Havelock North was founded as a planned Government settlement following the purchase in 1858, from Māori owners, of land previously known as 'Karanema's Reserve'. The original village was laid out in 1860, taking its name from Sir
Henry Havelock, who was involved in the suppression of the
Indian Uprising, thus keeping with the local habit of naming towns after prominent men from
Imperial India. Its founders originally envisaged a larger town for the site, but when the
Wellington–Napier rail line went through the area in 1874 it took a direct route some distance from Havelock North, and Hastings became a more logical choice for residents. In the early 1800s, the local Karamu Stream was part of the much larger
Ngaruroro River system. It was termed the "River Plassey", the same name also being applied to a street in the village after the
battle of Plassey of 1757 near
Calcutta. Early survey plans of Havelock North show ferry landings where boats would sail up and down the river to collect and deliver supplies. This practice was phased out in the 1880s, when a number of large floods diverted the Ngaruroro River to its current course further north away from Havelock North. Later, during the
1931 earthquake, a bridge over the Karamu was completely destroyed. Like a number of
North Island towns, Havelock North has grown larger than its
South Island namesake,
Havelock, in the
Marlborough Sounds. Havelock North was the centre for
Havelock Work, a quasi-religious movement based at a temple of the
Stella Matutina magical order, which followed the early twentieth century teachings of the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The building housing the temple survives today as
Whare Ra. From 12 to 29 August 2016 the town experienced New Zealand's largest recorded outbreak of waterborne disease.
Campylobacter entered the town's water supply after run off from a nearby sheep farm entered the Brookvale boreholes following heavy rain. Of the town's 13,000 residents, 5,500 fell ill, 45 were hospitalised and four died. == Demographics ==