Death of the High Street: Hamilton’s Victoria St not what used to be

Victoria Street, Hamilton at night. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Once the heart of each town and city, New Zealand’s high streets have had to overcome many challenges over the years, including the advent of big malls, the rise in online shopping and in working from home, cost of living and inflation. Around the country, our reporters set out to find what has changed in the country’s main arteries, and how retailers are adapting. Waikato Herald’s Danielle Zollickhofer takes a trip up Hamilton’s main street and down memory lane.

Hamilton’s high street - Victoria St - is not what it used to be, local business leaders say.

Gone are the days of late-night shopping on a Friday, crowded shops and “Midnight Madness” during Fieldays, however, it’s definitely not all doom and gloom.

“The death of the high street - in its traditional sense - is valid, although it’s quite a harsh sounding statement,” Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams said.

“The concept of the high street is changing ... The high street is not just retail anymore.”

Hamilton City Libraries Whakaputu Special Collections librarian Perry Rice said the history of Victoria St as Hamilton’s main street goes back to the 19th century.

Hamilton's Victoria St around 1895. Photo / Hamilton City Libraries

“Victoria St was the longest street on the original town plan ... Businesses started in the 1860s close to the river,” Rice said.

The opening of the Post office in 1873, where the Artspost Gallery is now, and the Bank of New Zealand building its permanent branch in town in 1878 cemented Victoria Street as Hamilton’s high street.

After the railway came to town in the 1880s, banks, government departments, hotels and shops appeared on Victoria St.

The street received a further boost of shops in the early 20th century after it became a part of the state highway network, and after 1939 when Garden Place was developed.

“Garden Place had been flattened in 1939 and... in 1940 the new Chief post Office opened opposite Garden Place bringing a great deal more business to the centre.”

“Businesses like banks ... and Government offices [also] had ... more staff before the advent of computers, so every weekday there were ... more people in the city than now.”

“The peak was probably in the 1970s/1980s. In the day, shops and offices were only open Monday to Friday with a late night on Friday in most towns.”

Williams remembers the late-night shopping as a teenager.

“It was much more of a retail offering that one could only get here. There was ... [also] Midnight Madness during Fieldays.”

Hamilton's Victoria Street in 1976. Photo / Hamilton Central Libraries

Now, a lot of the retail offering is available online.

“So there has to be more for people [in town],” Williams said.

“It’s about the wider offering ... It’s much more about the experience.”

Williams said while there were currently empty shops and it was an economically challenging time, not all of the empty shops were for lease, some of them were being redeveloped.

“In the last couple of years, we actually had quite a low vacancy rate.”

One of the city’s long-running businesses is outdoor equipment store TreknTravel. Owner Colin Hancock opened the shop at the bottom end of Victoria St in 1997.

An aerial view of Hamilton's CBD and Victoria St. Photo / Hamilton City Council

“The bottom end was designated as ... an entertainment zone with lots of restaurants,” Hancock said.

He said the location was good for his business as people were coming into his shop on the way to or from the restaurants and cafes.

“And I felt like all my competitors were on the other end [of Victoria St].”

Hancock noticed foot traffic slowing down when Chartwell Shopping Centre and Te Awa The Base opened.

An aerial view of Hamilton in 1938. Photo / Hamilton City Libraries

“But that made Hamilton interesting and a good place to come to, because it had both - the malls and a high street.”

Despite the popularity of online shopping, he found people were coming back into the shops.

“They do their research online, but they come in to see if the item is the right colour or size, how it fits or what the material feels like.”

Hancock noticed a further decline in foot traffic in the past two years which he put down to the economy.

“But I am confident. We’ve been here before and we will get over it again.

“We just need our confidence back ... And support local businesses.”

Danielle Zollickhofer is a multimedia journalist and assistant news director at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.