Times are a changing

This shows location as last week and we see here the changes since the 1966 photo. This is now c. 1983. The building dates back to about 1907. Originally it housed a Daimler and Ford dealership. The retailers have changed since 1965 and now feature: Hamilton Linen Centre; Stars Travel; Forte Fashions; Snack bar; Sanders Florists and John Staines menswear. The very tall building is the Government Life Office. In the unused area, men are at work preparing the ground for the Centreplace shopping mall. Remember, the railway line runs beneath that ground about the row of poles to the left.

Images like this help us to understand the man-made geography. Hamilton is very fortunate in having the legacy of photographers like Henry Gaze, J.F.Louden, George Cartwright and in more recent history, Bill Lindberg. Mr Lindberg took a series of ‘after’ photos which help to give an insight into the changes. The value of these is inestimable.

Explore more images like this and leave your memories of Hamilton on our Heritage Collections Online.

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