An aerial view of Flaxmere in 1974. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank 174/2173/45695
An aerial view of Flaxmere in 1974. Photo / Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank 174/2173/45695
In 1958, Hastings, which was a newly proclaimed city (1956) of about 21,000 people, was at a point where it could not accommodate any significant new housing areas.
It would be the Hawke’s Bay Master Builders’ Association that would tackle this issue (no town planning department then at the council).They commissioned in 1958 a Wellington town planning consulting firm, Gabites and Beard, to look at the “progressive development of the city in accordance with modern town planning principles”.
The report received from Gabites and Beard gave three options:
Consolidate existing residential land in Hastings (and Havelock North).
Redevelop obsolescent housing areas.
Develop a new satellite suburb “on land west of the city of very low, natural soil fertility”.
“Urbanisation of good farmland should be avoided at all costs,” stated the report, and “unstrained peripheral subdivision could be almost suicidal.”
Upon reading the report, the Hastings City Council thought they had better set up a town planning committee, which they did in 1959.
The recommendation of this committee was, however, to push for Hastings to amalgamate with Havelock North Borough Council. After this they would push for an extension of the city’s boundary to include the Arataki area of 330 acres (133ha).
Havelock North Borough Council and Hawke’s Bay County Council – together with the Hawke’s Bay Master Builders’ Association - wanted the Havelock North productive land to be left alone, and instead expansion should occur in the Irongate Road area, west of Hastings.
Further examination of the Irongate scheme by the Hastings City Council engineer led to a proposal to include 965 acres (390ha) in the city boundary as an alternative to the amalgamation with Havelock North.
As 25 per cent of this land was in orchard or vegetables, the Hawke’s Bay County Council objected to the area selected.
There were delays by the Local Government Commission to hold a hearing on this matter.
The death occurred in 1960 of the chairman of the Commission; then amending legislation put the Commission in suspension in 1961 to reconstitute the Commission, and then in 1962 the absence overseas of the Hastings City Council engineer.
With such delays, this meant controversy over the various schemes festered.
The Hastings City Council appointed A L Gabites on the eve of the 1962 local body elections to prepare a 25 year development plan for Hastings. His report was presented promptly, recommending the Irongate area for expansion, which was adopted by the new Council.
Hastings City Council, through the Hastings Public Relations Office, advertised the first Flaxmere sections in 1966. Photo / Michael Fowler Collection
The report was discussed with Hawke’s Bay County Council representatives, who agreed not to oppose Gabites’ Irongate scheme, which included additional acres in the Irongate Road area but left out 180 acres (73ha) of zoned rural land between Irongate Road and Omahu Road.
When the Local Government Commission finally met in February 1963, it considered two submissions from Hastings City Council for 1077 acres (435ha) between Wilson and Irongate Road, including 214 acres (87ha) of orchards and asparagus, of which 84 per cent of this land would be left as is and act as buffer between the new suburb and the Omahu Road industrial area.
The second was a merger with Havelock North, with a green belt of orchards separating them.
The Hastings Chamber of Commerce argued for the merger of Hastings and Havelock North, the Hawke’s Bay County Council wanted a larger green belt in the Irongate area, and the Hawke’s Bay Master Builders’ Association supported expansion in the Irongate area, while Havelock North Borough Council opposed the merger with Hastings.
The decision from the Local Government Commission was to remove 895 acres (362ha) between Omahu, Irongate, Wilson and Henderson Roads from the County area to take effect on 1 April 1964. The merger – to the relief of the Havelock North people – was decided against.
Within the 895 acres (133ha) off the Irongate Road area, the Hastings City Council proclaimed would “be a modern, elite suburb, more desirable than Havelock North”.
Hastings Mayor Ron Giorgi announced: “The scheme will rank alongside the great progressive schemes of the earlier days of the borough”.
In 1965, under the Public Works Act, Hastings City Council purchased two areas of this land totalling 455 acres for 1,310 sections, and raised a loan of $400,000 (2023: $20.4 million) for the new suburb’s purchase.
It would be named Flaxmere, after A H Russell’s estate in the area created 100 years ago. The Māori name for Flaxmere is Paharakeke.
In 1966 the first release of 281 sections went on sale in sizes ranging from 24 to 46 perches (607sqm to 1,163sqm). Costs ranged from £825 ($39,000) to £1,000 ($47,000). With Hastings City Council as the developer, the aim was to provide “better prices” through the municipal scheme than through private enterprise.
It was thought these sections would be sufficient for 10-12 years growth, and resulting in housing for 10,000 people.
Grid-style roading, such as in Hastings, was avoided and the first street names were chosen as Deal, Folkstone and Dover – all English seaside locations. This theme, plus that of world-explorers, was continued when additional streets were added in Flaxmere.
Within Flaxmere, 75 acres (30ha) had been set aside for recreational parks, with the biggest, Flaxmere Park, at 41.3 acres (16.7ha).
Clearly, the Hastings City Council had great ambitions for Flaxmere, and it showed in its plan.
A shopping centre spread over 12.5 acres (5ha) allowed for 125,000 square feet (11613 square metres) of office and retail space, and car parks for 600 vehicles could be accommodated.
Even a hotel was contemplated one day, and additional land was set aside by the council for this.
The whole project was designed to be cost-neutral to Hastings ratepayers.
By 1973 there were 606 dwellings in Flaxmere, 395 private and 211 state houses.
Michael Fowler is a Hawke’s Bay historian and writer mfhistory@gmail.com His Stories of Historic Hawke’s Bay book is available from Wardini Havelock North and Napier.
