Hamilton Kirikiriroa (Māori)
City
Hamilton from Till's Lookout, from Whitiora to Fairfield Bridge, traffic on SH1, Māori Garden, Hamilton Station, city offices and WINTEC
Coat of arms
Nicknames:  Hamiltron, the Tron,[1] H-Town.[1] Previously: the Fountain City.[2]
Location of the Hamilton Territorial Authority
Hamilton Location of Hamilton, New Zealand
Coordinates: 37°47′S 175°17′E / 37.783°S 175.283°E / -37.783; 175.283
Country	New Zealand
Island	North Island
Region	Waikato
Government
• Mayor	Paula Southgate
• Deputy Mayor	Angela O'Leary
• Territorial authority	Hamilton City Council
Area [3]
• Territorial	110.8 km2 (42.8 sq mi)
• Urban	110.37 km2 (42.61 sq mi)
Elevation	40 m (131 ft)
Population  (June 2023)[4]
• Territorial	185,300
• Density	1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
• Urban	185,300
• Urban density	1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi)
• Demonym	Hamiltonian
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	3200, 3204, 3206, 3210, 3214, 3216
Area code	07
Local iwi	Tainui
Website	www.hamilton.govt.nz www.waikatoregion.govt.nz

Hamilton (Māori: Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of 185,300,^[4] it is the country's fourth most-populous city. Encompassing a land area of about 110 km² (42 sq mi),^[5] Hamilton is part of the wider Hamilton Urban Area, which also encompasses the nearby towns of Ngāruawāhia, Te Awamutu and Cambridge. In 2020, Hamilton was awarded the title of most beautiful large city in New Zealand.^[6]

The area now covered by the city was originally the site of several Māori villages, including Kirikiriroa, from which the city takes its Māori name. By the time English settlers arrived, most of these villages, which sat beside the Waikato River, were abandoned as a result of the Invasion of Waikato and land confiscation (Raupatu) by the Crown.

Initially an agricultural service centre, Hamilton now has a diverse economy and is the third fastest growing urban area in New Zealand, behind Pukekohe and Auckland.^[7] Hamilton Gardens is the region's most popular tourist attraction. Education and research and development play an important part in Hamilton's economy, as the city is home to approximately 40,000 tertiary students and 1,000 PhD-qualified scientists.^[8]

Name

The settlement was named by Colonel William Moule after Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton,^[9] the commander of HMS Esk, who was killed in the battle of Gate Pā, Tauranga.^[10] On 10 March 2013 a statue of Captain Hamilton was given to the city by the Gallagher Group;^[11] a gesture that has since been viewed as controversial by some.^[12] On 12 June 2020, the Hamilton City Council removed the statue at the request of local Māori iwi Waikato Tainui.^[13] The statue's removal has been linked to calls for the removal of statues of figures associated with colonialism and racism in New Zealand and the world, which were precipitated by the protests related to the murder of George Floyd. A local Māori elder Taitimu Maipi, who had vandalised the statue in 2018, has also called for the city to be renamed Kirikiriroa, its original Māori name.^[14]

History

The area now covered by the city was originally the site of several Māori villages (kāinga), including Te Parapara,^[15] Pukete, Miropiko and Kirikiriroa ("long stretch of gravel'), from which the city takes its Māori name. Local Māori were the target of raids by Ngāpuhi during the Musket Wars,^[16] and several pā sites from this period can still be found beside the Waikato River. In December 2011 several rua or food storage pits were found near the Waikato River bank, close to the Waikato museum.

In 1822, Kirikiriroa Pa was briefly abandoned to escape the Musket Wars. However, by the 1830s Ngati Wairere’s principal pa was Kirikiriroa,^[17] where the missionaries, who arrived at that time,^[18] estimated 200 people lived permanently.^[17] A chapel and house were built at Kirikiriroa for visiting clergy,^[19] presumably after Benjamin Ashwell established his mission near Taupiri.

Between 1845 and 1855, crops such as wheat, fruit and potatoes were exported to Auckland, with up to 50 canoes serving Kirikiriroa. Imports included blankets, clothing, axes, sugar, rum, and tobacco.^[19] Millstones were acquired and a water wheel constructed, though possibly the flour mill wasn't completed.^[17] However, one article said Kirikiriroa flour was well known.^[20]

Magistrate Gorst, estimated that Kirikiriroa had a population of about 78 before the Invasion of Waikato via the Waikato Wars of 1863–64. The government estimated the Waikato area had a Māori population of 3,400 at the same time. After the war in the Waikato, large areas of land (1.2 Million Acres), including the area of the present city of Hamilton were attained by the Crown under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863.^[21] On 10 August 1864 the government advertised for tenders to build 10 huts and a hospital at Kirikiriroa.^[22] Hamilton was settled by the 4th regiment of the Waikato Militia.^[23] The 1st Regiment was at Tauranga, the 2nd at Pirongia, the 3rd at Cambridge and the 4th at Kirikiriroa.^[18][24] The settlement was founded on 24 August 1864.^[25] Many of the soldier/settlers who intended to farm after the 1863 war, walked off their land in 1868 due to its poor quality. Much of the land was swampy or under water. In 1868 Hamilton's population, which was about 1,000 in 1864, dropped to 300 as farmers left.^[26] On 22 December 1875 the first brickworks opened in Hamilton.^[27]

Victoria Bridge in 1910

The road from Auckland reached Hamilton in 1867 and the railway in December 1877. That same month, the towns of Hamilton West and Hamilton East merged under a single borough council.^[28] The first traffic bridge between Hamilton West and Hamilton East, known as the Union Bridge, opened in 1879. It was replaced by the Victoria Bridge in 1910.

