From indigenous Māori artwork to handmade crafts, gourmet treats, and quirky local treasures, Hamilton offers a diverse range of souvenirs that reflect the city’s identity. In this guide, we’ll explore the best things to bring back from Hamilton—perfect for gifts or keepsakes that go far beyond the typical fridge magnet.

Māori Carvings and Traditional Crafts

No trip to New Zealand is complete without experiencing the depth and beauty of Māori culture, and Hamilton is no exception. The Waikato region is historically significant for many Māori tribes (iwi), particularly the Tainui people. Throughout the city and surrounding areas, you’ll find local artisans who craft traditional Māori taonga (treasures) using age-old techniques.

One of the most popular items to bring home is a pounamu (greenstone) pendant. Each piece is carved with specific shapes—such as the koru (spiral for new beginnings), hei matau (fish hook for strength and prosperity), or toki (adze for leadership and courage). These carvings are more than just decorative—they hold deep cultural meanings and are often gifted to mark important life moments.

For those looking to support local Māori artists, many galleries and gift shops, including Te Awa at The Base shopping centre or the Waikato Museum shop, sell authentic and ethically sourced Māori crafts including wood carvings, woven kete (flax baskets), and bone pendants.

Locally Made Art and Ceramics

Hamilton has a thriving creative community, and that’s reflected in its flourishing arts and crafts scene. Local artists often take inspiration from the region’s natural beauty—the Waikato River, nearby mountains, and native flora—and infuse those elements into their work.

Ceramics are particularly popular. Handmade mugs, bowls, and vases glazed in earthy tones or coastal blues make for both practical and decorative gifts. Many of these can be found at the Hamilton Arts Pottery Co-op, local weekend markets, or artisan boutiques in nearby towns like Cambridge.

If you’re looking for something truly unique, consider a hand-painted landscape or print by a local artist—a visual memory of your trip that supports regional talent.

New Zealand Honey and Manuka Products

New Zealand is world-renowned for its honey, and Hamilton is surrounded by farmland and bushland where bees thrive. One of the most sought-after products is Manuka honey, known for its antibacterial properties and rich, robust flavour.

When choosing honey, look for labels with UMF (Unique Manuka Factor), which ensures quality and authenticity. Jars of Manuka honey range from everyday use to premium grades meant for medicinal or luxury gifting purposes.

Beyond honey itself, there are also Manuka-based skincare products such as lip balms, creams, and oils. These natural cosmetics are gentle, nourishing, and make excellent gifts for friends and family back home.

Craft Beverages and Local Flavours

For the food and drink lovers in your life—or yourself—Hamilton offers a taste of New Zealand you won’t want to leave behind. The Waikato region is home to a growing number of boutique breweries, wineries, and distilleries producing everything from small-batch gin to craft beer with uniquely Kiwi flavours.

You can purchase bottles directly from local producers or specialty shops. Some favourites include Hamilton-based breweries like Good George Brewing, known for its innovative flavours and playful branding. Their apple cider, pale ale, and limited-edition beers often come in creative packaging, making them perfect for souvenirs.

Artisan chocolates, cheeses, and herbal teas are also great choices. These products are often made using local ingredients and reflect New Zealand’s farm-to-table approach to food. Pick up a gift box from the Hamilton Farmers’ Market or gourmet stores like Scotts Epicurean.

Natural Skincare and Wool Products

New Zealand is famous for its clean, green image—and that extends to skincare. Products made from lanolin, avocado oil, and Manuka honey offer natural alternatives to commercial cosmetics. You’ll find hand creams, soaps, shampoos, and lotions in boutique stores around the city.

Another classic Kiwi souvenir is merino wool. Soft, breathable, and lightweight, merino garments make for luxurious yet practical gifts. Scarves, socks, and gloves are easy to pack and perfect for colder climates. Check out Untouched World or local Hamilton clothing stores for sustainable, locally sourced wool products.

Books, Journals, and Cultural Guides

For literary-minded travellers, Hamilton has a strong connection to New Zealand’s literary scene. Local bookstores and museum shops often carry books about Waikato’s history, Māori legends, and regional flora and fauna.

