Hillcrest, Hamilton

The area was formerly known as Steele's Hill, named after Capt. W. Steele. Much of it was covered in orchards in the early 1900s. It was named Hillcrest by the Waikato County Council in the 1940s when the area began developing as a suburb. Hillcrest became a part of Hamilton in 1949, with the 5th boundary extension. Significant development took place throughout the 1950s and 1960s. ==Notable locations==

University of Waikato The main campus of the University of Waikato was established in 1964. In 2010, the university had 13,089 students enrolled, the majority based at the Hillcrest campus. Academy of Performing Arts Opened in 2001, the Academy of Performing Arts is a prominent music and theatre venue in Hamilton. Its concert chamber is one of Hamilton's premier classical music venues. Former Hamilton Railway Station The Station on Hillcrest Road is the former main railway station for Hamilton. The building was relocated from Victoria Street to its current Hillcrest location in the 1960s, when the Hamilton Central underground train station was built. It is one of the few surviving railway stations that were built during the time that Julius Vogel was in charge of New Zealand's Public Works Department. ==Demographics==

Hillcrest covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Hillcrest had a population of 6,198 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 288 people (4.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 744 people (13.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,132 males, 3,027 females, and 36 people of other genders in 1,953 dwellings. 5.5% of people identified as LGBTQ+. The median age was 28.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,182 people (19.1%) aged under 15 years, 2,031 (32.8%) aged 15 to 29, 2,517 (40.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 471 (7.6%) aged 65 or older. The 2013 Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation, ranked 1-10 from lowest to most deprived areas, lists the University section of Hillcrest at 8/10 (high deprivation) and the Hillcrest West section at 6/10 (moderate deprivation). ==Education==

Hillcrest Normal School and Knighton Normal School are state co-educational contributing primary schools (years 1-6) with rolls of and students respectively. Hillcrest Normal opened in 1923, and Knighton Normal opened in 1957. The term "Normal" comes from the French term école normale and means these schools assist in the training of teachers. St John's College is a single-sex integrated Catholic secondary school (years 9-13) with a roll of . Rolls are as of Despite the name, Hillcrest High School is actually located in the neighbouring suburb of Silverdale. ==See also==