester Unity Building (Melbourne) featuring purely decorative towers to circumvent the height restriction laws of the time. The Former Russell Street Police Headquarters, also in Melbourne, was for many years the headquarters of the Victoria Police before they were moved to William Street in about 1990. The main multi-storey brick building located on the west of the site was constructed 1940-1943 in the Art Deco style by architect Percy Edgar Everett and is reminiscent of the design of the Empire State Building.
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