HAMILTON CENTRAL
Hamilton City is the centre of major business and economic affairs and is located on the western banks of the longest river in Zealand the – Waikato River . It covers a land area of 0.45 sq.mi. As the name suggests, it is surrounded by major spots like Victoria Street, which is known as the home of the best bars and amazing eateries in the town, The Kwaito Museum, The Garden Place pedestrian mall,Hood Street Precinct, Casabella Lane, various heritage buildings, along with modern public art displays, for example the Riff Raff Statue and Te Tiaho o Matariki.
HERITAGE BUILDINGS IN HAMILTON CENTRAL
St Peter's Cathedral
It is a 15th-century church constructed by ferro-concrete – Warren and Blechynden of Hamilton. It is the fourth Anglican church and it is named as the cathedral church for the Bishop and Diocese of Waikato. The present St Peter’s is the one completed in the year 1916.
Hamilton Hotel - Waikato Regional Theatre
It is titled a Category 2 Heritage listing on 5 September 1985. The hotel burnt down in 1898 and 1922 and reopened on 7 May 1923. Even though its small in size and was criticized by many, an extra wing was added to it in 1925. There were major additions to the hotel in 1929 and later, in 1980, it was closed. The facade of the hotel are still retained, when a 1300-seat $74m Waikato Regional Theatre is built in 2021/22, the part of Hus O Te Actuate erupt (burial ground) still remain on the site.
ArtsPost / Hamilton Post Office Building
Hamilton’s Post and Telegraph Office was designed by architect John Campbel and was built in 1901. It remained as the central post office until 1940 when its replacement opposite Garden Place was opened. Later, for the next 40 years, the building was used for Social Welfare purposes. In the year 1992, Hamilton City Council purchased the building and restored the building as much as possible and opened the renowned building as Arts Post on 27 June 1998. It was given a Category 2 Heritage listing on 13 December 1990.
Casino
Sky City Casino at Victoria Street was initially a 1901 post office. It was designed by Hamilton architects Edgecumbe and White. It is scheduled as Category A in Hamilton’s proposed District Plan.
Hamilton Courthouse
The Hamilton Courthouse was built in 193 and it is located at 170-186 Victoria Street. It had two courtrooms – the Supreme Court and the Magistrates Court, and in the year 1974, arsonists set fire to this building. As a result of the fire, the Supreme Court was badly damaged and The Magistrates Court was destroyed . In 2004, a refurbishment project was approved to restore the building and started operating as a court house.
PUBLIC ART AND STATUES
1. Riff Raff Statue
The Riff Raff Statue is in honour of Rocky Horror Picture Show creator Richard O’Brien., Riff Raff – one of the iconic characters played by O’Brien. The statue was unveiled on Victoria Street on 26 November 2004.
2. Te Tiaho o Matariki
Te Tiaho o Matariki was created by Neil Miller and is located at Garden Palace. The sculpture represents Pleiades in the form of a growing vine, with the stars of Matariki forming the fruit on the vine. It honors the city’s first inhabitants – Maori and celebrates the name of the city’s civic plaza: Garden Place as a, horticultural heritage.
3. The Ripples Sculpture
It was commissioned in 1987 and was created by Christchurch artist Neil Dawson. It is a suspended sculpture, consisting of a six-metre span of carbon fibre reinforced polyester resin. It represents the ripple effects of a stone falling and hitting the water. It hangs between the canopy of trees, approximately 20 metre in the air, above the Waikato Museum riverbank.
4. The Garden Place Sundial
The sundial is located in front of the Central Library on the grass lawn in Garden Place and it is mounted on a granite pillar. It was gifted to the City of Hamilton by the Hamilton Astronomical Society in 1937A .Multi-face Sundial with seven sundials and it shows the Solar Time, Clock Time, Time of Sunrise and Sunset, the Calendar Date at Noon, solstices & equinoxes, and other astronomical phenomena. It has an Analemma Sundial, which is engraved in an Art Deco style.
FEATURES OF HAMILTON CENTRAL
1. Victoria Street
Victoria Street is the main street of Hamilton and is named after Queen Victoria. It running adjacent to the Waikato River and it stretches from Victoria Bridge to beyond the Fairfield Bridge. Out of the 105 heritage sites in the city 33 are located on this street.
2. Garden Place
It was carved, after much debate, out of a hill in the late 1930s. The name Garden Place actually refers to the former road, Later the ridge on the river side of Anglesea Street was bulldozed away, thereby flattening the area for the development of Garden Place and the central CBD around the Hamilton City Council buildings. The area was initially used as a car park, which was very popular with retailers and shoppers. In 1967, the car park was closed and Garden Place was laid out with grass and trees. A ring road encircled the beautiful area, but it was removed in August 1974.
3. Waikato Museum
The Waikato Museum was established in 1987 and was designed by Ivan Mercep, who later designed New Zealand’s national museum. The museum 13 galleries in 5 layers featuring, and more than 38,000 collection objects, relating to tangata whenua, art, science and social history. A 200-year-old carved waka taua – Whare Waka o Te Winikais one among the main attractions.
4. Clarence Street Theatre
The one we see was completed in 1987 by the Society and was acquired by HCC in 1997 . Clarence Street Theatre has a distinctive De Stijl exterior with a 550 capacity. The venue has hosted countless drama, comedy and smaller concert events.