Wallace Court Lt Colonel Thomas Craig Wallace was awarded the Gold Star by the New Zealand Returned Services Association (RSA) for his contributions to the RSA and the community. He received the Queen’s Service Medal for services to the community.

Watkins Road Matthew Watkins arrived in New Zealand in 1879 from Monmouthshire and became an early settler of Taranaki, before moving to the Waikato. With his wife Mary and family, he farmed at Karāpiro and Fencourt. In the early 1900s, they were living on St Kilda Road. Watkins Road at that time was referred to as the back road, with most traffic using Thornton Road. In 1927 son Horace bought property on the right – just out of the borough – sealing the Watkins name to the district.

Weld Street Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld was a member of the first New Zealand Parliament assembled in 1854 and was Premier from 1864-1865.

Wetlands Street The wetlands are a local landscape feature.

Whakahaumako Road, Leamington Whakahaumako means to enhance in te reo Māori and refers to horticultural soils.

Whare Marama Drive (near the Reserve) Archaeologists discovered the remains of a whare marama or birthing site near Leamington in 2018. It is thought to have been used by different iwi (tribes) in the 1800s. Excavations exposed evidence of widespread garden plantings, large and small storage and firepits, walled areas and spaces where people would have been involved in birthing. Ellen Tupaea, a Māori midwife of Tūwharetoa descent who married into Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, said: “No other whare marama has been found intact like this in New Zealand. It is very special.”

Whitaker Terrace Sir Frederick Whitaker was a Major in the New Zealand Militia. He was Premier from 1863 to 1864 and again from 1882 to 1883. He was MP for Waikato from 1876 to 1879. In 1874 he formed a company to drain and build roads across the Piako swamp which he bought for 5 shillings an acre.

Whitehall Road Whitehall was once part of the Fen Court Estate, managed by Maclean & Co. As with many areas within the estate, its name was inspired by a location in Britain. Nearby roads like St Kilda Road in Fencourt reflect similar naming traditions.
In March 1884, Mr James Bailey, manager of the Auckland Agricultural Company, wrote to the Piako Road Board offering to build bridges along the road using the company’s rates for the next two years. The Board accepted the offer and appointed a committee to choose the bridge sites. They also agreed that, once the bridges were in place, the road would be officially surveyed to include the new structures, and the original road would be closed. The Auckland Agricultural Company also agreed to donate the land required for the new road.
Once the Bridgewater bridge was completed, the Board opted to fund future maintenance not through borrowing but by introducing a toll for all users. Ironically, the company that built the bridges—Auckland Agricultural Company—was also their most frequent user.
In 1885, local settler Thomas Bruce offered to contribute to the improvement of Whitehall Road, on the condition that he oversee the work himself. The Board accepted his proposal. A few years later, in 1901, a horse-drawn road grader was introduced to the district, further improving local roads and transport access.

Wilkinson Place Kenneth Louis Wilkinson was Mayor of Cambridge from 1947 until1953. He was well known for a flying tour of Europe in 1958 (30 days) and for being the owner of a Ford coupe in which he set a record for a ten and a half-hour drive from Auckland to Wellington.

Williams Street William Louis (Lou) Campbell Williams moved to Cambridge from Matamata where he managed Joseph Firth’s estate. When he retired, he built a two-storey home on a nearby street which is now known as Hurley Place.

Williamson Street The Hon James Williamson MLC was one of the founders of the Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Insurance Company.

Wilson Street John Wilson was born on 15 January 1830 in Kilmarnock, Scotland, the son of James and Annie (née Love). He arrived in New Zealand with his family in 1840 and later joined the 3rd Waikato Militia, arriving in Cambridge in 1864. As a Major, he received 400 acres of farmland and 2 town acres.
In 1872, he acquired sections 35 and 36 on Wilson Street (named after him), adding lots 37 and 39 in 1879. He first built an adobe and limestone home, later replaced by a villa called Waterside, which overlooked the Waikato River. The grounds featured colourful gardens, an orchard, nut trees, exotic plants, and a grand conservatory which is still standing today at the corner of Victoria Road and King Street. Wilson played a key role in land negotiations on behalf of the Government, was a founding member of the Waikato Farmers’ Club in 1875 and donated the trees on upper Victoria Street. He also helped establish the Cambridge Public Library and served as a Justice of the Peace from 1879 to 1889.
In 1877, he married Te Aorere, daughter of Ngāti Hauā chief Waimapuni and Inuaka. They had six children at Waterside. Te Aorere died in 1883, aged 30. Her funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Cambridge, attended by hundreds, including Māori from Taranaki and chiefs in traditional mourning dress. The Native Land Court adjourned in her honour, recognising her role in fostering peace in the district. Land she brought into the marriage was passed on to her children. Later in 1883, John married the family’s governess, Sophia Gray. They had three more sons together. Though Wilson was respected for his fairness in land dealings, he suffered financial loss during the 1880s downturn, losing £28,000 in the Patetere district. He died on 24 May 1892 (aged 62) from liver disease.

Wiseman Road In 1907 John Charles Wiseman travelled from Mamaku to Cambridge with £1 in his pocket to work on farms in Fencourt. He bought three acres (18 perches) on a fern track where he built a one room house for himself. He extended this structure after marrying Ivy Simpson at Armidale Farm, Fencourt on 5 October 1910. The couple had six children: Thomas Arthur, Charles Francis, Alfred Victor, Stanley Raymond, James Laurence and Colin Edward.
Wiseman continued to work on farms and gradually built his own dairy farm from these few acres to 74 acres. With generations, the Wisemans owned both sides of the road from Victoria Road to the railway at Bruntwood.

Woodcock Road This was originally one of the entrances to Wartle Estate at Tamahere owned by Patrick Leslie.

Woodstock Crescent Possibly named after the Woodstock Poetry Society. Woodstock in Oxfordshire (England) is a small village near Blenheim Palace. Sir Walter Scott used Woodstock as a backdrop in his Waverley novel Woodstock. The poet Chaucer lived in Woodstock for some years. In 1554 Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned at Woodstock Palace by her half-sister Queen Mary.

Wordsworth Street William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an English writer and poet. He wrote I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils), Tintern Abbey, The Solitary Reaper and Resolution and Independence.

Z

Zig Zag Road This road follows the Main Drain. Rumour has it that the contractor was paid by the number of corners. At the junction of this and Swayne Road stood the gatehouse to the Fen Court homestead when the estate was owned by Every Maclean.