Newspaper Article 2016 – Napier guided tourists to Hastings

Napier guided tourists to Hastings

Thomas Tanner created a park of 18 hectares (44 acres) in 1885 when he subdivided 400 hectares of his Riverslea Estate for sale.

The land, which formed Riverslea Estate, was leased, then subsequently purchased, from Maori in the 1870s. The Park (as it was known) was at that stage bounded on two sides by the Mangapouri Creek.

Pinus radiata was planted on 6 hectares by Thomas Tanner, and willows planted alongside the creek to form “a charmingly cool retreat on hot, summer days”. A clear area of 8 hectares was left for recreation, such as a cricket ground.

The Hastings Borough Council bought The Park (then called Beatson’s Park) from owner John Beatson in 1912.

Embarrassingly for the council, government auditors determined the purchase was illegal under the Municipal Corporations Act. No council was then allowed to purchase land on extended-credit terms.

A clause under the Washing Up Act was enacted and the transaction passed smoothly through Parliament without debate. (The council would change the Beatson’s Park name to Windsor Park in 1935.)

I believe the Hastings District Council does an excellent job creating pocket parks and beautifying its existing parks, such as the stunning new Village Green development in Havelock North led by Colin Hosford, Rachel Stuart and their team.

Hastings has a history of creating parks and regenerating and beautifying them, such as in the late 1920s and early 1930s when they created a boating lake and campground at Beatson’s Park, now Windsor Park.

Campers began to pitch tents on the present campgrounds in 1926, with the formal beginning of the campground in 1927.

Takings for the first year of operation were £46 (2017 equivalent: $4400).

During the Great Depression, unemployment work schemes improved the area by enlarging part of the Makirikiri Creek and turning it into a boating lake. Stone borders and Art Deco-inspired bridges were made in 1934 from the rubble of the 1931 earthquake. The borough council built a boat shed, also in 1934, and bought rowboats and canoes.

This proved a popular and profitable enterprise.

The Motorists’ Camp at Beatson’s Park, as it was first called, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. The Hawke’s Bay Automobile Association (AA) contributed £25 ($2400) towards its development and declared the campgrounds one of the New Zealand’s best.

Even the Napier Chamber of Commerce glowed about it, saying Napier couldn’t find a suitable site there.

The chamber’s manager wrote to the Auckland Automobile Association in 1927, recommending the Hastings Motorists’ Camp: “should you receive any inquiries. I would advise that motorists be directed to Beatson’s Park, Hastings, as the most suitable. It is only 12 miles from Napier, a distance that will involve no great hardship to motorists who wish to spend their time on the Napier beach”.

In a rare display of co-operation between Napier and Hastings in those days, the Hastings Borough Council had asked the Napier Chamber of Commerce for help.

Napier had a large tourist influx, and Hastings wanted help in directing motorists to the Motorists’ Camp. Here is the glowing reference from the Napier Chamber of Commerce:

“There is a freshwater swimming bath, an ample supply of artesian water, and up-to-date conveniences for men and women. The council staff is erecting a cookhouse with ample fireplace and a shelter shed alongside with a hand basin and hot water supply.

“The parking or camping area is alongside the small stream above mentioned, and is sheltered by weeping willow trees. Another attraction is the golf links, there being a nine-hole course on the park. Visiting motorist golfers will receive a hearty welcome from the Parkvale Club.”

Michael Fowler ([email protected]) is a chartered accountant, speaker and writer of history.

“I would advise that motorists be directed to Beatson’s Park, Hastings. It is only 12 miles from Napier.”

Photo caption – DREW CROWD: The boating lake pictured about the 1960s, with the Motorists’ Camping Ground (now Hastings Top 10 Holiday Park) in the background.   PHOTO/MICHAEL FOWLER COLLECTION