![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4JVJ4OP_bloosontrees2_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nA visitor enjoys the view at the flowering cherry grove’s blossom.
\nPhoto: Linda Hall\n<\/p>\n
A beloved grove of flowering cherry trees in Hastings is one of the most popular photo spots in the region at the start of every spring.<\/p>\n
But the reason it exists is because of immense tragedy, and immense generosity.<\/p>\n
The Pakowhai Rd site is near the scene of a fatal car crash on the Chesterhope Bridge in 1998 that killed three Japanese exchange students studying at EIT and a local driver.<\/p>\n
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To honour the students who lost their lives, the parents of one of the victims Takeshi Ozawa asked the Hastings District Council for permission to plant a grove of six flowering cherry trees, accompanied by a commemorative plaque, on the road reserve at the site of the accident.<\/p>\n
A further 37 flowering cherry trees were planted in the large green space adjacent to them.<\/p>\n
The Cherry Blossom (Sakura) is considered the national flower of Japan.<\/p>\n
In October the following year, another Japanese student studying in Hawke’s Bay, Yukiko Sato, was killed in a car accident at the intersection of Lawn and Mill Road.<\/p>\n
The intersection had a history of accidents, and Sato’s death added to its tragic record.<\/p>\n
The community, and especially residents near the intersection, had been calling for the council to make improvements.<\/p>\n
In May 2000, the then Hastings District Council mayor, Jeremy Dwyer was asked to visit the Japanese Embassy in Wellington to receive a presentation from the Sato family.<\/p>\n
He later wrote in his “Mayoral Musings” that he was not prepared for his own reaction when he was handed a cheque for NZ$83,000 and a “simply but powerfully inscribed memorial plaque”.<\/p>\n
Following Sato’s death, her family had visited Hawke’s Bay to see where their daughter had died.<\/p>\n
They offered to pay a share of the cost of installing a roundabout.<\/p>\n
The council said it was their responsibility to pay for road safety work, but the family insisted it was their wish to contribute.<\/p>\n
The plague records Yukiko Sato’s name, the date of her death and a message for the future; “drive safely”.<\/p>\n
“The Satos lost their daughter and they gave us a legacy of reflection and response to think long and hard about,” Dwyer said.<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n