NZ Hastings — Leopard Brewery

The Leopard Brewery in Hastings is one of the most historically layered breweries in the entire Heineken archive — a site that passed through five distinct ownership phases over more than a century, and one of the few breweries in the world to have been owned by both of New Zealand’s two great brewing dynasties.
The site on Hastings Street, on the corner of Ellison Road and St Aubyn Street East, was first established in 1880 under the name Ellis — after the mayor of Hastings at the time. Edward Newbigin, a settler originally from Newcastle-on-Tyne in England, bought the brewery in 1894 and kept it in the family for over six decades. Under the Newbigin family the brewery was originally known as Burton Brewery — named after the famous English brewing town — but was renamed Leopard Brewery in the 1950s to avoid confusion with a similarly named brewery in Palmerston North.
The defining moment in the brewery’s history came in 1957 when the Newbigin family sold to Malayan Breweries in Singapore — a subsidiary of Heineken Brewery in Holland. The arrival of Malayan Breweries brought Dutch brewing expertise and crucially the Heineken yeast to Hawke’s Bay, making lagers the speciality of the house. During the nine years of Malayan Breweries ownership the brewery produced Leopard Continental Lager, Leopard Strong and Leopard Extra Stout XXX — establishing itself as one of New Zealand’s most technically advanced brewing operations. The Leopard Brewery achieved a remarkable first during this period: it became the first brewery in New Zealand to can beer, and sent the first canned beer consignment to Antarctica. A further distinction — the first canned beer consignment sent to Iraq went from Leopard Brewery in Hastings, fifty thousand cartons.
In 1966 New Zealand Breweries — which held the Heineken distribution agency in New Zealand — bought a 50% shareholding in Leopard, ending the direct Heineken ownership connection. The remaining 50% was purchased by New Zealand Breweries in 1982, making Leopard fully Lion-owned. Under Lion the brewery continued operating as a regional production site, later renamed Hastings Brewery and then Hawke’s Bay Brewery. The brewery closed in the 1990s. In a final twist of fate, the site was sold to Dominion Breweries — the Heineken-connected company — before being fully disassembled.