Was it called Hicksville? An early history of Hastings

2023 is the 150th of when Francis Hicks subdivided his 100 acres into 144 sections in the middle of the Heretaunga Block and named the township Hastings. And just who was Francis Hicks, and what did the railway have to do with him?

Historian Michael Fowler will answer that long-held apocryphal story – was it ever called Hicksville? Using old maps, and early photos, the growth of Hastings from 1873 to 1889 will be revealed.

Hastings was not a government planned town, like Napier, Clive and Havelock North, and as such grew organically with assistance from early settlers – albeit watched – some might say, jealously, by a neighbouring town.

Thomas Tanner, who some claim to be the real father of Hastings, helped create a township through his own financial misfortune, and took on the role of town planner when the rest of his Riverslea Block was developed until his financial demise in the late 1880s.

Part of the proceeds after expenses, will be donated to the charity “Changing Places”.