The first railway bridge, the Claudelands Bridge, was opened in 1884. It was converted to a road traffic bridge in 1965.^[29] Hamilton reached 1,000 people in 1900, and the town of Frankton merged with the Hamilton Borough in 1917.^[24] Between 1912 and 1936, Hamilton expanded with new land in Claudelands (1912), Maeroa (1925), and Richmond – modern day Waikato Hospital and northern Melville (1936).^[30] Hamilton was proclaimed a city in 1945.^[18]

In the latter 19th century, the areas of Te Rapa and Pukete were important sites for the kauri gum trade of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, being some of the southern-most locations where gum could be found.^[31]

Hood Street in 1962

The city is near the southernmost navigable reach of the Waikato River, amidst New Zealand's richest and now fertile agricultural land that was once largely Raupo and Kahikatea swamp.^[32] Beale Cottage is an 1872 listed building in Hamilton East.

From 1985 MV Waipa Delta^[33] provided excursions along the river through the town centre. In 2009 Waipa Delta^[34] was moved to provide trips on Waitematā Harbour in Auckland,^[35] but replaced by a smaller boat. That too ceased operation and the pontoon at Parana Park was removed in 2013.^[36] The Delta moved to Taupō in 2012.^[37] The former Golden Bay vessel,^[38] Cynthia Dew, ran 4 days a week^[39] on the river from 2012,^[40] but was in liquidation in December 2022.^[41]

Contemporary history

Corner of Hood Street.

Hood Street in Hamilton Central.

Hamilton Central, on the Waikato River, is a bustling retail precinct. The entertainment area is quite vibrant due to the large student population. The 2008 Lonely Planet guide states that "the city's main street has sprouted a sophisticated and vibrant stretch of bars and eateries that on the weekend at least leave Auckland's Viaduct Harbour for dead in the boozy fun stakes."^[42] Many of the city's venues and attractions are located on the old Town Belt, including Hamilton Gardens, Waikato Stadium, Seddon Park, and the Hamilton Lake Domain.

As of 2016, the city continues to grow rapidly. Development is focused on the northern end of the city although in 2012 the council made a decision to balance the city's growth by approving an urban development to the south. Traffic congestion is increasing due to population growth, though the council has undertaken many road development projects to try to keep up with the rapid growth.^[43] State Highway 1 runs through the western and southern suburbs and has a major junction with State Highway 3 south of the city centre, which contributes to congestion. The Hamilton City Council is building a 2/4-lane arterial road, Wairere Drive, through the northern and eastern suburbs to form a 25 km suburban ring road with State Highway 1, which is due for completion in early 2015,^[44] while the New Zealand Transport Agency plans to complete the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway by 2019, easing congestion taking State Highway 1 out of the city and bypassing it to the east.^[45]

The rapid growth of Hamilton has brought with it the side effects of urban sprawl especially to the north east of the city in the Rototuna area. Further development is planned in the Rototuna and Peacocke suburbs.^[46] There has been significant development of lifestyle blocks adjacent to the Hamilton Urban Area, in particular Tamahere, and Matangi.

Geography

Waikato River in Hamilton Central from Parana Park

Hamilton's geography is largely the result of successive volcanic ash falls, plus debris, which swept down the Waikato River in at least two massive floods, created by ash blocking the outlet of Lake Taupō. In its present form the landscape originated around 20,000 years ago (20 kya), after the Oruanui eruption of the Taupō Volcano. The dates given for the eruption vary. A 2007 study said it was between 22.5 and 14 kya.^[47] Another in 2004 put it 26.5 kya. After the eruption Lake Taupō rose to about 145 m (476 ft) above the present lake. Around 20 kya. the ash dam eroded and the lake rapidly fell some 75 m (246 ft), creating massive floods. The ash they carried formed the main Hinuera Surface into an alluvial fan of volcanic ash, which extends north of Hamilton and drops about 60 m (200 ft) from Karapiro. The Waikato changed its course from flowing into the sea at Thames at about that time, possibly just because sediment built up. The peat lakes and bogs also formed about that time; carbon dating gives maximum ages of 22.5 to 17 kya. Due to an ice age, vegetation was slow to restabilise the ash, so dunes formed up to 25 m (82 ft) above the local Hinuera surface. The current Waikato valley had cut into the debris by about 12 kya. and was further modified by the 181 CE Hatepe eruption, when again Lake Taupō level fell 34 m (112 ft), generating a 20 km³ (4.8 cu mi) flood, equivalent to 5 years' normal flow in just a few weeks.^[48] About 800 years ago, aggradation began raising the river bed by about 8 m (26 ft).^[47]

With the exceptions of the many low hills such as those around the University of Waikato, Hamilton Lake, Beerescourt, Sylvester Road, Pukete, and to the west of the city, and an extensive network of gullies, the terrain of the city is relatively flat. In some areas such as Te Rapa, one old path of an ancient river can be traced. The relatively soft and unconsolidated soil material is still being actively eroded by rain and runoff.