A well-chosen book can transport someone to New Zealand’s culture and landscape. Journals made from recycled materials or adorned with Māori designs are another thoughtful and useful keepsake.

Eco-Friendly and Sustainable Gifts

If you’re environmentally conscious, Hamilton offers many eco-friendly gift options. Reusable shopping bags, beeswax wraps, bamboo cutlery sets, and recycled jewellery are widely available and show that sustainability can go hand-in-hand with creativity.

Shops like The Mandarin Tree in nearby Gordonton or the Hamilton Market feature a variety of earth-conscious creators whose work supports green living and thoughtful travel.

Where to Shop for the Best Local Products

To discover the best of Hamilton’s handmade and artisan treasures, consider visiting:

• Hamilton Farmers’ Market – Held on Sundays, perfect for local produce and food-based gifts
• Waikato Museum Gift Shop – Cultural items, Māori crafts, and educational souvenirs
• The Base and Te Awa Mall – Convenient for everything from fashion to locally branded products
• Local art galleries and co-ops – For original paintings, pottery, and sculpture
• Boutique stores in Hamilton East and Cambridge – Ideal for browsing one-of-a-kind finds

Conclusion: Bring a Piece of Hamilton Home

A souvenir is more than an object—it’s a memory made tangible. When you bring home a gift from Hamilton, you’re not only preserving your own experiences but also supporting the local makers and artists who help define the city’s unique character.

Whether it’s a traditional Māori carving, a jar of Manuka honey, a bottle of locally brewed cider, or a handwoven basket, the best souvenirs are those that tell a story. Let your journey through Hamilton live on in the beautiful, meaningful pieces you take with you—and perhaps inspire someone else to explore this unforgettable part of New Zealand.

The post What to Bring Back from Hamilton: The Best Souvenirs and Local Artisan Products appeared first on HamiltonInfo.

There are three theaters in Hamilton: Founders Theater, Clarence Street Theater, and The Meteor.

Hamilton Gardens is the most popular tourist attraction in the region. The park consists of gardens of different types (English garden, French garden, Italian garden, Japanese garden, etc.), As well as small gazebos. The Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival is held here every year.

Hamilton has six public libraries, and the central library contains a significant historical collection. The city also has a zoo and a casino .

In 2004, the city council erected a bronze statue of Richard O’Brien, creator of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and former resident of the city, on the site of the former Embassy movie theater. The statue represents O’Brien as Riff Raff in his astronaut costume.

North of Hamilton is the village of Ngaruawahia, the capital of the Māori royalist movement during the Second Territorial War, a center of Māori culture, home to the Marae of Turangawaewa and the home of Māori king Tuheitia Paki.

Hotels, hostels and other

Microtel Backpackers. Nice hostel, but the single rooms are tiny. $29 for a bed, $49 for a single room, $69 for a double.

Backpackers Central, 846 Victoria St. Central location, breakfast included, but some rooms have no windows, so it gets hot in the summer.

City Center Hamilton Bed and Breakfast. The studio cottage sleeps up to three people and includes a kitchenette, bathroom, courtyard parking, free internet access. A five-minute walk from downtown Hamilton.

Shailers Bed & Breakfast. A luxury home or farm 12 minutes from Hamilton, in the heart of New Zealand’s most fertile region, the Waikato. Tours of a three hundred cow dairy farm.

Quest Apartments Hamilton. 26 1 bedroom apartments and 3 studio apartments in downtown Hamilton. Easy access to Hamilton’s main bars, casinos, stores and information center.

Heartland Ambassador Hotel Hamilton. Free Wi-Fi, outdoor pool, hot tub, BBQ facilities.
Ibis Tainui.
Novotel Hamilton. The city’s largest hotel and the only 4.5-star hotel near Hamilton’s only casino.

