Top town: Is Hamilton the coolest city in the country?

“The wine scene here has been underground but it’s becoming more appreciated,” Brenner says.

Brenner is Canadian but he’s lived all over. Five years ago, he moved from Melbourne to Waikato with his partner, a Hamiltonian. It was supposed to be a stop-off on the way to somewhere else but they stayed. “The whole vibe of Hamilton is on the up and up.”

The wine bar in which Brenner works is called Amphora. It has an adventurous wine list compiled by owner Kieran Clarkin, a Hamiltonian who went away for about 20 years, came back and stayed.

The bar is not on the high street but in Made, a new “urban precinct” development in Hamilton East. A few years ago, Hamilton East was known for its students and take­aways. There are no funky laneways, but Made, with its eateries, fresh-food market and artisanal goods, does an exemplary job of making it feel like there are.

Back at Amphora, Clarkin explains his philosophy. “We’re aiming for people who may not know much [about wine] but who are interested,” he says. “I’m realistic; I wasn’t expecting Melbourne.”

You hear a lot of this in Waikato, people comparing their place with other places. Everyone is aware they’re fighting perceptions: Fieldays, farming, rugby. It used to be true. Hamilton was a service town for Waikato farmers. Its economy is still very much built on primary industries, says Rosie Spragg, general manager of economic development at Te Waka, Waikato’s regional economic development agency, but that’s only part of the story. The city itself is no longer a cow town, even if that’s part of the region’s self-mythology ‒ a badge of dubious honour, like Wellington weather or Auckland traffic.

Hamiltonians talk about Auckland’s traffic as much as Aucklanders. It’s used as a defence mechanism or perhaps a pre-emptive strike, a reason to stay right where they are, thank you. Raglan’s beaches come up a lot, too, usually when someone’s telling you they’re just 30-45 minutes away, with the inevitable addendum that it’ll take you that long to get to an urban Auckland beach in traffic anyway, which is often the case.

For all the defensiveness – the city’s slogan, “Hamilton: more than you expect”, doesn’t help – Kirikiriroa is a city reborn. And the energy is coming from unexpected places. The arts are quietly thriving, helped along by a burgeoning commitment to philanthropy, a rapidly rising population that makes Kirikiriroa the fourth-largest city in Aotearoa, and comparatively modest accommodation prices. According to Infometrics, the average house value in Hamilton in 2023 was $802,719, compared with a national average of $920,930.

The tech sector, meanwhile, is humming, and it’s not just agritech. Think weightless businesses, low footprint, high value with a global reach. They could set up anywhere. That they choose Waikato speaks to the health of the region and the perceived lifestyle advantages it offers.