Hamilton Central, from Somerset Heights.

In its natural state, Hamilton and environs was very swampy in winter with 30 small lakes connected to surrounding peatlands. Hamilton was surrounded by 7 large peat bogs such as Komakorau to the North and Rukuhia and Moanatuatua to the South, as well as many smaller ones all of which have now been drained with only small remnants remaining.^[49] The total area of peat bog was about 655 km².^[50] Early photos of Hamilton East show carts buried up to their axles in thick mud. Up until the 1880s it was possible to row and drag a dinghy from the city to many outlying farms to the North East. This swampy, damp environment was at the time thought to be an ideal breeding ground for the TB bacillus, which was a major health hazard in the pioneering days. The first Hamilton hospital was constructed on a hill to avoid this problem. One of the reasons why population growth was so slow in Hamilton until the 1920s was the great difficulty in bridging the many arms of the deep swampy gullies that cross the city. Hamilton has 6 major dendritic gully complexes with the 15 km long, 12 branch, Kirikiriroa system being in the north of the city and the southern Mystery creek-Kaipaki gully complex being the largest.^[51] Others are Mangakotukutuku, Mangaonua and Waitawhiriwhiri.^[52]

In the 1930s, Garden Place Hill, one of the many small hills sometimes referred to as the Hamilton Hills, was removed by unemployed workers working with picks and shovels and model T Ford trucks. The Western remains of the hill are retained by a large concrete wall. The original hill ran from the present Wintec site eastwards to the old post office (now casino). The earth was taken 4 km north to partly fill the Maeroa gully adjacent to the Central Baptist Church on Ulster Street, the main road heading north.^[53]

Lake Rotoroa (Hamilton Lake) began forming about 20,000 years ago (20 kya). Originally it was part of an ancient river system that was cut off by deposition material and became two small lakes divided by a narrow peninsula. With higher rainfall and drainage from the extensive peat land to the west, the water level rose so the narrow peninsula was drowned so forming one larger lake. To the north the lake is 8 m deep and in the southern (hospital) end 6 m deep. The old dividing peninsula, the start of which is still visible above water on the eastern side, is only 2 m below the surface.

Demographics

Hamilton covers 110.37 km² (42.61 sq mi)^[73] and had an estimated population of 185,300 as of June 2023,^[4] with a population density of 1,679 people per km². The city is home to 3.5 percent of New Zealand's population.

Hamilton had a population of 160,911 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 19,299 people (13.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 31,323 people (24.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 54,858 households, comprising 78,354 males and 82,554 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 32.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 34,413 people (21.4%) aged under 15 years, 40,293 (25.0%) aged 15 to 29, 67,197 (41.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 19,005 (11.8%) aged 65 or older.

The percentage of people born overseas was 26.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 46.5% had no religion, 36.3% were Christian, 1.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 3.6% were Hindu, 2.2% were Muslim, 1.3% were Buddhist and 3.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 32,202 (25.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 19,701 (15.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 19,068 people (15.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 62,763 (49.6%) people were employed full-time, 17,631 (13.9%) were part-time, and 7,095 (5.6%) were unemployed.^[74]

The main area of population growth is in the Flagstaff-Rototuna area. With its large tertiary student population at Wintec and Waikato University, approximately 40,000 tertiary students, Hamilton has a significant transient population.^[78] Hamilton is the second fastest growing population centre after Auckland.

In the 2013 census, Roman Catholicism was the largest Christian denomination with 12.0 percent affiliating, followed by Anglicanism (9.9 percent) and Presbyterianism (6.3 percent). Hinduism (2.9 percent), Islam (1.9 percent) and Buddhism (1.6 percent) were the largest non-Christian religions.^[79]

Government and politics

Local government

Hamilton is located in the administrative area of the Hamilton City Council. The current mayor of Hamilton is Paula Southgate,^[80] who was first elected to the position in 2019^[81] and re-elected in 2022.^[82] The current deputy mayor is Angela O'Leary.^[83]

Hamilton City is itself part of the Waikato region, controlled administratively by the Waikato Regional Council.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Hamilton

Notes Hamilton City adopted a coat of arms in 1946. The blazon is:[84] Crest A mural crown. Escutcheon Barry-wavy of eight argent and azure; on a bend verte, 3 oxen heads erased, or. Supporters A pūkeko, on either side, rampant proper.