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Historically, the city is the center of the fertile Waikato Plain. The mild climate and heavy rains of the Waikato region provide excellent pastures for Waikato farmers. The region produced butter and milk powder and then met much of the demand of the British metropolitan area. The transit of manufacturing through Hamilton made it a thriving city. As a result of various political and economic changes (world wars, the United Kingdom joining the European economic community, globalization of trade, etc.) the City diversified. etc.) the City has diversified its economy.

Industry and commerce are important sectors of Hamilton’s economic activity. Pacific Aerospace , New Zealand’s largest supplier of aircraft equipment, is based in Hamilton and the city has the largest concentration of tugboat manufacturers. Waikato Hospital (about six hundred beds is located in the city and provides jobs (2500 people work there) in the health sector.

The National Agrarian Fieldays agricultural fair is held annually at the Sacrament Creek Exhibition Hall in Hamilton. It is the largest agricultural fair in the southern hemisphere. Mystery Creek is the largest nationwide fair and hosts national events such as the Auto Show and Boat Show.

The Ruakur Agricultural Research Center has led to many innovations in agronomy, animal health and slaughter, and meat processing.

Demographics

Hamilton is home to more than 130,000 people and an urban community of 187,960. About 1.5 million New Zealanders, or 40% of the population, live within 250 kilometers of Hamilton.

At the 2006 census, Hamilton’s population was 65.3% European (Pākeka), 19.9% Māori, 10.6% Asian, 4.7% Pacific Islander and 1.5% Middle Eastern, South American or African. source. In addition, 10.6% of Hamiltonians identified themselves as New Zealanders.

Politics

Hamilton is located in the Hamilton City Council administrative area . The council governs the seventh most populous territorial authority in the country. The council consists of 13 councillors and the Mayor, currently Andrew King. Councillors serve three-year terms and the last election was held in 2016.

Council has six standing committees (Urban Development, Community and Recreation, Legislative Management, Transportation, Finance and Audit, and Stadium Management) and five subcommittees.

The City of Hamilton is part of the Waikato Region and is administratively controlled by Environment Waikato.

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With the exception of many low hills, such as those around the University of Waikato, Lake Hamilton, Bereskorta, Sylvester Road, Pukete and west of the city, and an extensive network of ravines, the city’s terrain is relatively flat. In some areas, such as Te Rapa, one old ancient river path can be traced. The relatively soft and loose soil material is still actively eroded by rainfall and surface runoff.

In its natural state, Hamilton and the surrounding area was very marshy in winter with 30 small lakes connected to the surrounding peat bogs. Hamilton was surrounded by 7 large peat bogs such as Komakorau in the north and Rukuhia and Moanatuatua’aua in the south, as well as many smaller bogs, all of which have now been drained with only small remnants remaining. The total area of the peatland amounted to about 655 km2. Early photographs of Hamilton East show carts buried up to their axles in the thick mud. Up until the 1880s, it was possible to row and haul a boat from the town to many remote farms in the northeast. This swampy and wet environment at the time was considered an ideal breeding ground for the tuberculosis bacillus, which posed a serious health hazard in the early days. To avoid this problem, Hamilton’s first hospital was built on a hill. One of the reasons why population growth in Hamilton was so slow until the 1920s was the great difficulty in traversing the many arms of deep swampy ravines that crisscross the city. Hamilton has 6 major complexes of dendritic gullies, of which the 15-kilometer branch is 12, the Kirikiriroa system is in the north of the city, and the southern Mystery Creek-Kaipaki gully complex is the largest. Others are Mangakotukutuku, Mangaonua and Waitawiriwiri.

In the 1930s Garden Place Hill, one of many smaller hills sometimes called the Hamilton Hills, was demolished by unemployed men working with picks, shovels and Ford Model T trucks. The western remnants of the hill are held up by a large concrete wall. The original hill ran from the current Wintec site east to the old post office (now a casino). Land was taken 4 km north to partially fill in the Maeroa ravine adjacent to the Central Baptist Church on Ulster Street, the main road leading north.

