Auckland Gas Company had been set up in 1862, but it wasn't until the Hamilton Gasworks Act 1895 that Henry Atkinson (son of the manager of Auckland gasworks) was allowed to set up a gasworks in Clarence St on allotment 322 (see photo of the [http://ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info/hamilton_streets/topics/show/339-clarence-street] ) and put gas pipes under the streets. Work started on laying about 50 tons of pipes in July 1895. It also allowed the city to purchase after 12 years at a price determined by arbitration. A 1907 referendum authorised the city council to take over the gasworks. In 1911 the Privy Council set the purchase price at £34,402/14/3d ($5.7m at 2017 prices), half of which was for goodwill.