Born in Hastings on 19 March 1938, Hastie grew up shooting rabbits on a Hawke's Bay sheep station.[1][2] In 1966, he began long-range target shooting at the Okawa Rifle Club, where he was mentored by Maurie Gordon.[1]
Hastie competed for New Zealand in full-bore rifle shooting at the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games. On both occasions he finished 19th in the open full-bore individual events, and in 1982 he was sixth, with John Whiteman, in the open full-bore pairs.[3] Hastie was New Zealand shooting team manager at both the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games.[1]
In 1982, Hastie won the Ballinger Belt at the New Zealand rifle shooting championships, representing the Okawa Rifle Club.[4]
Between 1976 and 2007, Hastie was a member of many New Zealand teams at the Palma Match team events and world long-range championships, either a shooter, coach or gunsmith. With Tony Halberg, he built the rifles that the New Zealand team used to place third at the 1999 world championship at Bloemfontein.[1]
Hastie was a life member of the Hawke's Bay Rifle Club and the National Rifle Association of New Zealand.[1] He died in Wellington on 4 October 2021.[1][5]
References
^ abcdefCrowe, Daryl (October 2021). "RIP – John Hastie". National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 15 January 2022.