Hastings – City of the Plains

HASTINGS

CITY OF THE PLAINS

Official Souvenir Programme

FOR THE PROCLAMATION OF HASTINGS AS A CITY

Price
One Shilling

Saturday & Sunday
8th – 9^th September, 1956

They Guided the Destiny of

HASTINGS

NEW ZEALAND’S NEWEST CITY

Hastings Town Board

Chairman CAPTAIN W. P. RUSSELL
1883 – 1886

Hastings Borough Council

MAYORS:
1886 – 1887:  Mr. ROBERT WELLWOOD
1887 – 1890:  Mr. GEORGE ELLIS.
1890 – 1891:  Mr. W.F. BURNETT.
1891 – 1894:  Mr. GEORGE ELLIS.
1894 – 1899:  Mr. C.A. FITZROY.
1899 – 1904:  Mr. W.Y. DENNETT.
1904 – 1905:  Mr. W. LANE.
1905 – 1906:  Mr. W.Y. DENNETT.
1906 – 1909:  Mr. T.J. THOMPSON.
1909 – 1911:  Mr. J.A. MILLER.
1911 – 1913:  Mr. JAMES GARNETT.
1913 – 1917:  Mr WILLIAM HART.
1917 – 1919:  Mr H. IAN SIMSON.
1919 – 1921:  Mr GEORGE EBBETT.
1921 – 1922:  Mr WILLIAM HART.
1922 – 1929:  Mr G.A: MADDISON.
1929 – 1933:  Mr G.F. ROACH.
1933 – 1941:  Mr G.A. MADDISON.
1941 – 1947:  Mr A.I. RAINBOW.
1947 – 1953:  Mr R.D. BROWN.
1953 –            Mr W.E. BATE.

Inaugural Hastings City Council

Mayor:   Mr W.E. BATE, O.B.E.

Councillors   A. KIRKPATRICK (Deputy Mayor)
H.G. LITTLE
R.P. TABLEY
H.R. BANNISTER
Councillors   H.W. APPERLEY
J. DRUMMOND
H.G. JONES
W.S. SHEPPARD
(Mrs)   E. E. BALLANTYNE [Mrs Sybil Joyce Ballantyne]

Town Clerk:   Mr N.C. HARDING

“Through the Harmony of City and Country.”

A Message from His Worship the Mayor

“Province of Twin Cities”

“As Hastings attains the status of City we should pause to take stock of many things.  Even in these times of rush, bustle and progress a backward look is sometimes salutary, even necessary.  We have many ways entered into an inheritance made by others.  Let is respect and admire those who, both Maori and Pakeha, founded this community, drained the Heretaunga swamps, in faith and with foresight established their families here, worked hand-in-hand with the farming community to use the best advantage our wonderful national advantages: who overcame occasional but unexpected setbacks of fire, flood and earthquake, persevered and brought us to this happy and proud moment.  The honour is theirs more than ours.  We are challenged by the example to meet the problems of our time with similar wisdom.

“For these reasons, I am glad that in these celebrations we have set aside one day on which we shall honour our old identities.  It is equally pleasing that another day is given over to the children.  The future belongs to them.

“From this day the people of the City of Hastings will go forward with their rural neighbours, working together as one friendly community, using for the common good the advantages with which Nature has endowed us.

“Modern methods of agriculture, production, stock management and manufacture will continue to increase the prosperity of Hawke’s Bay – the ‘Province of the Twin Cities.’  This combined with the spirit of enterprise which has always characterised the community, is a guarantee of an ever-increasing development and a sure and prosperous future.

W.E. BATE, Mayor.”

Photo caption – W.E. BATE,  Esq.,   O.B.E.

HASTINGS

New Zealand’s New City of the Plains

SEPTEMBER 8^th, 1956!  This is a date which will be marked in red in the history of Hastings, the Hub of Hawke’s Bay.  It is the date on which Hastings became New Zealand’s newest City, a city with wealth of tradition in its past and for its future, an outlook of prosperity and progress which is not excelled by any of the fourteen cities which have been proclaimed before it.

The youngest city is young by many standards, but concrete evidence of its lusty growth is the fact that no other place in New Zealand, outside of the four main cities, has attained city status in a short space of time that Hastings has, for it can be stated that Hastings was officially born onto seventy-three years ago.