The city's coat of arms has received some criticism, being accused of not reflecting the history and diversity of the city, with suggestions that it should be changed.^[85][86]

Economy

University of Waikato campus

Education and research are important to the city—Hamilton is home to two institutes of higher education, the University of Waikato and the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec). Research at the Ruakura research centres have been responsible for much of New Zealand's innovation in agriculture. Hamilton's main revenue source is the dairy industry, due to its location in the centre of New Zealand's largest dairying area.

Hamilton annually hosts the National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek, the southern hemisphere's biggest agricultural trade exhibition. Mystery Creek is the country's largest event centre and hosts other events of national importance, such as Parachute Christian Music Festival, the National Car Show and the National Boat Show.

Manufacturing and retail are also important to the local economy, as is the provision of health services through the Waikato Hospital. The city is home to New Zealand's largest aircraft manufacturer, Pacific Aerospace, which manufactured its 1,000th aircraft in August 2009, and previously Micro Aviation NZ which manufactured and exported high-quality microlight aircraft.^[90] It also has its largest concentration of trailer-boat manufacturers such as Buccaneer. Hamilton is also the home of Gallagher Group Ltd, a manufacturer and exporter of electric fencing and security systems. Employing 600 people Gallagher has been doing business in Hamilton since 1938. Hamilton is also home to Vickers Aircraft Company, a startup aircraft manufacturer making a carbon fibre amphibious aircraft called the Wave.^[91]

Recent years have seen the firm establishment of the New Zealand base of the British flight training organisation L3. L3 trains over 350 airline pilots a year at its crew training centre at Hamilton Airport.^[92]

Tainui Group Holdings Ltd, the commercial arm of the Waikato tribe, is one of Hamilton's largest property developers. The Waikato tribe is one of the city's largest landowners. Tainui owns land at The Base, Centre Place, The Warehouse Central, University of Waikato, Wintec, the Courthouse, Fairfield College, and the Ruakura AgResearch centre.^[93] The Waikato tribe is a major shareholder of the Novotel Tainui and the Hotel Ibis.

It has developed the large retail centre The Base in the old Te Rapa airforce base site which was returned to Tainui, following confiscation in the 1860s, as part of a 1995 Treaty of Waitangi settlement. In mid-2010, The Base was further expanded with Te Awa Mall complex stage 1. Many large retailers such as Farmers and other nationwide speciality chains have located at Te Awa. In 2011 a further stage was opened, with cinemas, restaurants, shops and an underground carpark.

The city's three major covered shopping malls are Centre Place (formerly Downtown Plaza)^[94] in the CBD, Chartwell Shopping Centre and most recently Te Awa at The Base. After Farmers Hamilton moves from its existing site on corner of Alexandra and Collingwood streets into the redeveloped Centre Place in late 2013,^[95] each major mall will have the department store as an anchor tenant.

The western suburb of Frankton is home to a smaller shopping centre and long-standing local furniture and home department store Forlongs.^[96] There are many other small suburban shopping centres or plazas, often centred on a New World or Countdown supermarket, such as in Rototuna, Hillcrest and Glenview.

Culture

Garden Place

In 2004, Hamilton City Council honoured former resident Richard O'Brien with a life-size bronze statue of him as character Riff Raff, of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in his space suit. The statue was designed by Weta Workshop, props makers for The Lord of the Rings films. It stands on the former site of the Embassy Cinema, where O'Brien watched science fiction-double features.^[97]

Several Māori Pa have been part restored at Pukete, Hikuwai and Miropiko along the banks of the Waikato River.

The city is host to a large number of small galleries and the Waikato Museum. The latter includes Te Winika, one of the best-preserved waka taua (Māori war canoe) from the pre-colonisation era. It is also home to one of the country's premier experimental black box theatres, The Meteor Theatre.

Events

• January: Parachute music festival (discontinued after 2014), Festival One (from 2015)
• February: Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival, Couch Soup Festival of One-Act Plays
• March: Waikato Food & Wine Festival
• March: Soundscape^[98]
• March: Indigo Festival
• April: The Great Pumpkin Carnival at Hamilton Gardens^[103]
• April: Waikato Show
• April: Armageddon Expo Sci Fi & Comics Convention*
• April: Balloons over Waikato hot air ballooning festival
• April: 5 Bridges River Swim^[104]
• May: Hamilton Circle Jerk music event
• June: National Agricultural Fieldays
• June: Hamilton Fuel Festival
• July: Soundscape^[98]

Tronik DJs play at the sellout Soundscape street party

• August: World Rally Championship
• August: International Festival of Media, Arts and Design^[105]
• August: International Film Festival
• September: Hamilton Pride Festival Archived 15 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• September: The Great Race
• September: Hamilton Underground Film Festival^[106]
• October: Hamilton Fringe Festival^[107]
• November: Bridge to Bridge water skiing event^[108]
• November: Round the Bridges running event^[109]

Sport

The local rugby union teams are Waikato (Mitre 10 Cup) and the Chiefs (Super Rugby). The local colours are red, yellow and black, and the provincial mascot is Mooloo, an anthropomorphic cow. Both teams play at Waikato Stadium. Hamilton is also home to a football club, WaiBOP United, that competes in the ASB Premiership during summer. The winter football clubs Hamilton Wanderers and Melville United competing in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier League are also based in Hamilton.

