An aerial image of Clifton Motor Camp from the 1970s. Photo / Alec Houston
I collect, not surprisingly, lots of information.
About 13 years ago, while doing a project on the families of Hawke’s Bay’s World War I soldiers, I came across Wesley Newsome Stanley (1897-1973), a carpenter, who had served at Gallipoli.
Wesley’s great love was for Clifton, and he moved there with his family in October 1931, building a bach at the far end of what would become Clifton Domain.
He was suffering financial difficulties at that time, and he talked about how hard business was after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.
The last job he had before moving to Clifton was making coffins with Sam Tonge, the local undertaker, for the 90 or so earthquake victims in Hastings.
Fortunately, there was a bright spot to 1932 when he was appointed a gannet sanctuary ranger for the colony at Cape Kidnappers, a position he would hold for 41 years, before retiring in 1972. He was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 1973 New Years Honours for his service.
Wesley opened a shop in September 1933 from his house, where he sold refreshments to picnickers visiting the gannet sanctuary on weekends.
His neighbour was Frank Gordon, the owner of Clifton Station.
Frank’s land, which would form Clifton Domain, was already being used as a picnic area by the Hastings and Napier public without his permission. Those travelling to the gannet sanctuary cut across this land.
Rather than forbid people from picnicking and cutting across it, Frank announced in February 1936 he would gift this area as a public recreational reserve.
Part of the condition of creating the reserve was that it should be placed under the control of the Hawke’s Bay Country Council.
With significant development costs needed to create amenities in the Domain, the County weren’t keen to take it over. They believed more urban use of the reserve would prevail, therefore Napier and Hastings Borough Councils should administer and pay for it.
Napier Borough Council said, “No thanks”, and Hastings Borough Council said, “We’d like to know more.”
However, there was a slight hiccup ... Frank, in October 1936, withdrew the offer to donate the land. He was not happy that the Napier and Hastings councils may administer the reserve.
Moreover, he fenced off the area and placed this notice: “This property to the cliff-edge from high-water mark will be closed to the public from November 1.”
Napier tobacco magnate Gerhard Husheer entered the fray and offered £100 (2025: $14,500) to develop the proposed reserve.
Despite this, Frank wouldn’t budge.
The Public Works Act then entered the conversation, prompted by the local newspaper, Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune. This meant taking the land by compulsory acquisition.
The local MP for Napier, W E Barnard, got involved, and met with Frank Gordon in February 1937.
While the details were kept quiet of the arrangement, what resulted in August 1937 was the creation of a public domain from the transfer of part of section 10 Block V from Frank Gordon.
Clifton No 2 Domain Board was formed in early 1938 to control the land, of which three members were from the Hawke’s Bay County Council, one each from Napier and Hastings Borough Councils, and one from Napier’s Thirty Thousand Club.
Gerhard Husheer’s £100 would pay for the improvements needed, such as the changing rooms.
Entrance fees for vehicles and camping fees were set for the Domain when the board met in February 1938, and a signboard listing these charges was to be erected in time for the 1938/39 summer.
There was a slight problem as six bachs were erected on the water’s edge on the Domain used by about 20 fishermen, and some were permanently occupied by them.
Not unsurprisingly, the fishermen were not happy about being told to leave and take their buildings with them.
The April 1938 storm had caused a large slip where most of the hillside had come down onto the Domain. Spoil from the slip was used to level out the domain area.
Clifton Domain opened to the public in October 1938, and by this time the fishermen’s huts had gone, levelling of the campsite had taken place, a road made to Wesley Stanley’s refreshment rooms, public conveniences built, and trees planted along the roadway to the Domain’s entrance.
The public, now being asked to pay to drive their cars onto the Domain, something that was previously free, were not happy, although pedestrians were free to enter.
The Clifton Domain proved very popular over the 1938/9 summer, with around 150 cars parked there at the weekends.
Erosion from the sea was an issue which concerned the Domain Board in April 1939, and the Hawke’s Bay Harbour Board placed wooden planks in the sea to trap shingle to build up the shore.
To stop erosion from the bank behind the Domain, pinus insignis was planted.
These trees would gradually be replaced in the 1940s and 1950s by native trees, such as pōhutukawa, titoki, hauhere, ngaio and kōwhai.
In 1963, part of Section 10 was added to form Clifton No 2 Camp.
The 1989 local government reforms saw the Domain Board No 2 disestablished, and replaced with the Hastings District Council.
A lease was given by them to the Clifton Reserve Society Inc to operate the camp sites, and the Council approved in 1990 clubrooms to be built by the Clifton Marine Club.
Over the years the Domain would suffer from storm damage, including major damage in 1949. Clifton No 2 Camp once had three rows of camp sites, but significant land erosion reduced this to one row of camp sites either side of the amenities block.
In 2011, Clifton No 1 Camp experienced a large landslide, which damaged the toilet block, and covered the children’s playground in soil. No one was hurt in the incident.
Due to fears of landslide risk, Clifton’s No 1 Camp was evacuated on February 13, 2026.
Michael Fowler is a Hawke’s Bay historian and deputy mayor of Hastings.