University of Waikato

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The University of Waikato, informally Waikato University, is a comprehensive university in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a satellite campus located in Tauranga. Established in 1964, it was the first university in New Zealand to be designed from a blank canvas.HistoryThe University of Waikato owes its existence to a determined group of Hamilton locals, who in 1956 launched a petition for a university to serve the needs of the South Auckland region. The group was led by Douglas Seymour, a barrister, and subsequently Anthony "Rufus" Rogers, a Hamilton GP and brother to long-time Mayor of Hamilton, Denis Rogers.Their campaign coincided with a shortage of teachers in the 1950s that prompted the New Zealand government to consider plans for a teachers’ college in the region. Where there was a teachers’ college, there needed to be a university to give students access to undergraduate courses.In 1960, the newly established Hamilton Teachers’ College opened its doors, and combined forces with the fledgling university (then a branch of Auckland University) to plan a new joint campus on farmland at Hillcrest, on the city's outskirts.In 1964, the two institutions moved to their new home, and the following year the University of Waikato was officially opened by then Governor-General Sir Bernard Fergusson.The first Vice-Chancellor, Dr Don Llewellyn, was keen to develop the shared campus as one and build a single academic programme, an approach welcomed by the Teachers' College Principal, John Allan. But even the idea of co-location flew in the face of established practice, and the formal merger of the two institutions did not take place until 1990.