It was in 1883 that the first Town Board was elected, and three years later Borough status was achieved.

There is another unusual distinction which might be claimed for Hastings, that of being “a city that was not intended.”  The background of this is the fact that the original settlers on the Heretaunga Plains decided that Havelock North should be the future of the “city of plains,” for Havelock North was settled long before Hastings was born, and it was only the advent of the railway in 1874 that so completely changed the destiny of the district.

Photo captions –

PROGRESSIVE HASTINGS

Looking East in Heretaunga Street.

Looking West in Heretaunga Street.

Heretaunga Block

As far as can be ascertained, the first settlement in Hastings took place in 1864, when Mr Thomas Tanner leased about 17,000 acres of the Heretaunga plains from Maori people.  Some years later a syndicate was formed to purchase the area outright, and the block was secured by twelve people who are often referred to as “The Twelve Apostles.”  The purchase price was stated to have been about thirty shillings an acre, and payment was made by £16,000 in cash, with the balance liquidating debts which had been incurred by the natives.  That of course, was in the days when £1 was £1.  What the property was worth to-day is a matter for conjecture only, but it is worth mentioning that in 1873, the Native Lands Alienation Commission decided that the purchase price was “fair and reasonable.”

Founder of Hastings

A photograph in the possession of the City Council describes Mr. William Francis Hicks as “founder of Hastings,” and this is literally true.  It was he who erected the first store in the town, and when there was talk of a railway from Napier, south via Havelock North, he made a gift to the Government of the land on which to erect a railway station, on the condition that the rail went through Hastings.  The offer was accepted, and that is the reason why the Railway Department now owns valuable land in the heart of the centre, and the reason, too, why traffic is often held up as trains rush across Heretaunga Street, or shunt at the St. Aubyn Street crossing.
When the Heretaunga block was sub-divided, Mr Hicks was one of “the lucky ones,” for his 100-acre area was that which included Heretaunga Street, Russell Street, Queen Street and Karamu Road block, and that there was a future for Hastings even at that early stage, and despite the fact that that so much of it was still duck-shooting swamp, was shown by the fact that the average price in the sub-division sale was £56 an acre. To-day, maybe, it would be worth more like £56 an inch!

The First Hotel

With the sale of the land, and the prospect of the rail service, Hastings was really born.  The Railway Hotel (now the Grand) was soon erected, and has twice been destroyed, once by fire and once by earthquake.  Further impetus was given with the establishment of Tomoana by the late Mr. William Nelson of the boilng-down works which eventually became the freezing works.  By 1883 Hastings had grown sufficiently to secure Town Board status, under the chairmanship of Captain William Russell.  Three years later, it became a Borough, with Mr. Robert Wellwood as its first Mayor, and now comes City status, with Mr. W. E. Bate, O.B.E., as the Mayor of the new City.  The  transformation from swamp to city is complete, and Hastings can justifiably claim to be “New Zealand’s new City of the Plains.”

Photo caption – CORNWALL PARK is one of the City’s Beauty Spots.

THE HEART OF A NEW CITY

Messages of Goodwill

ON behalf of the Government I extend to the people of Hastings most sincere congratulations on the attainment of city status.

An occasion such as this is a most important one in the history of a community, and Hastings and the whole of Hawke’s Bay may take great pride in it.

I have long known and admired this new city for its progressiveness, its solidity of character, and the service it gives to the rich province of Hawke’s Bay.  In its 92 years of history it has had many triumphs and faced many tribulations.  No one in New Zealand is likely to forget the courage with which the Hastings community faced the great earthquake disaster of a quarter of a century ago, or the rapid recovery which was made from the damage.

Hastings can take pride in its history and in its progress; it can, I am quite certain, look forward to the future that will be even more prosperous and progressive.

I wish this fine community the best of good fortune in the years that lie ahead.

S.G. HOLLAND,
Prime Minister.

As Minster of Internal Affairs I have naturally been closely associated with Hastings and its progress, and it is with the greatest pleasure and sincerity, that I have congratulations to the people on becoming New Zealand’s newest city.

Set in the midst of the prosperous Heretaunga Plains, Hastings undoubtedly possess a bright future.  The people can look back with pride on the achievements of the past – in the face of difficulties which at times appeared to be almost unsurmountable.

