Fairview Downs


Fairview Downs is a suburb in eastern Hamilton in New Zealand.
It was developed in stages.
Tramway Road, the western boundary of Fairview, was shown as a proposed tramway on an 1865 map. It seems to have been of double width to accommodate a tramway to Cambridge and to have first been discussed by Kirikiriroa Road Board in 1872, though clearing and gravelling didn't start until 1891 and metalling was continuing in 1925. Hamilton Libraries say it was a crown grant and named c. 1890 - 1900 by civic leaders, surveyors and citizens, because there was a tramway in the vicinity.
Carrs Road was named in 1917 by the Carr family who owned it. Alderson Road was named between 1936-40 by A.J. Thompson, the subdivider, after the Alderson family who originally owned the land.
The area south of Powells Road was developed in 1962 by D.M. McKenzie.
Fairview Street was named in 1967 by Alf Steele, the developer, who wanted a name that made the area sound more attractive. A developer bought the farm to the south in 1967. Fairview, to the north of Powells Road, was turned into housing between 1970 and 1974 by Peerless Homes Ltd., owned by Alf Steele.

Demographics

According to the 2006 census, Fairview Downs has a population of 3333. The Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation, ranked 1-10 from lowest to most deprived areas, lists Fairview Downs at 7/10.
Fairview Downs census area lost and gained a few small areas on its western fringe in 2018. The population has increased slowly. They are younger than the 37.4 years of the national average, but close to the national median income, with more than double Hamilton's Māori average of 23.7%, as shown below -
YearPopulationMedian ageHouseholdsMedian incomeNational median income
1996
2001$18,500
20062,976 $24,100
20132,982 $27,900
20183,20130.41,029$31,700$31,800

In 2018 the main ethnic groups were -