Articles
Regional rugby
The passion and parochialism of provincial rugby has helped give the game a special place in New Zealand’s social and sporting history. Read brief histories, highlights and quirky facts about each of New Zealand's 26 regional rugby teams.
- Page 15 - Hawke's Bay rugbyHistory and highlights of rugby in the Hawke's Bay
One of Hawke’s Bay’s two cities, Hastings is the urban hub of the region’s agricultural and horticultural industries. Hastings was founded later than other Hawke’s Bay towns. Runholder and entrepreneur Thomas Tanner and partners illegally leased land on the Heretaunga plain from Māori in 1864, and were granted an official lease in 1867. Led by Tanner, the group – informally known as the Twelve Apostles – purchased the entire block by 1870, despite opposition to selling from some Māori and from Europeans who feared monopolies. Hastings was laid out in 1873.
