New Zealand’s largest inland city, Hamilton (Kirikiriroa in Te Reo Māori) can be found right in the centre of one of the richest agricultural and pastoral areas in the world.
New Zealand’s largest inland city, Hamilton (Kirikiriroa in Te Reo Māori) can be found right in the centre of one of the richest agricultural and pastoral areas in the world. Flowing alongside the Waikato River, the city is kept running by Hamilton City Council—a complex organisation that comprises 27 diverse operational business units, each with a unique fingerprint.
Maintaining the vast range of civic infrastructures that the city has to offer is a big task, but the City Council that never sleeps is driven to create the perfect place to live or visit: “It's about the community, and that's why I love it”, says Shayla Whaiapu, the Operations Manager of Hamilton’s popular Waterworld aquatics centre. “I love doing what I do every day. I love hearing people laughing and smiling.”
A place is its people, and people are at the centre of Hamilton City Council’s activities. Not only does the Council deliver big city life essentials—roads and water works, parks, playgrounds, walking paths, and arts and culture institutions—to locals and visitors alike, but it offers funding to local community organisations and supports migrants and new arrivals to make the city their home.
This range of activities is why Council Safety & Wellbeing Lead Marie Snowball describes the Council as a “really diverse organisation”, telling her team “you'll never work for an organisation like it.” But with this range comes a unique set of pressures.