Waikato Stadium, Lions vs. NZ Māori, 2005.

Seddon Park (formerly Westpac Park) is Hamilton's main cricket venue and hosts Test matches, One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals. It is the home ground of the Northern Districts Cricket Association.

Hamilton is fast becoming a motorsport venue as well. A round of the WRC was held in 2006 and the annual V8 Supercars race on a street circuit started in 2008 and ended in 2012.

Rugby league is also played in Hamilton with the two local teams, Hamilton City Tigers and Hamilton Hornets/College Old Boys, playing in the Premier Division of the Waikato Rugby League.

Sailing takes place on Hamilton lake for 9 months of the year. The Hamilton Yacht Club has its clubrooms, slipway and ramp on the western side of Lake Rotoroa. Motor boats are not allowed on the lake, with an exception of the Yacht Club rescue boats.

Each year in April, Hamilton supports the '5 Bridges' swimming challenge. The course starts in Hamilton Gardens, and continues for 6 kilometres finishing at Ann St Beach. The swim is assisted by the current, with the full distance typically covered in under an hour. The event celebrated its 71st year on 11 April 2010.^[104]

Media

The major daily newspaper is the Waikato Times. Weekly community newspapers include the Hamilton Press, Hamilton News and Waikato University student magazine Nexus.

Local radio stations include The Breeze, Free FM, More FM, Contact FM. The Edge and The Rock, two of New Zealand's most popular radio stations, were originally based in Hamilton.

City facilities and attractions

Hamilton Gardens is the region's most popular tourist attraction and hosts the Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival each year. The Base is New Zealand's second largest shopping centre, with over 7.5 million visitors per year to the 190 stores. Te Awa, an enclosed speciality retail mall at The Base, was awarded a silver medal by the International Council of Shopping Centres for the second-best expansion in the Asia Pacific region.^[110]

Other local attractions include Hamilton Zoo, the Waikato Museum, the Hamilton Astronomical Society Observatory, the Arts Post art gallery, and the SkyCity casino. Just 20 minutes' drive away is Ngāruawāhia, the location of Turangawaewae Marae and the home of Māori King Tuheitia Paki.

Hamilton has six public libraries located throughout the city with the Central Library housing the main reference and heritage collection. Hamilton City Theaters provides professional venue and event management at two of the three theatrical venues in the city: Founders Theatre (closed since 2016),^[111] and Clarence St Theater. The Meteor theatre was bought by the One Victoria Trust in 2013 after the Hamilton City Council proposed the sale of the theatre and is now privately operated.

St Peter's Cathedral, built in 1916, is the Anglican cathedral in Hamilton, on Cathedral Hill at the southern end of Victoria Street. There is also St Mary's Roman Catholic cathedral on the opposite side of the river.

The Hamilton New Zealand Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located in Temple View, Hamilton. It was opened along with the Church College of New Zealand, a large high school owned by the church, in the late 1950s. Both the college and the temple were built by labour missionaries. The school was closed in December 2009. Every year, the temple hosts a large Christmas lighting show which attracts large crowds from all over the country.

Hospitals

Waikato Hospital in Hamilton West

Hamilton's public hospital is Waikato Hospital with 600 beds, 22 operating theatres^[112] and about 5,000 worked there in 2014.^[113] There are two other major private hospitals in Hamilton City; Braemar Hospital, located in the same area that Waikato Hospital is located, and Southern Cross Hospital, located in Hamilton East. Hamilton also has a two private primary maternity hospitals, which are fully funded by the Waikato District Health Board, Waterford Birth Centre and River Ridge East Birth Centre.^[114]

Transport

The New Zealand Household Travel Survey 2015 – 2018 said that 86% of Hamilton trip legs were made by car (60% as driver, 26% as passenger), 10% were walking, 2% cycling and 1% by bus.^[115]

Road

New Zealand's main road artery State Highway 1 runs through several of Hamilton's suburbs and connects with State Highway 3 at a major intersection within the city boundaries. The Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway, due for completion in 2020, or possibly 2021,^[123] or mid 2022,^[124] will shift SH 1 to the east of Hamilton City, effectively bypassing the city and easing congestion between commuting city traffic and through traffic. It will also, as expressed in a District Council report, "undermine the attractiveness of public transport as a mode of choice for many years to come."^[125]

Safer Speed Areas 40 km/h limits were first introduced in Hamilton in 2011 and by 2014 there were 36 of them,^[126] many in suburbs near the river.^[127]

From 1864 Hamilton was on the Great South Road, linking Auckland to Te Awamutu. The road was gradually upgraded and renamed.^{[128][129][130][131]}

