The police magistrate from Portland James Blair and the new position of police magistrate to The Grange, Acheson French were also appointed by Governor Charles Latrobe to "check the collision between the natives and the settlers". Birth of the town The proximity of The Grange to other properties and to important tracks between Portland and New South Wales led to the gradual emergence of a small town. This included an inn, blacksmith, a small store and some shanties and businesses nearby. The site was a small social centre for surrounding pastoral properties, with horse races being held along the Grange Burn flat. A Post Office opened on 1 July 1844 (Hamilton from 1 January 1854). The desire for a school prompted a town survey that commenced in 1849. The township of Hamilton was formally declared in 1851. The town was named in the following way as quoted by the book, "Dundas Shire Centenary 1863-1963", page 58. Quote: "In 1840, owing to police difficulties in controlling public houses on, or not on the imaginary boundary line, Henry Wade was sent from Sydney on a special mission to mark out the boundary. He completed the survey as far as Serviceton by the spring of 1847, and was then appointed District Surveyor and in 1850, laid out a township for the Grange, which he named Hamilton. It was then the prerogative of the surveyor to christen his lay-out. Wade and his family had made close friends of the Hamiltons and Gibsons of Bringalbert, there being intermarriages later." The railway reached the town in 1877, along with the local railway station which later became a hub of several branch lines until they closed in 1977 and 1979. Heritage listings Hamilton contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including: 43 Gray Street: Hamilton Mechanics Institute 57 Gray Street: Hamilton Post Office Kennedy, Martin, French and Thompson Streets: Hamilton Botanic Gardens 14 Tyers Street: Hamilton Tuberculosis Chalet 2-16 Craig Street: Hamilton Gas Holder 34 Thompson Street: Napier Club 429 Henty Highway: Hamilton Racecourse Grandstand 70 Rogers Road: Correagh Kent Road and Macarthur Street: Myrniong Industry and employment Sheep grazing and agriculture are the primary industries in the surrounding shire, the area producing as much as 15% of Australia's total wool clip. Inside the city of Hamilton the majority of employment is provided by the retail industry (20%) and the Health and Community Services sector (14.5%). Education is