Hamilton

Hamilton (Māori: Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, Hamilton is the country's fourth most-populous city. The settlement was named by Colonel William Moule after Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, the commander of HMS Esk, who was killed in the battle of Gate Pā, Tauranga, in 1864.

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.

After the Invasion of the Waikato and confiscation of the invaded land, militia-settlers were recruited in Melbourne and Sydney. On 10 August 1864 the government advertised for tenders to build 10 huts and a hospital at Kirikiriroa. Hamilton was settled by the 4th Waikato Regiment Militia, led by Captain William Steele.

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. 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 and was converted to a road traffic bridge in 1965.

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. 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.