Te Mata Park is part of the land associated with the ancestor Te Rehunga of Ngāti Ngarengare, a sub-tribe of Ngāti Kahungunu. The Park has a rich human history spanning several centuries. The upper parts of the Park in particular have a strong cultural importance to Māori. There is evidence of past settlement including pā sites and other earthworks. The Karaka groves in the upper Te Hau Valley area and Moa bones found on the slopes suggest intensive Māori settlement.

Te Mata Peak is designated an “Outstanding Natural Landscape” in the Hastings District Council District Plan 6. Protection of the present landscape is given the highest priority in the Plan, which defines it as: “the single most significant landscape icon in Hawke’s Bay, having District, Regional and National significance. It is the most prominent landmark in the eastern Heretaunga Plains with a distinctive silhouette skyline. It is a source of identity for both Hastings and Havelock North residents and Ngāti Kahungunu.”

Frimley Park in Hastings is an 'Old English' style reserve noted for its many beautiful and rare trees and more than 5500 roses set out in formal gardens.

The park also has sports fields catering for football and cricket (see field maps below), a picnic area with tables, a petanque court (BYO boules), and a playground.

The play area is specially designed to suit all mobilities. Children are drawn into different play zones through the use of brightly coloured astro-turf that separates each area. This vibrant use of colour and textured surfacing is also designed to help those with poor vision or learning disabilities. Play equipment includes bongo drums, talk tubes, wheelchair-friendly roundabout, swings, slides, rope climb and scooter path.

On the park’s Frimley Rd boundary is the Frimley Aquatic Centre, an outdoor swimming complex open over the summer months.

Hastings, like its neighbouring city, Napier, was laid waste by the Hawkes Bay earthquake of 3 February 1931. Among the many buildings destroyed was the post office with its prominent clock tower and dome. As part of the town’s efforts to rebuild, a national competition was held to design a new clock tower. This was won by a local architect, Sydney Chaplin. His striking freestanding Art Deco building was completed at the intersection of  Heretaunga Street and Russell Street towards the end of 1935.

The clock tower was designed as a symbol of recovery rather than as a memorial (Clock Tower, NZ Historic Places Trust, 2005). The victims of the earthquake were buried and acknowledged with a memorial in the Hastings cemetery. However, in 1995 Hastings District Council also installed two copper plaques on the tower dedicated to the memory of those people who lost their lives in the earthquake at Hastings on 3rd February 1931. These listed 93 names (another name was added later).

With a distinctly rural feel, Puketapu Park might be a bit off the track but it is worth the trip!

Link up with some of the District’s i-Way tracks and cycle to the park if you please, or take the car and drive by the Puketapu store on the way. It's just an 18 minute drive from Napier.

With a modern children’s playground, Puketapu Park has a range of play equipment including a large tandem flying fox, a four person see-saw and a spinning Roktopus tyre swing. The park has a free-to-use BBQ, picnic tables and toilet facilities as well as a large open grassed area and cricket pitch.

The reserve is located along the Tutaekuri River and is a permitted overnight parking site for verified self-contained vehicles.