, a captain with the 4th Waikato Regiment, was one of the original owners of Claudelands. East Street in the suburb is named for him. Francis Richard Claude was an early wealthy settler from South America who bought of parcels of mainly swampy land from the original soldier-settlers who were disgruntled with their land allocation. Claude subdivided most of it in 1878. An area of kahikatea forest was then cleared to create the racecourse. It was sold to the SouthAuckland Racing Club and then the Waikato A&P Association, who had their first show on 27 October 1892. Racing moved to Te Rapa Racecourse in 1925. The only piece of land in near original state is the kahikatea forest, named Claudelands Bush, adjacent to Claudelands show grounds. Originally the ground in this area was swampy but artificial drainage has dried the soil. The roots of the trees are protected by an elevated walkway which is open to the public. The A&P Association gave it to the city council in 1928. Claudelands is one of the Hamilton's oldest suburbs, with a large number of bay villas and bungalows dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although later development led to the construction of a large number of two-storey blocks of flats, the unique character of the area was deemed worthy of preservation by the Hamilton City Council. To this end, strict rules governing alteration, demolition and new development were introduced.
Features of Claudelands
Claudelands is home to the Claudelands Showgrounds - original site of major agricultural shows and events in Hamilton, and a trotting and dog racing track. Since passing into council ownership, a large part of it has been converted into a large open park. The upgraded Claudelands Arena was opened in 2011. The Claudelands Event Centre hosted a mayoral debate in 2019. Claudelands is also home of one of Hamilton's oldest and most notable association football clubs, Claudelands Rovers.
Claudelands railway station
Claudelands had a railway station from 1884 to 1991, named Hamilton East until 1 March 1899 and then Kirikiriroa until 1 February 1914, when it was changed after a petition. The station was between Brooklyn Rd and Claudelands Rd, east of the old Hamilton station and west of Ruakura. In 1912 Hamilton Chamber of Commerce applied for a porter to be employed there, which was approved in 1913, when it became a tablet station and the yard was extended, after a lengthy residents' campaign. A goods shed and electric lighting were added in 1927. The station building burnt down on 11 July 1987. In 2020 double tracking and potentially reopening the station for events, were put forward as a COVID-19 recovery scheme, as part of a $150m scheme to relay tracks to Cambridge.
Demographics
According to the 2006 census, Claudelands has a population of 2385. The Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation, ranked 1-10 from lowest to most deprived areas, lists Claudelands at 8/10.
