| HAMILTON
NEW ZEALAND
Homepage
for
HAmilton, New Zealand and the Waikato Region of New
Zealand. |
|
|
AREA
GUIDE - HAMILTON AND THE WAIKATO, NEW ZEALAND
Hamilton
(Kirikiriroa in Maori) is the centre of New Zealand's fourth
largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's seventh
largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato region
of the North Island, approximately 130 km (80 mi) south of Auckland.
It sits at a major road and rail nexus in the centre of the
Waikato basin, on both banks of the Waikato River.
|
| |
| ABOUT
HAMILTON NEW ZEALAND |
|
| Hamilton
- New Zealand
Hamilton is situated in the North Island about an hours
drive south of Auckland. Hamilton is the centre of the
Waikato Region, one of New Zealand's richest agricultural
region's. Hamilton has a population of around 118,000
people. The city is built around the beautiful Waikato
river.
Originally called Kirikiriroa when the first Maori inhabited
the region, it was later renamed Hamilton after Captain
Fane Charles Hamilton, the popular commander of HMS Esk,
who was killed in the battle of Gate Pa, Tauranga. The
area has been settled by Maori from the Tainui iwi for
centuries. Several villages were situated on the banks
of the Waikato River. The rich soils were used extensively
to grow traditional crops such as kumara. Fortified pa
were built on strategic headlands, particularly on the
bends of the river. During the late 1840s to early 1860s
Waikato tribes used the river to transport large quantities
of flour, maize, pigs, potatoes, kumara, flax, timber
and fish to the markets Auckland.
The Waikato river was once Hamilton's only transport and
communications link. Now the main highway passes through
the city linking the whole of New Zealand. Hamilton also
has the largest railway junction in New Zealand, connecting
the North Island Main Trunk line and the East Coast Main
Trunk.
While agriculture has traditionally been the dominant
industry in Hamilton, other sectors (such as manufacturing
and retail) are catching up and providing more diverse
business opportunities in Hamilton. The Hamilton Airport
connects to many popular destinations in New Zealand and
Australia.
|
 |
HAMILTON
NEW ZEALAND
WEB CAMERA'S
Camera
provided by www.hamiltonweather.co.nz
Rotating webcam provides shots of
the CBD and Victoria Bridge
or the Waikato Hospital & Mt Pirongia from mid-afternoon
to
avoid glare. From atop Environment Waikato in Hamilton
East.
CLICK
HERE |
 |
RIVER
CAMERA
The
camera sits on top of the Environment Waikato building
and looks north toward the city's CBD with the Victoria
Bridge in the foreground. At 4pm each day, this camera
does a sequence of shots around the city and then
turns to the south, to look down the river towards
Waikato Hospital. The camera returns to the north
view at 6pm.
CLICK
HERE |
|
| History
The area now covered by the city was originally the site
of a handful of Maori villages, including Pukete and Kirikiriroa
("long stretch of gravel'), from which the city takes
its Maori name. Local Maori were the target of raids by
Ngapuhi during the Musket Wars, and several pa sites from
this period can still be found beside the Waikato River.
By the time British settlers arrived after 1863, most
of these villages had been abandoned. Missionaries arrived
in the area in the 1830s. At the end of the Waikato Campaign
in the New Zealand Wars the four regiments of the Waikato
Militia were settled as a peace-keeping force across the
region. The 1st Regiment was at Tauranga, the 2nd at Pirongia,
the 3rd at Cambridge and the 4th at Hamilton. The settlement
founded on 24 August, 1864 and named after Captain John
Charles Fane Hamilton, the popular Scottish commander
of HMS Esk, who was killed in the battle of Gate Pa, Tauranga.
The road from Auckland
reached Hamilton in 1867 and the railway in December 1877
the same month Hamilton became a borough. Hamilton reached
1,000 people in 1900 Hamilton was proclaimed a city in
1945.
The city is near
the southernmost navigable reach (by the settlers steam
boats) of the Waikato River, amidst New Zealand's richest
and now fertile agricultural land that was once largely
Raupo and Kahikatea swamp Initially an agricultural service
centre, it now has a growing and diverse economy.
Community archives
and historic photograph collections are maintained and
are available at Hamilton City Libraries.
|
Hamilton
Today
The centre of the city, 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." Hamilton
has the second-largest collection of cafés in the
country second only to Ponsonby Road in Auckland. An affectionate
nickname is "Hamiltron: city of the future".
As of 2010, the city continues
to grow rapidly. Development is focused on the northern
end of the city. Traffic congestion is increasing due
to population growth, though road development and planning
has kept up with the rapid growth in most places[citation
needed]. State Highway 1 runs directly through the city,
which contributes to congestion. A bypass is planned,
but Transit New Zealand, the national road funding agency,
has repeatedly delayed this project to the dismay of
Hamilton residents .In August 2009 $1Billion was allocated
to fast track the Waikato Expressway from Auckland To
Cambridge which includes design work on the Hamilton
bypass.
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. This type of growth is likely to continue consuming
Waikato's profitable farmland as Hamilton City does
not have a natural or legislated growth boundary.
The area around
the city has seen some recent development into lifestyle
blocks especially since the 1970's.
|
| Climate
Hamilton has a temperate, damp climate, with about 1,184
mm (46.6 in) of rainfall annually. B. J. Garnier said
it had the worst human climate in NZ, but conceded that
the reliable rainfall of 850mm minimum (1949) and 2000mmm
maximum (1956), was ideal for dairy farming.
Thick fog is common on winter mornings, and often lasts
until late morning. Daily maximum temperatures range from
about 22° to 26 °C (72°–79 °F) in
January and February to 10° to 15 °C (50°–59
°F) in July and August. Summer occasionally sees temperatures
of more than 30 °C (86 °F), while on clear winter
mornings temperatures may drop to as low as -5 °C
(23 °F). Ground frosts are common but snow however
is practically unknown.
|
Geography
With the exceptions of low hills around the University
of Waikato, Hamilton Lake and to the west of the city,
and an extensive network of gullies, the terrain of the
city is relatively flat. The 64 hectare lake is formed
in the crater of an ancient volcano. The formation of
the crater saw the erupted material deposited in a Tuff
Ring forming low hills around three sides of the lake.
Water drains into the lake from streams that drain the
extensive peatland to the West and also from direct rainfall.
Subsequently the crater was infilled with deposits of
sediment when the ancient Waikato River flowed through
the area about 15,000 years ago. The lake averages 2.4
m deep but is 6 m at the deepest point. Water seeps out
of the lake through an underground fissure to the North,
which drains into the headwaters of Maeroa Gully. The
present channel of the Waikato River is relatively new
in Geological terms. Its former path was north through
the Hinuera Valley and out to the sea at Thames. The soils
of the Waikato were largely formed from volcanic material
eroded from the Volcanic Plateau at the end of the last
ice age. The melting ice sent vast volumes of outwash
material north to the Waikato.
In its natural state Hamilton
and environs was very swampy in winter. Early photos
of Hamilton East show carts buried up to their axles
in thick mud. The site had numerous small lakes which
have now been drained. 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 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.
In the 1930s Garden Place
Hill, which ran from the present Wintec site eastwards
to the old post office (now casino), was removed by
unemployed workers working with picks and shovels and
a model T Ford truck. The Western remains of the hill
are retained by a large concrete wall. The earth was
taken 4km north to partly fill the Maeroa gully adjacent
to the Baptist Church on the main road.
Hamilton is on
the same latitude as Melbourne, Australia
|
|
Homepage
for Hamilton and the Waikato District of New Zealand |
|