Well named “The Fruit Bowl of New Zealand,” famed for its farmlands, its numerous industries, its wonderful Blossom Festivals and Highland Games, Hastings can look to the future with confidence, and to that end, I extend my good wishes.

S.W. SMITH,
Minister of Internal Affairs.

New City Arises in Spite of Setbacks of Fire and Earthquake

IT CAN be truly said that Hastings has twice “risen from its ashes,” for in its comparatively short life it has suffered disasters of the greatest magnitude, but disasters which brought to the top the indomitable spirit of the people – a spirit which refused to acknowledge defeat and which created a confidence which has been justified.

Both in February

It was in February, 1893, that the first disaster stuck, and it was again in February, thirty-eight years later, that the second disaster arrived.  The first was a fire in Heretaunga Street which razed to the ground twenty-two of the town’s main businesses on the immediate east and west sides of the Heretaunga Street railway crossing. Even in those days, the value of the buildings which were destroyed was set down at more than ₤30.000 – a figure which would be increased ten-fold on to-day’s valuation – and this did not take into account the stock which was destroyed.

The area was rebuilt.  New and modern (for those days) shops arose from the ruins, and then came February 1931!

The story of the earthquake has often been told, and in magnitude it was a disaster which made the 1893 fire seem puny.  With it came death for some eighty-eight citizens, and injury for many hundreds.  Buildings crashed to ruins in seconds, and later came the fire which completed the work that the earthquake had started.  Not a house missed damage; not a shop escaped; and in the business area itself only two places came through unscathed, as far as structural damage was concerned.  They were the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ building in Market Street and the Public Trust building.  Damage was estimated at more than ₤1,000,000, and the future looked grim.

Spirit of the People

Then it was that the spirit of comradeship, determination and courage won through.  Memories remain of a world which took so many years to build crumbling to dust in seconds; of destruction and despair, confusion and chaos; of heroic work by men and women without thought of reward.  Memories remain of the post-earthquake weeks of food queues and life in the open while the ground still rocked; but above all, there also remains a memory of cheerfulness, courage and determination which has enabled those dread days to remain – a memory.

And from all that, Hastings has risen to city status.  Her recovery, equalled only by her sister city, Napier, has been magnificent.  To-day Hastings can boast amenities equal to any part of the Dominion.  She can look to a future full of prosperity with the greatest confidence, and can look back on these disasters as an incentive to greater things, the fruit from which is now being reaped.

HASTINGS CITY CELEBRATIONS

OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

Nelson Park, Sunday 8^th and Sunday 9^th September, 1956

Saturday, 8th September

11 a.m.
TRANSPORT ASSEMBLES AT QUEEN SQUARE for Procession, “TRANSPORT THROUGH THE AGES,” which moves off at 11.45 a.m.
Route: Via Heretaunga Street, Southland Road, Heretaunga Street, Russell Street to Nelson Park.

1 p.m.
MASSED BANDS’ AND MARCHING TEAMS’ DISPLAY.

1.30 p. m.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND PARTY ARRIVE AT CAROLINE ROAD NORTH ENTRANCE TO NELSON PARK.
Traditional Welcome by Maori Party.
Maori Welcome continues until 2 p.m.

2 p.m.
PROCESSION OF “TRANSPORT THROUGH THE AGES” ENTERS THE PARK, and proceeds past the Stand, encircling the Park.
Commentary on interesting features of the Procession will be made by radio broadcast.
Procession continues until 2.40 p.m.

2.40 p m.
SPECIAL DISPLAY BY MAORI PEOPLE ON DAIS.
Maori Action Songs, Hakas, etc., until 3.10 pm.

3.10 p m.
VICE-REGAL PARTY PROCEEDS TO SPECIAL DAIS FOR READING OF PROCLAMATION.
The Party will be accompanied by His Worship the Mayor, the Mayoress and the Town Clerk, General Sir Geoffrey Scoones, High Commissioner for the United Kingdom (representing Hastings, England), Lady Scoones, W. S. Goosman, Esq. (the Hon. Minister of Works), E. J. Keating, Esq. (Member of Parliament for the District) and Mrs. Keating.

