Hamilton

The city of Hamilton, New Zealand, is in the heart of the North Island’s Waikato region. Its population of 153,100 makes it New Zealand’s fourth most populous centre – after Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

Hamilton is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing cities, thanks in part to its academic sector. Education, research and development are a major part of the economy – 40,000 students and 1,000 PhD-qualified scientists call Hamilton home. The city has three major tertiary institutions: the University of Waikato, Waikato Institute of Technology, and Te Wananga o Aotearoa. The University of Waikato, established in 1964, occupies 64 hectares of former farmland on the outskirts of Hamilton at Hillcrest. The University is well-regarded for its relative ‘youth’ in academic terms: it has ranked several times among the top 50 universities under 50 years old worldwide; however 2014 is their last year of eligibility for the ranking. Waikato Management School, the University’s business faculty, is one of an elite few business schools worldwide to have achieved ‘Triple Crown’ status – a measure of excellence in business education.

Hamilton’s other main revenue source is the dairy industry. The combination of Hamilton’s location in the midst of New Zealand’s biggest dairy area, the Waikato, and the city’s focus on research has led to much of New Zealand’s innovations in agriculture taking place there.

Mystery Creek Events Centre is a purpose-built facility located on the outskirts of Hamilton. The spacious venue has an abundance of indoor and outdoor space, allowing it to host a variety of large-scale local and national events. The largest of these is Fieldays, the national agricultural show billed as ‘the biggest architectural trade show in the Southern hemisphere.’ Held every June, Fieldays hosts over 1,000 exhibitors and 115,000 visitors. Other events held at Mystery Creek have included the annual Parachute Christian Music Festival, the National Car and Boat Shows, sporting events and New Zealand Scout Jamborees.

Hamiltonians are keen rugby fans. The local rugby union teams – Waikato in the ITM Cup, and the Chiefs in the Super Rugby competition – play at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium. Local colours are red, black and yellow, and the provincial mascot is an anthropomorphic cow known as Mooloo – also a nickname for Waikato fans, who are known to ring cowbells at home matches. Motorsport is also popular in Hamilton, which has in the past hosted a round of the World Rally Championship as well as several years of V8 Supercar racing on a street circuit in the city.

Hamilton city attractions include the Hamilton Gardens, the Waikato River which bisects the city, Hamilton Zoo, Waikato Museum, and The Base – the nation’s second-largest shopping mall, attracting 7.5 million visitors each year. For these points of interest as well as its central location in the diverse and exciting Waikato region, Hamilton is an attractive destination for visitors from around New Zealand and beyond.