Pipers from the Hastings City Pipe Band, accompanied by Central School and St Mathew's Primary School students, walked to each end of the downtown area and then led dignitaries on to the stage.
Hastings District Councillor Kevin Watkins was the Master of Ceremonies and Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, Rt Rev Andrew Hedge and Bishop of Waiapu and Kaumatua Jerry Hapukue delivered a few words.
Napier Mayor, Bill Dalton, Tuki Tuki MP Craig Foss, Hastings Red Cross president, Paul Hawke, Hastings Deputy Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and other councillors were also in attendance.
During his speech, Mr Yule said they were not only there to "remember this tragic day but also to celebrate the cities we have around us and the communities we all share."
"As we remember the tragedy of 1931 we should ponder on what happened and the loss of life and the largest single event to impact on the Hawke's Bay community but we should also learn from it and make sure we are as prepared as we possibly can be, should it happen again," Mr Yule said.
As well as reflecting on the sadness and loss of the tragedy, Mr Yule said recent events were a reminder of the ever-present threat of earthquakes and other natural disasters.
"It is our communities' collective memory of the ramifications from our own earthquake that has further allowed us to understand the trauma that Christchurch and more recently Kaikoura has been through."
Head students from four schools in Hastings and Havelock North, including Iona College, Hastings Girls' High School, Hastings Boys' High School and Hastings Intermediate School read extracts from various reports and publications written in the days immediately following the seismic shock.
A moment of silence was observed and Mr Yule also laid a wreath at the clock tower with survivors of the quake.
The Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre lead the National Anthem and gave two other performances, before The Bells of Dunblane closed the service.
Gordon Vogtherr, George Fouldes and Ike Gillies were among the survivors at the service and have been attending for many years.
Mr Fouldes, was 11 years old at the time and has vivid memories of the shake, which he felt while at Central School in Hastings.
"I remember looking up and seeing the back of the municipal theatre falling in a cloud of dust. It was a very sad day in lots of ways."
His dear friend, Alice Mary Wells, who worked at the Roachs' department store was only 17 at the time and "never came home".
Mr Gillies, who currently lives on a Queensland Farm in Australia, comes back every year during this time to attend the service and said he would continue for as long as he could.