Poems
Poems about Cambridge have appeared in Cambridge newspapers for nearly a century and some are repeated here.
When Cambridge was founded in 1864 the east bank of the Waikato River was called Cambridge East and the west bank Cambridge West. But in January 1865 a newspaper correspondent recorded, “As some of our huts are finished, headquarters have been shifted over the other side, some few days back, that is Cambridge, the left bank is Oxford, two very learned names, but study of any sort is not much thought about up here, I think.”
Later, in 1873 the Armed Constabulary complained about the lack of literary encouragement and HQ in Wellington sent up some books to start a library.
It was decided to name all the streets after authors and poets - a practice still continued by Waipa District Council.
In 1907 the Cambridge West Town Board was formed and the name changed to Leamington in 1908. This was the birthplace of the chairman, James Keeley.
