Hastings District Council to plant tree to celebrate coronation of King Charles III

Hastings District Council is set to plant a kahikatea tree to mark the coronation of King Charles III.

With the coronation of King Charles III fast approaching, Hastings District Council (HDC) will join other councils and communities around the country marking the occasion with the planting of a kahikatea tree on Sunday, May 7 at 11am.

HDC has chosen to plant a kahikatea tree at Cornwall Park in a public ceremony beside the stream on the Roberts Street side of the park, and at the same time, a plaque will be unveiled.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said both the tree and plaque would serve as a lasting reminder of this historic event and as a symbol of our country’s ongoing relationship with the monarchy.

Since 1897, the Hastings district has marked many significant royal events, the evidence of which can still be seen today, such as the Coronation Fountain in Cornwall Park and the royal oak tree in Civic Square. The Coronation Fountain at Cornwall Park and the royal oak in the middle of Civic Square were installed to mark the coronation of King George V in 1911.

The Coronation Fountain at Cornwall Park was installed to mark the coronation of King George V in 1911.

“While the royal oak has been the tree traditionally planted for such occasions, for this, we have turned to our own native kahikatea – the tree that built the township of Hastings from 1873, and a symbol of whanaungatanga; relationships and partnerships within te ao Māori,” Hazlehurst explained.

“This year, we also acknowledge the 150th anniversary of the naming of Hastings, and this will add to the names and associations of our kings and queens that are etched into the fabric of our district,” she added.

“We warmly invite our community to join us to mark this special event,” she said.

The plaque that is to be placed with the tree this weekend reads: “This tree was planted to mark the Coronation of His Majesty Charles III, King of New Zealand, on 6 May 2023 - Māku te ra e tō ana; kei a koe te urunga ake o te rā.”

The whakataukī, or proverb, ‘Māku te ra e tō ana; kei a koe te urunga ake o te rā' is translated as ‘Let mine be the setting sun; yours is the dawning of a new day’, and speaks of the natural cycles of life and wisdom from a te ao Māori perspective.

While Hastings is holding its ceremony on Saturday, a national event will be held at the Auckland Domain, on the lawn beneath Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, at 1pm on Sunday, May 7.

On Friday, May 5 the Napier City Council will also be planting a tree at Centennial Park in Taradale to mark the coronation of King Charles III, however, it will not be a public event.

Following the coronation weekend, the Governor-General will plant the final coronation tree at Government House in Wellington.