The proceedings on the Dais will be as follows:

(a)   His Worship the Mayor introduces His Excellency the Governor-General to the people.
(b)   His Excellency will address the people.
(c)   General Sir Geoffrey Scoones will speak on behalf of Hastings, England.
(d)   The Hon. the Minister of Works will speak to the people.
(e)   At 3.40 p.m. His Excellency reads the Proclamation.

At the conclusion of the reading, a Fly Past of Jet Aeroplanes by the R.N.Z.A.F. has been timed to take place.

6.30 p.m.
THEIR EXCELLENCIES AND PARTY ARRIVE FROM NAPIER FOR CIVIC DINNER at the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Buildings, Market Street.

7 p m.
CIVIC DINNER.

Sunday, 9th September

2.30 p m.
COMBINED CHURCH SERVICE IN NELSON PARK.
The Vice-Regal Party will arrive at the Park at 2.30 p m., where they will be met by His Worship  the Mayor, the Mayoress and the Town Clerk.
His Excellency will read the Lesson in the Service.
The duration of the Service is approximately 45 minutes.

SPECIAL BLOSSOM THEME SERVICES in all Churches.

HASTINGS SALVATION ARMY BAND in City at night.

HASTINGS CITIZENS’ BAND CONCERT, Assembly Hall.

Building Barometer

THERE is probably no surer indicator of progress than the building barometer, and in Hastings this tells an interesting story.

As far as can be learned, the first residence in Hastings was built in Market Street, on the site of what is now the Drake Memorial Hall, and the timber for it was procured from “White Pine Bush,” at Mangateretere.  This was in the early 1870’s.  Even as late as 1904, it is reported that what is now known as the Regent Theatre block in Heretaunga Street was offered to the Borough Council for ₤1,700.

The First Railway

Much as the railway line annoys at times, because it cuts through one of the busiest thoroughfares in the country, the railway was actually responsible for the town’s onward march, and shortly after the first train arrived, houses – and hotels – started to spring up in all directions.  Incidentally, the Pacific Hotel was actually erected in Havelock North, but with a change of population areas and the general move to Hastings, it was shifted in three sections and re-erected on the site it now occupies.

By 1922 Hastings was able to point with pride to 2,212 houses, a total reached in under forty years of settlement. The number is now in the vicinity of 6,000, and the remarkable average of three new dwellings a week has been maintained over a long period of years.  This total does not take into account State houses.

The advance in building in other directions has been equally amazing, and an idea of what has been happening can be gathered from the fact that while in 1930, when Hastings was regarded as one of the most prosperous towns in New Zealand, building permits for ₤150,000 were issued, the total last year was ₤820,655, and even this was several thousand pounds less than the previous year, which was a record.

No Slackening

What is just as important is that, in spite of credit squeezes, talks of depression and so on, there was no slackening in building progress.  The time has been reached when Hastings must spread its wings a bit, and for this reason the necessary move has been made to extend the boundaries.  If and when these new areas come in, it will that more than 6,000 houses will be in the city area; the population will have a sudden increase of more than 1,000 people; industries will come within the suburban area, and though it will be the youngest city, Hastings will definitely not be the smallest.

Industry’s Part in Progress of New City

WHILE HASTINGS is well set up for both light and heavy industry, and a well-designed town planning scheme provides for the siting of such areas, no one is likely to argue that the city’s greatest prosperity comes from the land and mainly from meat, wool and fruit.

It has been said that in the Hastings district there is some of the best farming land in the world, but as far as meat and wool is concerned, it is certain that this would never have been developed to produce the “big business” it does to-day, but for one man, the late Mr. Wm. Nelson, and his creation of the Tomoana Freezing Works.  When he established what is commonly referred to as the “boiling-down plant” at Tomoana, Mr. Nelson became the father of the freezing industry.  This small plant was the fore-runner of Tomoana and Whakatu works, as they are known to-day, and which between them record daily lamb kill in the season up to 26,000, and which prepare something like 75,000 cattle for chiller beef trade.  Incidentally a third freezing works operated in the district until 1931, this being known as Borthwick’s.  It was destroyed by the earthquake.

Hand-in-Hand

Hand-in-Hand with the freezing works goes the work at Stortford Lodge Saleyards, where more livestock is sold annually in any other saleyards in the Dominion.  There is also the vast amount of wool which goes through the sales at Napier, plus the activity at the port of Napier, all of which gives evidence of the vastness of the farming industry which is so essential to the new city.

