HASTINGS

city (district), Hawke's Bay local government region, eastern North Island, New Zealand. It lies on the Heretaunga Plains, near Hawke Bay. The area's first European settlers arrived in 1864 to take up land leased from the local Maoris. The settlement was linked to the island's rail system by 1873 and was named after Warren Hastings (first governor-general of British India); it was declared a town in 1884 and a borough two years later. A disastrous earthquake struck the borough in 1931; but Hastings was rebuilt, grew, and was constituted a city in 1956. Serving an agricultural and pastoral region, it is a food-processing centre with canning, quick-freezing, dairy, and meatpacking plants, stockyards, and breweries; it also produces fertilizer, tallow, and stock food. Highland Games are held at Hastings every year in the spring. It is part of the Napier-Hastings urban area. Pop. (1992 est.) city, 57,900; (1991 prelim.) district, 64,558. borough (district), administrative county of East Sussex, historic county of Sussex, England. The old port of Hastings, premier among the medieval Cinque Ports, has developed in modern times as a seaside resort. Prehistoric earthworks and the ruins of a medieval castle crown Castle Hill, which is situated on the sandstone cliffs overlooking the old fishing settlement and port at the mouth of a steep valley. The main shopping centre lies west of this old nucleus, which is notable for its numerous antique shops. The resort has developed along the seafront to the west, where, since 1872, the borough has also included St. Leonards. The seaside resort is also noteworthy for its winter chess congress. The site of the Battle of Hastings (1066) lies northwest of the town. Area 12 square miles (30 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 81,400. city, seat (1878) of Adams county, south-central Nebraska, U.S. The city lies along the West Fork of the Big Blue River. Founded in 1872 at the eastern terminus of the St. Joseph and Denver City Railroad, it was named for Colonel Thomas D. Hastings, a railroad contractor. A wholesale distributing centre for an agricultural (mainly wheat) area, it has dairy and food industries, grain processing and storage facilities, and a government beef-research station. Cooling, heating, and farm and irrigation equipment are manufactured. A U.S. naval munitions depot is 2 miles (3 km) east. Hastings College was founded in 1882. The Hastings Museum (pioneer and Indian artifacts) includes the McDonald Planetarium. Inc. 1874. Pop. (1992 est.) 23,236.