The Hastings Borough Council bought The Park (then called Beatson's Park) from owner John Beatson in 1912.
Beatson had obtained it, after Tanner's 1889 financial difficulties, on deferred payment terms of 20 years.
Embarrassingly for the council was that government auditors determined the purchase was illegal under the Municipal Corporations Act. No council was then allowed to purchase land on extended-credit terms.
The matter was dealt with in Parliament, and a clause under the Washing Up Act was enacted and the transaction passed smoothly through Parliament without debate. (The council would change Beatson's Park name to Windsor Park in 1935.)
I believe the Hastings District Council does an excellent job creating pocket parks and beautifying its existing parks, such as the stunning new Village Green development in Havelock North led by Colin Hosford, Rachel Stuart and their team.
Hastings has had a long history of creating parks and regenerating and beautifying them, such as in the late 1920s and early 1930s when they created a boating lake and campground at Beatson's Park, now Windsor Park.
Campers began to pitch their tents on the present campgrounds in 1926, with the formal beginning of the campground in 1927.
Cooking and toilet facilities were created from a large council-owned building that was being demolished.
Takings for the first year of operation were £46 (2017 equivalent: $4400).
During the Great Depression years, unemployment work schemes improved the area by enlarging a section of the Makirikiri Creek and turning it into a boating lake.
Flower beds were planted near the lake, while stone boarders and Art Deco-inspired bridges were made in 1934 from the rubble of the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
With a decent-sized boating lake, the borough council built a boat shed, also in 1934, and purchased rowboats and canoes. This proved a popular and profitable enterprise for it.
The Motorists' Camp at Beatson's Park, as it was first called, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.
Its biggest cheerleader was the Hawke's Bay Automobile Association (AA), which contributed £25 ($2400) towards its development.
The AA declared the campgrounds one of the best in New Zealand.
Even the Napier Chamber of Commerce glowed about it, saying Napier couldn't find a suitable site there.
The chamber's manager wrote to the Auckland Automobile Association in 1927, recommending the Hastings Motorists' Camp: "should you receive any inquiries. I would advise that motorists be directed to Beatson's Park, Hastings, as the most suitable. It is only twelve miles from Napier, a distance that will involve no great hardship to motorists who wish to spend their time on the Napier beach."
In a rare display of co-operation between Napier and Hastings in those days, the Hastings Borough Council had asked the Napier Chamber of Commerce for help.
As is the case today, Napier had a large tourist influx, and Hastings wanted assistance in directing motorists to the campgrounds. And here it is - a glowing reference from the Napier Chamber of Commerce about the Motorists' campgrounds at Beatson's Park:
"There is a freshwater swimming bath, an ample supply of artesian water, and up-to-date conveniences for men and women. The council staff is erecting a cookhouse with ample fireplace and a shelter shed alongside with a hand basin and hot water supply.
"The parking or camping area is alongside the small stream above mentioned, and is sheltered by weeping willow trees. Another attraction is the golf links, there being a nine-hole course on the park. Visiting motorist golfers will receive a hearty welcome from the Parkvale Club."
Ironically, when Beatson's Park was purchased by the borough council in 1912 there were criticisms because the area, not yet developed with housing, was said to be too far away from the centre of town.
* Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is a chartered accountant, speaker and writer of history.