FUN IN THE SUN New Zealand’s Ace Motor Camp, Windsor Park.

Potted Paragraphs Review – Points of Interest

IN A BROCHURE such as this, it is impossible to adequately survey the history of Hastings, or to more than very briefly refer to its prospects for the future, but here is presented some “potted paragraphs” which may prove of interest:

Created a Town District in 1883, Hastings became a Borough in 1886, and a city in 1956.

This year’s census revealed that the borough area had 5,489 inhabited dwellings.

With the extension of the borough boundaries-now being considered by the Boundaries Commission – the city population will be about 21,000.  The present urban population is 28,000.

The Maori population of the borough at the last census was 411.

There are few better “beauty spots” in the country than Cornwall Park – a gift to the people from the Williams family, who also presented Frimley Park with its fifty acres, which is now in the process of development.

Hastings – apart from Havelock North, which is often referred to as “the home of learning” – has eight primary schools and three high schools, and with two exceptions (which will be catered for in the near future), all have their own swimming baths.

At one time, with more than 5,000 acres, Hastings had what was reputed to be the largest borough in the world.  This was reduced to 2,613 acres, but will increase by almost 1,000 acres if the proposed boundary changes take place.

Just on 6,000 Hastings homes and businesses are connected to telephone.

Motor vehicles registered in Hastings last year totalled nearly 13,000.

The average annual rainfall in Hastings is just on 33 inches.  The sunshine hour average is 2416, which places it the Dominion’s “top ten” for sunshine.

Hastings was the first place in New Zealand to establish a Women’s Rest.

Though not in the borough – it is just on the outskirts – the Showgrounds at Tomoana are considered to be the finest in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Fallen Soldiers Memorial Hospital is part of the district’s memorial of World War I. The Cenotaph and the Havelock North Monument complete the memorial, to which people subscribed £18,000 more than twenty-five years ago.

The World War ΙΙ Memorial will be the Public Library in Civic Square, to be erected shortly.  To this the people subscribed more than ₤30,000.

The Hastings Highland Games at Easter and the Blossom Festival in September – creations of Greater Hastings – are foremost events of their time in New Zealand.

Hastings is one of the lowest rated cities in New Zealand.  This year’s rate 6.45d in the ₤.

Building permits issued during the last financial year were valued at ₤820,655.

Over the past ten years, 1,732 new houses have been erected in the city area – an average of nearly three a week.

The view from “The Peak” on the Havelock Hills has been described as one of the finest in New Zealand.

To relieve congestion in Heretaunga Street, traffic lights are soon to be installed between Karamu Road and Market Street.

An indication of progress:  Less than fifty years ago, the capital value of Hastings was placed at ₤1,370,000.  To-day it is ₤20,500,000.

With its 1,350 seating accommodation, the Hastings Municipal Theatre, erected in 1914, has the second largest stage in the Southern Hemisphere.  His Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne is said to be the only theatre with more.

Community effort:  The mayoral robes now being worn by the first City Mayor, Mr. W.E. Bate, O.B.E., are a gift of the Hastings Junior Chamber of Commerce.  The mayoral chair is a gift from women’s organisations, the council table is a gift from Greater Hastings, and the new coat-of-arms is a gift from Hastings, England.

Formed in 1886, the Hastings Fire Brigade is now one of the Dominion’s most modern.  Many New Zealand championships have come their way.

The Hastings racecourse is considered to be among the six best in New Zealand.

Hastings has had sixteen mayors, but only three town clerks since it became a borough in 1886.  The first town clerk was Mr. John Collinge, the second Mr. P.R. Purser, and the present clerk is Mr N.C. Harding.

Visitors to the City Celebrations and Blossom Festival should make a point of seeing Oak Avenue, just past the Hospital.  It is impressive.

Fruit Bowl of New Zealand

It is no idle boast to refer to Hastings as the “Fruit Bowl of New Zealand.”  True, the biggest apple yield for New Zealand comes from Nelson, but to Hastings and district goes the great honour of producing the most fruit per tree and the biggest overall crop.  If proof of this is needed, it is provided in the following official figures of average tree yields in bushels:-

Apples.   Pears.   Peaches
Hastings   4.75   2.56   1.88
Nelson   2.77   2.09   .93
Gisborne   2.89   1.85   1.57
Auckland   1.63   1.59   .81
Canterbury   .81   1.08   .4
Otago   1.53   1.69   1.48

It has been estimated that Hawke’s Bay – mainly in the Hastings district – produces £1,500,000 worth of fruit and vegetables.  Apart from private sales direct from the orchard, over one and a quarter million cases of apples and pears were harvested last season for sale by the Apple and Pear Board, and this, of course, does not take into account stone fruit such as peaches and plums, raspberries and so on, for which the district is so renowned in New Zealand.

