Hastings Standard

Hastings’s first regular newspaper was the Hastings Star, which appeared in 1886 but only lasted for two years. Despite having a population of around 2,000 by 1890, another newspaper did not emerge until the Hastings Standard appeared in 1896.

The Standard was started by William Arnott and Anthony Cashion, who were both from Greymouth. The Standard was embroiled in an early dispute with the United Press Association over what it saw as the charging of an exorbitant fee to join the Association. The owner of the neighbouring Napier newspaper the Daily Telegraph, Edward Knowles, was also at the time Chairman of the Association and allegations were made that he had used his position to prevent the successful establishment of a potential rival. A lower fee was eventually agreed, but the Standard’s early years were blighted by financial difficulties. At one stage, after staff were not paid for six weeks, continued publication was only ensured after subscribers and advertisers rallied to provide the necessary funds.

After various changes of ownership, in 1907 William Whitlock, who had previously published the Egmont Settler in Stratford, acquired the Standard along with a business partner. Three generations of the Whitlock family were subsequently involved in the running of the Standard and its successors and were instrumental in turning it into one of the country’s leading provincial dailies.

In 1910 Whitlock accepted an offer from a consortium backed by local farming interests to incorporate the Standard into a new venture, the Hawke’s Bay Tribune. The first issue of the new title was published on 12 December 1910 and a period of expansion and technological development began.

The 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake dealt a severe blow to both Hastings and the Tribune. The newspaper’s office was severely damaged and production ceased for close to two weeks, although small daily bulletins were issued by the Tribune. Tribune reporter A L ‘Darby’ Ryan was killed when the clock tower of the Hastings Post Office collapsed on him; reportedly, when his body was recovered from the rubble, a pencil and pad were in his hands and his pocket contained ‘copy’ collected during his morning round. The printing plant of the Napier morning newspaper, the Hawke’s Bay Herald, was completely destroyed by the earthquake and the Tribune took over printing of the Herald.

The earthquake and the Depression years took a heavy toll on the Herald and in 1937 it was merged with the Tribune. The new paper was called the Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune and its first issue appeared on 16 January 1937.

In 1982 ownership of the Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune and its long-time rival, the Daily Telegraph of Napier, was amalgamated. The two newspapers continued to be published separately, but in 1999 they were merged to become Hawke’s Bay Today. With a history that stretches back to the publication of the first issue of the Hawke’s Bay Herald in 1857, Hawke’s Bay Today is the third oldest newspaper currently being published in New Zealand, as of 2014.