Frankton, Waikato
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frankton is a central suburb of the city of Hamilton, New Zealand. It is home to the city's passenger railway station, a major industrial-commercial stretch of State Highway 1, and a commercial shopping area.
Contents |
[edit] Tornado
Just before midday on Wednesday 25 August 1948 a tornado ripped through Frankton killing 3 people and injuring 7. For names of the people killed go here. [1].
[edit] Railway
Frankton was once home to Frankton Junction, a very important railway station, and the now-closed Frankton Tea Rooms, where passenger trains without dining cars would stop to allow passengers to purchase food and drinks.
Today, it still acts as the location of the junction of the North Island Main Trunk Railway and the East Coast Main Trunk Railway, and is Hamilton's only passenger railway station, but now freight trains are handled at the Te Rapa yards further north and only two passenger trains stop daily. These two trains are services between Auckland and Wellington.
[edit] Commerce Street
The main street of Frankton, Commerce Street, and the streets surrounding it, form one of Hamilton City's largest suburban non-mall shopping areas. This includes west Hamilton offices of many major banks, such as Bank of New Zealand, ANZ and Westpac, as well as a branch of New Zealand Post and Kiwibank.
The area is dominated by the well-known locally-owned department store, Forlongs Furnishings of Frankton. The family-owned business operates a number of specialised departments, such as furnishings, furniture, video games, electronics, outdoor equipment and fashion, across several blocks. A characteristic jingle is used for the store's widespread local and national advertising.
[edit] Other Businesses
Other businesses in the Frankton Area include the very well known Frankton Model Shop, Moshim's Discount House, Trevor's Barber Shop and 1 of 3 independent butchers remaining in Hamilton.
[edit] Frankton Primary School
Located on the boundaries of Massey Street, and Rifle Range Road.