Economy of Dominion

The largest cannery plant in in New Zealand, and the quick-freeze process which runs in conjunction, has assured the future of the fruit industry.  At the height of the season it means the employment of about eight hundred people at the canneries and thousands in orchard operations.  In all truth there is ample justification for claiming that meat and fruit, with their subsidiary activities, are major industries not only in Hawke’s Bay, but in the economy of New Zealand itself.

Photo caption – BLOSSOM TIME in THE FRUIT BOWL OF NEW ZEALAND

Hastings City and Its Environs

TO THE VISITORS for the Hastings City Celebrations and Blossom Festival, the people of Hastings extend a hearty welcome.  May you enjoy your stay so much, that you will want to come back for nest year’s Blossom Festival, or for the greatest Highland gathering in the country at Easter, or perhaps for a holiday in between.

A trip to Te Mata Peak will provide you with one of New Zealand’s best panoramas.

And with the coming of Summer sunshine, Hastings becomes a stepping-off place to so many beaches, Waimarama, Napier and Westshore, Haumoana, Te Awanga and Clifton, which is also the terminus for a visit to the famous Gannet Rookery at Cape Kidnappers.

Round trips of the district can be taken by several routes, each of which takes the tourist through some of the best farming land in the world, and provides a grand variation of scenery and outlook.

Hastings is well endowed with more than 120 acres of parks and open spaces. For the motorist, New Zealand offers nothing superior to Windsor Park; for the flower lover, Cornwall Park provides a wonderful haven; for the botanist, Frimley Park is something really different.

For something really English, Hastings introduces you to its adjoining borough, Havelock North.  Often referred to as “The Village,” Havelock North has been described as “more English than English villages themselves.”  It is the only place in New Zealand where six main roads converge in the heart of the business area.

The main Hastings seaside resort is Haumoana, six miles distant by a good sealed road.  “Sunshine and sea breezes is Haumoana’s claim, but it also has something more.  It is one of two places in the world where seven air currents converge, and this is one of the reasons why it is referred to as “Healthy Haumoana.”

Just as Hastings led New Zealand by being the first place to establish a “Women’s Rest,” so it led the way by being the first place to set up a community-sponsored Public Relations Office.  This was one of the objectives of Greater Hastings, and in co-operation with the City Council, the office has been erected and is functioning in Russell Street.  To visitors seeking useful information, the Hastings Public Relations Office has a welcome sign erected, and the staff is always happy to see people stepping inside the door.

Photo caption – WAIKOKO GARDENS in New Zealand’s Finest Showgrounds.

Hastings Blossom Festival Programme
September 5^th to 15^th, 1956

WEDNESDAY, 5^th SEPTEMBER.
Official Opening of Greater Hastings 1956 Blossom Festival and Hastings City Celebrations.
Window Spotting Programmes on sale in town.
Fun and Frolics in Funfare Alley.
Blossom Buttonholes on sale in town.
Hastings Salvation Army Band in town at night.
Presentation of Station 2YZ 1956 Curtain Call.

THURSDAY, 6^th SEPTEMBER.
Funfare Alley.
Selwyn Toogood presents “It’s In The Bag” and “Money-Go-Round,” Municipal Theatre, 8 p.m.
Open-air Skating, Windsor Park Rink.
Hastings Scots Highland Junior Pipe Band in town at night.

FRIDAY, 7^th SEPTEMBER.
Hastings’ last day as Borough Status.
Blossom Festival and Hastings Celebrations Ball, in Assembly Hall.
Hawke’s Bay Scottish Pipe Band in town at night.

