Hamilton, New Zealand Tourist Attractions

It is worth making a detour south from Raglan to the magical Bridal Veil Falls, which really do wave in the wind like a white veil. When the sun is shining from the right direction they also glisten with all the colors of the rainbow.

7km southwest of Hamilton is Temple View, the headquarters of New Zealand's Mormons.

50km west of Hamilton, on the Tasman Sea, is Raglan, a pleasant seaside resort with a beach of black sand. It is named after Lord Raglan, commander of British forces in the Crimean War. The first white mission station in the Waikato region was established here in the 1830s.

7km north of Ngaruawahia, on the banks of the Waikato, is Taupiri Mountain (288m). The hill, which to the Maoris is sacred, was returned to them by the government only in 1975. On the slopes of the hill, which has been fortified since early times, is the tapu burial place of the Maori kings.

On the lower course of the Waikato River, 33km north of Hamilton, is the town of Huntly (pop. 7,000). Here the river cuts through two huge coalfields that were opened in the 1840s. The coal deposits were systematically surveyed by the geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter in 1859. After a number of serious accidents in the underground workings opencast mining started in 1940. There are now, however, two new underground mines.Huntly's coal-fired power station was completed in 1981. Its twin cooling towers, 150m high, are prominent features of the landscape.

17km north of Huntly is Rangiriri, which in 1863, during the land wars, was the scene of a bloody encounter between British troops and Maoris. It was only after two unsuccessful assaults on the Maori stronghold here that it finally fell to the British. The main fortifications stand on the west side of Highway 1.

53km northeast of Hamilton on Highway 26 is the long-established spa resort of Te Aroha situated at the foot of the hill of the same name on the fringes of the Kaimai Range. It still preserves its turn-of-the 19th C. Victorian bathhouses and spa establishments. There are three different mineral springs, whose water is used both for drinking and bathing. The old bathhouse No. 1 has been replaced by a modern establishment. From Mount Te Aroha (952 m; trails, shuttle bus) there are beautiful views. Within easy reach of Te Aroha are the Kaimai Range (trails) and the imposing Wairere Falls (150m high).

60km east of Hamilton, on Highway 27, is the little town of Matamata (Waikato region; pop. 6000), the commercial center of an agricultural region (sheep, dairy farming, horse breeding). The town owes its origin to a 19th C. British immigrant named Firth who leased more than 22,000ha of land from the local Maori chief, Wiremu Tamihana. He drained the swamps, built a road to the military settlement of Cambridge and made the Waihou River navigable for cargo vessels. By the end of the century, however, his little empire had collapsed. He built the three-story Firth Tower (1881; 3km east of Matamata) as a refuge against Maori raids. Beside the tower are his house and a number of other old buildings.

Northeast of Matamata is the Kaimai Range, through which there are a number of trails. One particularly attractive trip is to the imposing Wairere Falls, 150m high. The trail takes off from the Matamata-Okauia-Gordon road.

A half-hour drive southeast from Hamilton is the English-looking town of Cambridge (pop. 11,000), on the Waikato River, in the commercial center of an agricultural area (cattle, sheep, horses; dairy farming). Cambridge was originally a military settlement established during the land wars in the Waikato region, on the site of a fortified Maori village. British gunboats could sail up the Waikato River as far as this point. It is disputed whether the town was called Cambridge because the Waikato was thought to resemble the English river Cam or as a compliment to the then commander-in-chief of the British army, the Duke of Cambridge. Historic buildings include St Andrew's Church (1881; Anglican), the Primary School (1879) and the old Court House with its handsome facade, now housing the Municipal Museum.

Southeast of Cambridge is Lake Karapiro, a 24km long reservoir supplying the Karapiro hydroelectric station (viewing is possible). It is the lowest of a chain of power stations on the Waikato that were brought into operation in 1948.

30km south of Hamilton (Highway 3), on the Waipa River, is the old Maori settlement of Te Awamutu (pop. 8500). The name means 'end of the river' (that is, the highest point at which it was navigable by canoes). A mission station was established here in 1839. Te Awamutu is now the commercial center of a dairy farming area. The last battles of the land war in the Waikato region were fought hereabouts in the late summer of 1864. The decisive battle was fought at Orakau, only 8km from Te Awamutu, on March 31st 1864. The heroic resistance of Rewi Maniapoto provided material for the early New Zealand film Rewi's Last Stand.After the end of the land war in the Waikato region British soldiers were settled on land confiscated from the Maoris. The Puniu River marked the boundary between the confiscated land and the King Country, which no settler dared enter until a peace treaty was signed with King Tawhiao in 1881. The railroad reached Te Awamutu in 1880.St John's Anglican Church (1854) has fine stained glass and interesting gravestones. Beside it, in sharp contrast, is a modern church built in 1965.

Pirongia Forest Park (15km west of Te Awamutu), centerd on an extinct volcano (959m), can be explored on a network of trails with mountain huts and fine views.