The discovery of coal near St Peter's Church in the area known as Cameron's Hill, was the beginnings for the township of Hamilton (originally known as Pittown, Borehole or Happy Flat).
In 1947, Lettesi (a settler group made up of nearly 150 families from the village of Lettopalena in the Abruzzo Region of Italy), initially settled in Islington but they soon expanded into the nearby suburbs of Hamilton and Mayfield.