Editing Hastings, New Zealand (section)

===1932 to 1999===
[[File:Hastings CBD Oct 2023.jpg|thumb|left|Looking down Heretaunga St E in the CBD]]
[[File:Hastings NZ looking NW down Lyndon Rd.jpg|thumb|left|Looking down Lyndon Rd]]
[[File:Hastings CBD near HB Today HQ.jpg|thumb|left|Looking down Heretaunga St E in the CBD]]

During [[World War II]], [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] troops were billeted at the Army, Navy and Air Force (ANA) Club, and in private homes. One hundred and fifty members belonging to sixteen different local clubs packed supplies to be sent to Allied soldiers. In 1954, Hastings was the first city in New Zealand to introduce [[fluoridation]] of its water supply.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/AB32B58A8D61D9DACC256F47007C32BB |title= Ministry of Health NZ|website=www.moh.govt.nz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123050747/http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/AB32B58A8D61D9DACC256F47007C32BB |archive-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> The intention was to compare the effect on tooth decay with that in the unfluoridated city of Napier over a ten-year period. The study was criticised for its methodology and results, and remains controversial.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.bmartin.cc/dissent/documents/Colquhoun99.pdf|title=The Lost Control and Other Mysteries: Further Revelations on New Zealand's Fluoridation Trial |author=John Colquhoun |author2=Bill Wilson | journal = [[Accountability in Research]] | volume = 6 | pages = 373–394 | year = 1999|issue=4 |doi=10.1080/08989629908573936 }}</ref>

On 10 September 1960, the Hastings Blossom Parade (at the time a significant national event) was cancelled at 11&nbsp;am for the first time in its history due to rain. Parade attendees drank in bars for several hours and when, subsequently, an 'impromptu' parade began at 2&nbsp;pm, a riot started as police tried to arrest those intoxicated in public. This was considered a significant event in New Zealand society, with modern youth rebellion culture being labelled antisocial, and was subsequently much publicised with the national election later that year.

Hastings grew rapidly throughout the 1960s and 1970s (Hastings at this time was the fastest growing city in New Zealand), and there was a major issue dealing with encroachment of suburban expansion on highly productive land. [[Flaxmere]] was established as a satellite suburb to absorb rapid growth and was built upon the stony, arid soils of the abandoned course of the [[Ngaruroro River]]. Although the land seemed worthless back then, it has subsequently proved highly valued for grape growing, and now is a prized region of red wine varietals in the world-famous [[Gimblett Gravels]] wine-growing region. Starting with economic decline nationally in the late 1970s, coupled with agricultural [[Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand#Economic|subsidy reforms]] in the early 1980s, Hastings went into recession with more unemployment and low economic growth. It was not until the mid-1990s that the economy of Hastings began to turn around.

During the [[1989 local government reforms]] Hastings City amalgamated with the [[Havelock North]] Borough and [[Hawke's Bay County]] to form the modern Hastings District. The County Council offices in Napier were closed in favour of Hastings, and the new Hastings District Council offices were built on two sites. The Napier City boundary was expanded to include Bay View and Meeanee. However, unlike largely urban Napier (population density 540.0 per km<sup>2</sup>), much of the newly formed Hastings District is rural and sparsely populated (population density 14.0 per km<sup>2</sup>), the Hastings District has approximately {{NZ population data 2018|Hastings district |y|y|y|(|)}} residents.

Because of their proximity to each other and their relatively small populations, Hastings and Napier are often seen as candidates for further amalgamation. This was attempted with the 1999 Amalgamation Referendum, where 75% of Napier residents opposed, and 64% of Hastings residents were in support.