Lake Rotoroa (Lake Hamilton) began to form about 20,000 years ago. It was originally part of an ancient river system that was cut off by sediment and became two small lakes separated by a narrow peninsula. Due to more rainfall and drainage from the extensive peat lands to the west, the water level rose, so the narrow peninsula was flooded, forming one large lake. The lake is 8m deep in the north and 6m deep at the southern (hospital) end. The old watershed peninsula, the beginning of which is still visible above the water on the east side, is only 2 m below the surface.

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In 1822, Kirikiriroa Pa was briefly abandoned to avoid musket wars. By the 1830s, however, Kirikiriroa Pa was the main Ngati Wairere, where missionaries arriving at the time estimated that there were 200 permanent residents. A chapel and house were built at Kirikiriroa for visiting clergy, presumably after Benjamin Ashwell established his mission near Taupiri.

Between 1845 and 1855 crops such as wheat, fruit and potatoes were exported to Auckland, with Kirikiriroa serving up to 50 canoes. Imports included blankets, clothing, axes, sugar, rum and tobacco. Millstones were purchased and a waterwheel built, although the mill may not have been completed. However, one article stated that Kirikiriroa flour was well known.

Judge Gorst estimated that the population of Kirikiriroa was about 78 before the invasion of Waikato as a result of the Waikato Wars of 1863-1864. The government estimated that there were 3,400 Māori people living in the Waikato area at the same time. After the Waikato Wars, large tracts of land (1.2 million acres), including the area of the present town of Hamilton, were unjustly confiscated by the Crown under the New Zealand Settlement Act 1863. By the time British settlers arrived after 1863, most of these villages had been abandoned as a result of the land confiscation, also known as Raupatu. Following the Waikato invasion and the confiscation of seized land, settler militias were recruited in Melbourne and Sydney. On August 10, 1864, the government issued a tender for the construction of 10 huts and a hospital at Kirikiriroa. Hamilton was settled by the 4th Waikato Militia Regiment. The 1st Regiment was stationed at Tauranga, the 2nd at Pirongia, the 3rd at Cambridge and the 4th at Kirikiriroa. The settlement was established on August 24, 1864. Many soldiers/settlers who intended to farm after the War of 1863 abandoned their land in 1868 due to its poor quality. Much of the land was swamped or under water. In 1868, Hamilton’s population, which had been about 1,000 in 1864, was reduced to 300 as farmers left. On December 22, 1875, the first brickyard opened in Hamilton.

A road from Auckland reached Hamilton in 1867 and the railroad reached Hamilton in December 1877. In the same month, the cities of Hamilton West and Hamilton East united under a single city council. The first transportation 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 railroad bridge, the Claudelands Bridge, opened in 1884. It was converted to a highway bridge in 1965. Hamilton reached 1,000 people in 1900, and the city of Frankton merged with Hamilton Borough in 1917. Between 1912 and 1936 Hamilton expanded with new land at Claudelands (1912), Maeroa (1925) and Richmond – modern Waikato Hospital and North Melville (1936). Hamilton was proclaimed a city in 1945.

The Te Rapa and Pukete areas were important locations for the kauri trade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, being some of the southernmost places where chewing gum could be found.

The town is close to the southernmost navigable section (for settlers’ steam boats) of the Waikato River, amongst New Zealand’s richest and now fertile farmland, which was once mainly Raupo and Kahikatea swamps. Beale Cottage is an 1872 landmark in Hamilton East.

Hamilton today

Central Hamilton on the Waikato River is a busy shopping area. The entertainment area is quite lively due to the large student population. Lonely Planet’s 2008 guidebook states that “the city’s main street has grown to be home to a number of sophisticated and lively bars and eateries that, at least on weekends, leave the Auckland Harbour Viaduct to die in drunken revelry.” Many of the city’s venues and attractions are located in the city’s Old Belt, including Hamilton Gardens, Waikato Stadium, Seddon Park and the Hamilton Lake neighborhood.

Hamilton’s rapid growth has brought with it the side effects of urban sprawl, particularly to the northeast of the city in the Rototun area. Further development is planned in the suburbs of Rototun and Peacock. There has been significant residential development adjacent to the Hamilton urban area, particularly Tamakhere and Matangi.

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