Ring Road

As well as being bypassed by the Expressway, Hamilton will also have the Ring Road and, prior to those, the city centre was bypassed by Anglesea Street in 1964^[132] and the main road diverted from the north end of Victoria Street^[133] onto Ulster Street, which was extended to absorb Gurnell Avenue and form a 4-lane main road,^[134] by putting Waitewhiriwhiri Stream in a culvert and filling the valley.^[135]

The Hamilton Ring Road project was initiated to free some of the city's streets from peak-traffic congestion and improve connectivity around the city. It consists of five segments, opening between 1963 and 2024. It was linked to the Te Rapa Section of the Waikato Expressway in 2012.^[136]

Cobham Drive

The first part of the ring road, Cobham Drive, from Tristram St to Cambridge Road, was named in 1963 after the Governor-General, Viscount Cobham. It was originally named Southern Outlet.^[137] It linked to SH3 along Normandy Drive.^[138] Prior to that the junction with SH3 had been at Victoria Street / Bridge Street and SH1 had used Grey Street and Cambridge Road.^[139]

Greenwood Street and Kahikatea Drive

To the west and south, Greenwood Street, which had existed since 1907, was extended south to Kahikatea Drive,^[140] which was named in 1971^[141] and opened about 1974.^[142][143]

Avalon Drive

The next part of the ring road, on the western side, opened when SH1 was diverted from the city centre to run east of the city, through Nawton from 1 July 1992.^[144] Norton Road Extension was renamed Avalon Drive.^[145] The road was originally built about 1919.^[146][147]

Wairere Drive

Wairere Drive forms the north east part of the ring road. Initially it ran from Avalon Drive to River Road at Flagstaff, via Pukete Bridge. The land for it was gazetted in 1995^[148][149] and the road was on the 1998 map.^[150] It had a 70 km/h speed limit.^[151] The extension to Hukanui Rd was on the 2009 map.^[152] It was then extended from Hukanui Rd to Crosby Rd in 2010, to Ruakura Rd in 2013^[136] and 5.5 km (3.4 mi) to Cambridge Rd in 2014,^[153] when the Pukete Rd to Resolution Dr section was widened from 2 to 4 lanes,^[136] and roundabouts replaced with traffic lights, at a cost of $84m.^[153] The extension from Hukanui Road to Tramway Road cost $1.5m in 2005/06, plus $3.3m in 2007/08.^[154] In 2008, on the budget had been over $14m.^[127] The road includes a 3 m (9.8 ft) wide cycleway.^[155] Completion is planned for 2022.^[156]

Traffic at Pukete Bridge in 2006 was 25,200 vehicles a day.^[157] In 2018 it was 38,400.^[158]

In 2017, it was noted that a drop in passenger numbers on the Orbiter bus correlated with opening of the extension to Cambridge Rd in 2014.^[159]

Southern Links

The final part of the ring road will be the Southern Links, through Peacocke.^[160] Construction of the $150m bridge over the Waikato is planned between 2020 and 2023.^[161] The plan for the area says, "it is intended that the arterial routes also make provision for alternative modes of transport such as light rail by maintaining corridors."^[162]

Bridges

Fairfield Bridge, in central Hamilton.

Claudlands Bridge, Waikato

Claudelands Bridge, Hamilton, NZ. Taken from just below the Bridge Street bridge.

The six road bridges that cross the river^[163] are often the focus of morning and evening traffic delays. The six road bridges within the city are (from north to south):

• Pukete Bridge
• Fairfield Bridge
• Whitiora Bridge
• Claudelands Bridge
• Victoria Bridge
• Cobham Bridge
• Peacocke Bridge planned opening mid 2024

In addition to the road bridges within the city, the Horotiu bridge is located approximately 10 km north of the city centre and the Narrows Bridge approximately 10 km to the south. The Narrows bridge was closed for reconstruction of its piles in September 2010.^[164] In Jan 2011 widening of the 1 km approach road Wairere Drive to Pukete bridge began. The bridge was expanded to 4 lanes in early 2013.

The river is also crossed by a rail bridge and a pedestrian bridge:

• Claudelands Rail Bridge
• Pukete – Flagstaff Pedestrian / Sewer Bridge (see Sewage section below)

Buses

Main article: Public transport in Hamilton and Waikato

Hamilton has buses linking the CBD to most of its suburbs and an Orbiter service linking many of those suburbs to each other, to suburban shopping centres, the hospital, university, etc.

Education

Hamilton is home to more than 40,000 tertiary students, mostly enrolled in one of the city's three main tertiary institutes; the University of Waikato, Waikato Institute of Technology and Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

As well as state and private primary, intermediate and high schools, it also notably includes a number of Kura Kaupapa Māori primary schools offering education in the Māori language.

