The story behind Hawke’s Bay’s blossom spot: Japanese families turn crash sites into memorials

A visitor enjoys the view at the flowering cherry grove's blossom.

A beloved grove of flowering cherry trees in Hastings is one of the most popular photo spots in the region at the start of every spring.

But the reasons it exists are immense tragedy and immense generosity.

The Pakowhai Rd site is near the scene of a fatal car crash on the Chesterhope Bridge in 1998 that killed three Japanese exchange students studying at EIT and a local driver.

To honour the students who lost their lives, the parents of one of the victims, Takeshi Ozawa, asked the Hastings District Council for permission to plant a grove of six flowering cherry trees, accompanied by a commemorative plaque, on the road reserve at the site of the accident.

A further 37 flowering cherry trees were planted in the large green space adjacent to them.

The cherry blossom (sakura) is considered the national flower of Japan.

In October the following year, another Japanese student studying in Hawke’s Bay, Yukiko Sato, was killed in a car accident at the intersection of Lawn and Mill Rds.

The intersection had a history of accidents, and Sato’s death added to its tragic record.

The community, and especially residents near the intersection, had been calling for the council to make improvements.

In May 2000, Hastings District Council’s mayor at the time, Jeremy Dwyer, was asked to visit the Japanese Embassy in Wellington to receive a presentation from the Sato family.

He later wrote in his “Mayoral Musings” that he was not prepared for his own reaction when he was handed a cheque for $83,000 and a “simply but powerfully inscribed memorial plaque”.

After Sato’s death, her family had visited Hawke’s Bay to see where their daughter had died.

They offered to pay a share of the cost of installing a roundabout.

The council said it was their responsibility to pay for road safety work, but the family insisted it was their wish to contribute.

The plaque records Yukiko Sato’s name, the date of her death and a message for the future: “drive safely”.

“The Satos lost their daughter and they gave us a legacy of reflection and response to think long and hard about,” Dwyer said.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.