Hastings (pop. 81,537) is a district on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is on the Heretaunga Plains, in the Hawke’s Bay region. Hastings is in the center of rich grazing country, where farmers raise sheep and some cattle. The district is known as the fruitbowl of New Zealand. Hastings has New Zealand’s largest canned and frozen foods processing plants. The Hastings district has more than 500 factories.
Hastings was first settled in 1864 on land reclaimed from swamp. It developed after the arrival of the railroad in 1873. The district is named after Warren Hastings, the first governor general of India. It has survived two great disasters—a fire in 1883 and an earthquake in 1931.