The city has seven state secondary schools, in a clockwise direction from north: Rototuna High School in Rototuna, Fairfield College in Fairfield, Hamilton Boys' High School in Hamilton East, Hillcrest High School in Silverdale, Melville High School in Melville, Hamilton Girls' High School in the central city, and Fraser High School in Nawton. Both Boys' and Girls' High offer boarding facilities. A new state secondary school is opened for the Rototuna area to serve the booming north-eastern corner of the city. The project had been delayed several years as the previous secondary school serving the area, Fairfield College, was below capacity. The new secondary school opened in 2016.^[176]

Additionally, Hamilton is home to a number of state-integrated and private schools. There are numerous state-integrated Catholic primary schools throughout the city. Sacred Heart Girls College and St John's College are the integrated Catholic high schools, for girls and boys respectively. Southwell School is a private co-educational Anglican primary school. Waikato Diocesan School for Girls is an integrated Anglican high school.'^[176] St Paul's Collegiate School is a private high school for boys, also accepting girls from Year 11. All three Anglican schools are boarding and day schools. Hamilton Christian School is a private coeducational nondenominational Christian school for Years 1–13, founded in 1982.

Utilities

Although telegraph came to Hamilton with the 1864 invasion which established the town, it was quite late in developing its gas (1895), water (1903), sewage (1907) and electricity supplies (1913), probably because its population remained low; in 1911 Hamilton's population was 3,542 and Frankton's 1,113.^[177] Optical cables and microwave towers now provide telecommunications links, gas is supplied by pipeline from Taranaki, water from the Waikato River by the Water Treatment Station at Waiora Terrace, sewage flows for treatment at Pukete and electricity comes from the national grid. Restrictions are still placed on garden sprinklers in summer and the Pukete sewage works was still not always meeting discharge Resource consent conditions in 2013.^[178]

Gas

Auckland Gas Company had been set up in 1862, but it wasn't until the Hamilton Gasworks Act 1895 that Henry Atkinson (son of the manager of Auckland gasworks)^[183] was allowed to set up a gasworks in Clarence St on allotment 322 (see photo of the Archived 16 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine) and put gas pipes under the streets. Work started on laying about 50 tons of pipes in July 1895.^[184]

Clarence St gasworks in 1967 with Pembroke Rd, Pembroke La, Thackeray St, Tristram St in background – Hamilton, including city buildings.

It also allowed the city to purchase after 12 years at a price determined by arbitration.^[185] A 1907 referendum authorised the city council to take over the gasworks. In 1911 the Privy Council set the purchase price at £34,402/14/3d ($5.7m at 2017 prices),^[186] half of which was for goodwill.^[187]

A 100,000 cubic feet (2,800 m³) gasholder was authorised in 1911.^[188] In 1913 the works was expanded and mains laid over the railway bridge into Hamilton East and along Ohaupo Rd.^[189]

As well as gas, coke, tar and tar paint were produced.^[190] Additions were made to the works as late as 1961.^[191] Waikato coal was mixed with coal shipped via Greymouth and Raglan from 1964 until 25 March 1970, when Hamilton switched to natural gas and the gasworks closed. The site was cleaned up after demolition in the 1990s, but is still monitored by Regional Council for contamination.^[192]

Hamilton was one of the original nine towns and cities in the North Island to be supplied with natural gas when the Kapuni gas field enters production in 1970. Gas from the Kapuni field in south Taranaki was transported north via a 373 km long, 200 mm diameter pipeline to Papakura in south Auckland, with Hamilton supplied via an offtake at Temple View.^[193]

Sewage

Sewage long lagged behind other utilities. Initially sections were large enough for septic tanks to work as well as they could in peatlands, but it wasn't long before the 1882 drainage scheme^[208] was used for sewage connections. By 1904 complaints were being made about the blocked insanitary drain between Victoria and Anglesea Streets, resulting in a faltering start on a night soil service. The 1907 referendum, which approved purchase of the gasworks also agreed to raise a loan for sewage pipes (though rejected a plan for a steam^[219] tram).^[198] In 1917 Mayor Ellis rejected the Health Minister's suggestion, saying it was impossible to afford a sewage farm.^[220] By 1919 only about a third of the city had sewers,^[221] but between 1923 and 1925 "considerable progress" was made and sewage reticulation was further extended in 1933. However, there was a sewage related epidemic in Melville in 1940 and Melville, Fairfield and Hillcrest were added to the sewer network from 1949. Although by 1956 80% of Hamilton had sewage pipes, it was only piped to 14 septic tanks (17 when replaced in 1976^[222]), which were emptied several times a year, either into the Waitawhirwhiri Stream, or directly into the Waikato.^[198] In 1956 the Pollution Advisory Council said, "the daily flow of sewage effluent and trade wastes from Hamilton City is three million gallons… in effect, partly digested sludge and raw sewage is being disposed of into the Waikato River". Downstream from Hamilton contaminants increased 10 times between the 1950s and the early 1970s.^[223] The 1953 Water Pollution Act set up a Pollution Advisory Council, but it had no control powers until 1963.^[224]

Pukete sewer bridge 165m long 14 m high built mid 1970s. Photo 2015.

