Francis then subdivided his land, which would become the business centre of the 1873-named Hastings, and having done very nicely from the sale, he moved to a farm in the Waikato. Most of the sections were bought by Napier people who wanted their land to appreciate – but they also didn't want the new township to prosper at the expense of Napier.
Parochialism, therefore, between what was a privately created town, Hastings, and the government-planned Napier, started not long after – and would blight Hawke's Bay for generations to come.
The first railway station in Hastings went up in 1874 and was sited opposite where the former Hastings Health Centre was in recent years.
When traffic congestion became a problem in the growing town, they decided to move the railway station in 1894 to a location 500ft (152m) further north, between Queen and St Aubyn Sts – facing near where Avenue Rd goes through the Kmart carpark. This was not the original planned location, because the railways wanted it removed past St Aubyn St, but Hastings residents thought this was too far away from the central business district.
Instead of building a new railway station, they shifted it. This had been planned for 1893, but a flood put an end to those plans. The engine sheds, goods shed and water tanks were also moved, and the railway sidings were extended towards St Aubyn St.
A new platform was built that was three times the length of the present one.
The post office went from Tobias Hicks' store to the railway station, and then to the post office when it opened in 1894.
By mid-March 1894, it was reported, "the railway station has been loosened from its moorings and ready for removal". It was apparently hoisted onto a locomotive, which transported to its new location.
Large gangs of men were employed to shift the railway station, and they worked all day Saturday, and into the night to get the work done. In reality, they worked into Sunday – which caused some controversy.
Another newspaper outside the region picked up the story of the railway shift and had determined the gangs of men worked on Sunday – then illegal.
"There is a moral here," it said.
"It is that the law is not impartially administered." It appeared, they, wrote, "that the government does not respect its own laws by not prosecuting the railways for this".
A professional photographer, the paper noted, who had taken a photo on a Sunday was taken to court and fined, as was a carter who drove a bullock team on a Sunday.
Once the railway station had gone – it having been partly in Station St (Russell St North), Station St was widened.
There was a fair bit of excitement about the successful shifting of the railway station, hailed as a sign of progression of Hastings.
This was noted by a journalist visiting Hawke's Bay from the South Island who wrote in his paper that Hastings was the "Chicago of Hawke's Bay", probably in reference to that city being on a flat, glacial plain.
This railway station lasted until 1962, when a new one was built just past St Aubyn St.
Passenger services stopped in Hawke's Bay during 2001, and the railway station stood alone and derelict until September 2019, when it was fire damaged beyond repair and demolished.
Plans to put the former station building into use were talked about for years, but nothing eventuated.
This is my last Historic Hawke's Bay article for Hawke's Bay Today after 12 years. Thanks to Hawke's Bay Today editor Ant Phillips, who in 2010 came up with the idea for a Historic Hawke's Bay weekly article. Thanks also to MTG Hawke's Bay, National Library, Hawke's Bay Knowledge Bank and individuals who generously gave me iconic photos to use. To the many people who entrusted me to tell their or their whanau's stories – thank you. Nga Mihi Nui.
• Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a writer and researcher of Hawke's Bay history. Follow him on facebook.com/michaelfowlerhistory
