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Hamilton, New Zealand

Hamilton
Kirikiriroa (Māori)
Metropolitan Area
Hamilton City / Lake Rotoroa / Waikato River
Hamilton City / Lake Rotoroa / Waikato River
Nickname(s): Hamiltron, The Tron. H-Town, Previously: Cowtown, The Fountain City
Location of the Hamilton Territorial Authority
Location of the Hamilton Territorial Authority
Hamilton is located in New Zealand
Hamilton
Hamilton
Location of Hamilton, New Zealand
Coordinates: 37°47′S 175°17′E / 37.783°S 175.283°E / -37.783; 175.283Coordinates: 37°47′S 175°17′E / 37.783°S 175.283°E / -37.783; 175.283
Country  New Zealand
Island North Island
Region Waikato Region
Territorial authority Hamilton City
Government
 • Mayor Andrew King
 • Deputy Mayor Martin Gallagher
Area
 • Territorial 110.8 km2 (42.8 sq mi)
 • Urban 877.1 km2 (338.7 sq mi)
Elevation 40 m (131 ft)
Population (June 2016)
 • Territorial 161,200
 • Density 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
 • Urban 193,600
 • Urban density 220/km2 (570/sq mi)
 • Metro 230,000
 • Demonym Hamiltonian
Time zone NZST (UTC+12)
 • Summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13)
Postcode(s) 3200, 3204, 3206, 3210, 3214, 3216
Area code(s) 07
Local iwi Tainui
Website www.hamilton.govt.nz
www.waikatoregion.govt.nz
Largest groups of overseas-born residents
Nationality Population (2013)
 United Kingdom 6,009
 China 3,504
 India 3,060
 Fiji 2,271
 Australia 2,223
 Philippines 2,040
 South Korea 1,655
 Netherlands 645
 Samoa 618
 Malaysia 603

Hamilton (Māori: Kirikiriroa) is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region, in the North Island of New Zealand.

The city encompasses a land area of about 110 km2 (42 sq mi) on the banks of the Waikato River, and is home to 161,200 people, making it New Zealand's fourth most-populous city. Hamilton City is part of the wider Hamilton Urban Area, which also encompasses the nearby towns of Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu and Cambridge.

Initially an agricultural service centre, Hamilton now has a growing and diverse economy and is the third fastest growing urban area in New Zealand (behind Pukekohe and Auckland). 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.

The area now covered by the city was originally the site of a handful of Māori villages (kāinga), including 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, and several 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. Magistrate Gorst, estimated that Kirikiriroa had a population of about 78 before the Waikato Kingitanga wars of 1863–64. The government estimated the Waikato area had a Maori population of 3,400 at the same time. By the time British settlers arrived after 1863, most of these villages had been abandoned as the inhabitants were away fighting with the Kingitanga rebels further west in the battlefields of the upper Waipa river. 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 Kirikiriroa. The settlement was founded on 24 August 1864 and named by Colonel William Moule after Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, the popular Scottish commander of HMS Esk, who was killed in the battle of Gate Pā, Tauranga. Many of the soldier/settlers who intended to farm after the 1863 war, walked off their land in 1868 disgusted at the poor quality of the land. 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.


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