Claudelands is a suburb directly to the east of central Hamilton, New Zealand, across the Waikato River. It is linked to the central city by the Claudelands road bridge and the East Coast Main Trunk Railway bridge. History Miropiko Pā, at River Road, in the north-west of Claudelands, was occupied by Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Hānui and Ngāti Koura. Following the 1864 invasion of the Waikato they moved to Gordonton and the land was confiscated and sold by the government. Alfred William East, 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 South Auckland 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 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 (including the race track) 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