Rotorua

Rotorua sits on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua. The lake’s full name is Te Rotoruanui-a-Kahumatamomoe, after Kahumatamomoe, the Arawa ancestor who is believed to have sighted the lake first. Continued geothermal activity around the lake, notably at Sulphur Flats (Te Arikiroa), is a reminder of its volcanic origins. The islands off Sulphur Flats are a refuge for wildlife. They were also sites where Māori worked stone.

Rotorua City was built in the early 1880s by the government as a town for tourists visiting the ‘hot lakes’. It was laid out on the Pukeroa–Oruawhata block, land leased from Ngāti Whakaue near the Māori lakeside settlement of Ōhinemutu. 

This arrangement with the tribal owners broke down, and the government became the sole owner in 1888. The arrival of the railway in 1894 spurred growth. The government developed a European-style spa with ornamental gardens, and bathing and therapeutic facilities. After the Second World War, growth was also fostered by forest, farm and hydroelectricity development.

Rotorua has distinctive buildings. The Government Gardens, now a historic reserve, are dominated by the Bath House, opened in 1908 to emulate European spa bathhouses. The building now houses the Rotorua Museum of Art and History Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. The Te Arawa presence is also recognised in the nearby Arawa soldiers’ memorial, a First World War memorial with many Māori names, and the waka taua (war canoe) carved by Te Arawa artist Lyonel Grant in 1989.

The Spanish-mission-style Blue Baths were built in 1931–32, and introduced mixed bathing to Rotorua. Closed in 1982, they were reopened in 1999 for bathing and as a function venue. The Polynesian Spa occupies the site of the former Ward baths, on the lake front.

Rotorua's population is now 78,200 (June 2023) and tourism plays a large part in its economy.