In 1964, the Department of Health ordered adequate treatment for the sewage. Steven and Fitzmaurice, Consulting Engineers, presented a plan to Council early in 1966. There was some work on piping new areas in 1966, but work on the major trunks and interceptors didn't start until 1969 and building at Pukete sewage works started in January 1972. The first sewage was treated in July 1975 and was fully connected early in 1977.^[222]

Prestressed concrete box girder bridge over Kirikiriroa Stream at Tauhara Gully. Photo 2015.

The trunk lines needed a 165-metre-long (541 ft) bridge, about 14 m (46 ft) above the Waikato, another prestressed concrete box girder bridge over Kirikiriroa Stream at Tauhara Gully and 2 steel pipe bridges over other gullies. The River bridge was designed by Murray-North Partners and the others by council engineers.^[222]

The Pukete sewage works cost $12.5m ($160m at 2015 prices). It now cleans 40 million litres (11,000,000 US gal)/day, which is aerated for about 2 hours in a sedimentation tank, disinfected with chlorine, dechlorinated with sulphur dioxide and discharged into the Waikato through a diffuser outfall on the river bed.^[225]

CH2M Beca, successor to the previous engineers, upgraded the plant from 1998 to 2002 to improve nitrogen, BOD and suspended solids levels, with a change from chlorination to UV treatment and biogas and natural gas 1.5 million watts (2,000 hp) cogeneration units, able to power the treatment processes and export surplus to the grid.^[226]

A further 5 year upgrade started about 2009 expanding and improving the plant, including phosphorus removal.^[227]

Despite the improvements there have been on-going problems. In 2012 the council was prosecuted for a sewage sludge spill^[228] and consent conditions were breached in 2013 due to a bacterial problem.^[178] In 2014 up to 800 m³ (180,000 imp gal) of untreated sewage got into the river.^[229]

There are also problems with pumping stations. Out of over 130, up to 20 fail each month.^[230]

Notable people

• Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, born in Hamilton.
• Craig Baird, racing car driver, born in Hamilton.
• Jayden Bezzant, basketball player.
• Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, administrator of the UN Development Programme, born in Hamilton.
• Chanel Cole, Australian Idol contestant and member of Australian band Spook, born in Hamilton.
• Judith Collins, former Leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Opposition, born in Hamilton.
• Stephen Donald, All Black.
• Guy Doleman, film actor.
• Chris van der Drift, racecar driver.
• Howden Ganley, former Formula One racing car driver, born in Hamilton.
• Warren Gatland, Most capped Waikato Rugby player in history, former Wales International Rugby Coach, British and Irish Lions coach and Chiefs coach, born in Hamilton.
• Daniel Gillies, film actor.
• Kimbra Johnson, Grammy winning musician.
• Brendon Julian, Former Australian and WACA Cricketer and Fox Sports Commentator.
• Ashley Lawrence, conductor, born in Hamilton.
• Arthur Leong, NZ football player and captain 1959–64, lives in Hamilton.
• Denis Lill, actor, known for playing Sir Talbot Buxomly in Blackadder the Third, born in Hamilton.
• Gavin Lovegrove, athlete, born in Hamilton.
• Dame Malvina Major, opera singer, born in Hamilton.
• John Mitchell, former rugby player, and former New Zealand All Blacks coach.
• Scott McLaughlin, racecar driver
• Richard O'Brien, creator of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, lived in Hamilton.
• Mark Porter, racing driver
• Dick Quax, Olympic silver medallist and world record breaking runner, raised and educated in Hamilton.
• Dame Patsy Reddy, lawyer and Governor-General, raised and educated in Hamilton.
• Marco Rojas, Melbourne Victory and New Zealand men's national football team Midfielder
• Frank Sargeson, author, born in Hamilton.
• Gary S. Schofield, artist, raised and educated in Hamilton.
• Kayne Scott, racing driver
• Vida Steinert, painter
• Scott Styris, NZ cricketer, raised and educated in Hamilton.
• Enid Tapsell (1903–1975), nurse, community leader, activist, writer, and local politician
• Anjali Mulari, New Zealand international ice and inline hockey player, lives in Hamilton.
• Campbell Thomas – New Zealand theatre director, designer, and artist (1935–2019)
• Daniel Vettori, NZ cricketer, lives in Hamilton.
• Phum Viphurit, Thai-born singer-songwriter, raised in Hamilton.
• Stan Walker, Australian Idol Winner and singer-songwriter, educated in Hamilton.
• Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers, was born in Hamilton.
• Gillian Karawe Whitehead, composer, born in Hamilton.
• Terry Wiles, thalidomide victim and subject of the film On Giant's Shoulders (1979)

Sister cities

Hamilton has five sister cities:^[239]

• Sacramento, United States
• Wuxi, People's Republic of China
• Saitama, Japan
• Chengdu, People's Republic of China^[240]
• Ypres, Belgium

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hamilton (New Zealand).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hamilton, New Zealand.

• Hamilton & Waikato Tourism Archived 5 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Hamilton City Archived 3 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• Visitor Information
• 1954 map showing stages of growth from 1917