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to the Hastings District : History of the Hastings District
Hastings and the surrounding district - although separate for much of their history - were socially one from the beginning. An urbanised, industrial-age society grew and flourished in both town and country from the earliest settler days. People looked to the city of Hastings for services and facilities regardless of where they lived; and people in both town and country relied on employment or enterprise to earn money for buying the food, medical facilities and other services they needed to survive. |
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First settlement
The first settlement in Hastings took place in 1864, when Thomas Tanner leased about 7000 hectares of the Heretaunga Plains from Maori owners.
Some years later, a syndicate was formed to purchase this area and the Heretaunga Block was secured by 12 people who are often referred to as the "12 Apostles".
The purchase price was stated to have been about 30 shillings an acre.
In 1873, Francis Hicks (a member of the syndicate) presented the Government with a section of land for the site of a railway station and decided to lay out 100 acres near this site for a township to be called Hastings. A total of 144 sections were offered, the average price per acre being 56 pounds.
At that stage, much of the area was still duck-shooting swamp. The original settlers of the Heretaunga Plains decided that Havelock North was to be the future city and it was only with the advent of the railway in 1874, that Hastings was chosen as the town site.
Years later, the swamps were drained, population increased, and places of business prospered. Fruit-growing became an important industry, vineyards were established and by 1884 the town had a population of 614 and was constituted a town district.
Hastings was incorporated as a borough on 20 October 1886 and was the largest borough in New Zealand until April 1908, when a large portion was included in the Hawke's Bay county.
Hastings was proclaimed a city on 8 September 1956, and a district in 1989 following the amalgamation of the Hastings City, Havelock North Borough and the Hawke's Bay County councils.
How did Hastings get its name?
Like other Hawke's Bay towns, Hastings was named after British personalities involved in the ruling of India - in this case, Warren Hastings, India's first Governor-General.
1931 Earthquake
Hastings suffered greatly in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and was reduced to rubble and raging fires, killing 88 people. Read more information about the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
The Maori legend of Te Mata Peak
Centuries ago the people living in pa (fortified villages) on the Heretaunga Plains were under constant threat of war from the coastal tribes of Waimarama.
At a gathering in Pakipaki (5km south of Hastings) to discuss the problem, the solution came when a wise old woman (kuia) sought permission to speak in the marae. "He ai na te wahine, ka horahia te po, " she said. (The ways of a woman can sometimes overcome the effects of darkness).
Hinerakau, the beautiful daughter of a Pakipaki chief, was to be the focal point of a plan. She would get the leader of the Waimarama tribes, a giant named Te Mata, to fall in love with her, turning his thoughts from war into peace. The plan succeeded, but she too fell in love.
The people of Heretaunga, however, had not forgotten the past and with revenge the motive, demanded that Hinerakau make Te Mata prove his devotion by accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks.
The last was to bite his way through the hills between the coast and the plains so that people could come and go with greater ease.
Te Mata died proving his love and today his half-accomplished work can be seen in the hills in what is known as The Gap or Pari Karangaranga (echoing cliffs).
His body forms Te Mata Peak, the legend says. At sunset one can often see, in the mists which stretch from the crown of Kahuraanake, the beautiful blue cloak with which the grieving Hinerakau covered the body of her husband before leaping to her own death from the precipice on the Waimarama side of the peak. The gully at the base of the cliff was formed when her body struck the earth.
For more detailed information on the history of the Hastings district, read Maryan Moss' Historic Outline below.
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Maryan Moss' Historic Outline (167 KB) |
Thank you to Te Mata Estate Winery for the Maori legend of Te Mata Peak.
