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Story: City history and people

Hamilton West

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Hamilton West

Hamilton was founded in 1864 as a British military base during the New Zealand wars. Its initial purpose was to stop ‘hostile’ Māori travelling on the Waikato River. Redoubts were built on elevated sites on both sides of the river, and settlements developed below them. A punt – shown in this 1866 photo of the west bank – connected the two sides.

Using this item

Auckland Council Libraries − Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Reference: 7-A10635

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

David Thorns and Ben Schrader, City history and people – Types of towns, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/23497/hamilton-west (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Thorns and Ben Schrader, published 15 April 2010.