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Story: Arable farming

Peas float, Hastings Blossom Festival

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Peas float, Hastings Blossom Festival

The Hastings Blossom Festival was first held in 1950. It went into recess in the 1970s but started again in the 1980s, and is now held every September. The festival includes a parade through the city with floats representing local business and community groups. This is the Wattie’s pea float from the 1958 parade, featuring peas in pods, cans and cartons. Peas are grown in the Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay regions for freezing and canning.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-024048; C (PAColl-5936-20)

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Sue Zydenbos, Arable farming – Markets and processing, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/17603/peas-float-hastings-blossom-festival (accessed 23 June 2026).

Story by Sue Zydenbos, published 1 March 2009.