SATURDAY 8^th SEPTEMBER.
Hastings becomes a City.  The start of a really great day for all.
House-to-house Sale of Window Spotting Programmes.
Road Test for Car Rally Competitors, Karamu Road, South.
Annual Napier to Hastings Harrier’ Road Race.
Transport Through the Ages Parade.
Maori Welcome to His Excellency the Governor-General, at Nelson Park.  Proclamation and Fly Past of Jets.
Civic Dinner, Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Tea Rooms.
Hastings Salvation Army Band in town at night.
Jack Maybury presents “Number Please” and “Scoop the Pool,” Municipal Theatre, 8 p.m.
Hastings Harrier Club’s Blossom Festival and City Celebrations Dance, Assembly Hall, 8 p.m.
Hawke’s Bay Scottish and Hastings Scots Highland Pipe Bands, in City at night.

SUNDAY, 9^th SEPTEMBER.
Special Citizens’ Thanksgiving and Dedication Open-air Church Service, Nelson Park.
Special Blossoms Theme Services at Churches.
Salvation Army Band in City at night.
Hastings Citizens Band Concert, Assembly Hall.

MONDAY, 10^th SEPTEMBER.
Old Identities’ Day.
Judging of all Window Display Sections, 1 p.m.
Thrills for all in Funfare Alley.
Opening night of Hastings Musical Comedy Company’s 1956 production, “Rose Marie,” in Municipal Theatre.
Hastings Model Railway Club’s Train Exhibition, Wesley Hall.
City Celebrations Concert, Methodist Hall.

TUESDAY, 11^th SEPTEMBER.
Children’s Day, Windsor Park.  A treat for the youngsters of Hastings and District.
Hastings Citizens’ Band in City at night.
Open-air Skating Carnival, Windsor Park Rink.
Hastings Musical Comedy Company’s 1956 production, “Rose Marie.”

WEDNESDAY, 12^th SEPTEMBER.
Opening day and night of Hastings Horticultural Society’s 1956 Festival Floral Exhibition, in Assembly Hall.
Greater Hastings and the Showmen’s Association entertain the children from Hospital and the Children’s Homes at Funfare Alley.
Hastings Scots Highland Pipe Band in City at night.

THURSDAY, 13^th SEPTEMBER.
Hawke’s Bay Scottish Pipe Band in City at night.
Open-air Skating Carnival, Windsor Park Rink.
Crowning of Blossom Queen.

FRIDAY, 14^th SEPTEMBER.
Your last chance to buy a Spotting Programme.
Make sure you are wearing a Blossom Buttonhole.
Hastings Scots Highland Pipe Band in City, night.
Funfare Alley at its best to-night.  Fun and Frolics.
Hastings Musical Comedy Company’s 1956 production, “Rose Marie.” Municipal Theatre.

SATURDAY, 15^th SEPTEMBER.
7.25 a.m. – First Special Train from Wellington.
7.50 a.m. – Second Special Train from Wellington.
8.30 a.m. – Special Train from Gisborne arrives.
9.30 a.m. – Newman’s Coaches from Wellington.
9.30 a.m. – Procession Floats, etc., assemble at Queen’s Square.
11.00 a.m. – Procession moves off from Willowpark Road, via Heretaunga St. to Southland Rd.: return via Southampton St., Charles St., Heretaunga St., Selwood Rd., to Windsor Pk. The Children’s Procession will assemble on Heretaunga St at Nelson St corner at 11.0.
11.30 a.m. – Displays by members of Hastings Aero Club at Windsor Park.
12.00 noon – Display by Richmondville and Napier and Taradale Archery Clubs, Windsor Park.
12.30 p.m. – (Approx.)  Procession arrives Blossom Carnival, Windsor Park.
1.15 p.m. – Massed March by Combined Highland Pipe Bands.
1.30 p.m. – Display, Wanganui Drum Majorettes.
2.00 p.m. – Sightseeing Buses leave N.Z. Road Terminal, Karamu Rd., Windsor Park main gates 2.5 p.m.
2.00 p.m. – Programme by our Maori people.
2.30 p.m. – Wanganui Drum Majorettes.
3.00 p.m. – Prologue by St Joseph’s Girls.
3.15 p.m. – Ceremonial Retreat by the Combined Bands.

Special Attractions in Separate Areas

8.00. p.m. – Grand Blossom Festival and City Celebrations Carnival Dance, Assembly Hall.

PRINTED BY
THE CLIFF PRESS LTD
HERETAUNGA STREET EAST, HASTINGS
9638