Rotorua
Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. It has an estimated resident population of, making it the country's 13th largest urban area, and the Bay of Plenty's second-largest urban area behind Tauranga.
Te Arawa Māori first settled in Rotorua in the 14th century, and a thriving pā was established at Ohinemutu by the people who would become Ngāti Whakaue. The city became closely associated with conflict during the Musket Wars of the 1820s. Ohinemutu was invaded by a Ngāpuhi-led coalition in 1823, commanded by Hongi Hika and Pōmare I. In the 19th century early European settlers had an interest in developing Rotorua, due to its unique geothermal activity in Rotorua and its surrounding area. Then, efforts by Māori and Europeans alike to establish Rotorua as a spa town led to a 99-year lease of land from Ngāti Whakaue to the Government. The city first became a major site of tourism due to the Rotorua's close proximity to the Pink and White Terraces, until they were destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. Rotorua was elevated to borough status in 1922 and to city status 40 years later.
Rotorua is a major destination for both domestic and international tourists. It is known for its geothermal activity and Māori cultural tourism, and features geysers – notably the Pōhutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa – and hot mud pools. This thermal activity is sourced to the Rotorua Caldera, in which the city lies.
Toponymy
The name Rotorua comes from the Māori language, where the full name for the city and lake is Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. Roto means 'lake' and rua means 'two' or in this case, 'second' – Rotorua thus meaning 'Second lake'. Kahumatamomoe was the uncle of the Māori chief Ihenga, the ancestral explorer of the Te Arawa. It was the second major lake the chief discovered, and he dedicated it to his uncle. It is the largest of a multitude of lakes found to the northeast, all connected with the Rotorua Caldera and nearby Mount Tarawera. The name can also mean the equally appropriate 'Crater lake'.A common nickname for Rotorua is "Sulphur City" due to the hydrogen sulphide emissions, which gives the city a smell similar to "rotten eggs", as well as "Rotten-rua" combining its legitimate name and the rotten smell prevalent. Another common nickname is "Roto-Vegas", likening the city's own strip of road flanked by businesses and restaurants to that of Las Vegas.
History
The area was initially settled by Māori of the Te Arawa iwi in the 14th century, and a thriving pā was built at Ohinemutu by the shores of Lake Rotorua. According to Te Arawa folklore, the city's bountiful geothermal springs had resulted from a plea by Ngātoro-i-rangi, an ancestral tohunga, for the gods to send fire-bearing spirits from Hawaiki, the semi-mythological Māori homeland. The Te Arawa Māori who lived at Ohinemutu eventually began to call themselves Ngāti Whakaue, after their ancestor Whakaue Kaipapa.Rotorua was a site of heavy conflict during the Musket Wars. During the early 1820s, the large Northern iwi Ngāpuhi had begun expanding outwards further south, driving Ngāti Pāoa and their chief Te Hīnaki from modern-day South Auckland, and launched periodic raids into the Bay of Plenty. A military expedition into the Bay of Plenty by a combined Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Maru nō Hauraki force in 1818 had set the stage for further raids in the modern Rotorua area. Ngāpuhi and its allies launched an ambitious invasion of the Waikato in 1822, with a battalion led by junior chief Te Pae-o-te-Rangi were ambushed and slaughtered by Ngāti Whakaue for trespassing into Rotorua. This was apparently at the insistence of Te Rauparaha; under Māori customary law the attack demanded utu. Ngāpuhi commander Hongi Hika convened with his fellow chiefs Pōmare I and Te Wera Hauraki to propose war, and thus in February 1823 a Ngāpuhi-led coalition invaded Rotorua. The force, which also included Ngāti Whātua and some Waikato Tainui, landed at Tauranga and headed up the Pongakawa valley to attack Mokoia Island Te Arawa fell back after the loss of 170 men and were defeated by Ngāpuhi, and utu was satisfied.
The first European in the area was probably Phillip Tapsell who was trading from the Bay of Plenty coast at Maketu from 1828. He later married into Te Arawa and became highly regarded by them. Missionaries Henry Williams and Thomas Chapman visited in 1831 and Chapman and his wife established a mission at Te Koutu in 1835. This was abandoned within a year, but Chapman returned in 1838 and established a second mission at Mokoia Island.
The lakeshore was a prominent site of skirmishes during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. William Fox advocated for turning the Rotorua region into a national park, inspired by the Yellowstone in the United States. Conversely, the Te Arawa community suggested the establishment of a township centred around Rotorua's thermal springs, with the intent of developing a Polynesian Spa and health resort where tourists could indulge in hot pools. In 1880, instead of selling the land, the Ngāti Whakaue people leased 50 acres to the Crown under the Fenton Agreement, granting the government the authority to offer 99-year leases on their behalf. Revenues from leases helped fund Rotorua Boys' High School, and increased significantly upon the expiry of the 99-year leases. The eponymous Fenton Street in the modern city's CBD bears the judge's name. Nevertheless, the enactment of the Thermal Springs District Act in 1881 gave the government exclusive rights to both purchase and lease lands containing hot springs, lakes, or river, and as a result, by the turn of the century, nearly half of the Rotorua blocks were sold. In 1993, the Crown settled a Treaty of Waitangi claim with the Ngāti Whakaue people to honour their broken contract, by agreeing to return the gifted lands that were no longer required for their original use.
The town was connected to Auckland with the opening of the Rotorua Branch railway and commencement of the Rotorua Express train in 1894, resulting in the rapid growth of the town and tourism from this time forward. Guidebooks about the 'Land of Boiling Water' also proliferated. During the 1880s, tourists, especially from Australia, started visiting Rotorua to witness its natural marvels like the Pink and White Terraces until these were destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 1886. Rotorua was established as a borough in 1922, elected its first mayor in 1923, and declared a city in 1962 before becoming a district in 1979.
Geography
Setting
The city of Rotorua and the adjacent Lake Rotorua are located within the Rotorua Caldera that was formed in a major volcanic eruption approximately 240,000 years ago. The caldera is the source of the geothermal activity that is a key feature of the city and surrounding region.Climate
The Rotorua region enjoys a mild temperate climate. Rotorua is situated inland from the coast and is sheltered by high country to the south and east of the city, resulting in less wind than many other places in New Zealand. During the winter months, June – August, temperatures can drop below 0 °C. Frost is common in Rotorua during its winter months, with an average of 57 ground frosts annually, and 20 nights per year below 0 °C. Snowfall in Rotorua is rare, and since the 1970s has only been recorded twice. On 15 August 2011 and 13 July 2017, snowflakes fell in the town centre, and during the July 2017 snowfall, snow accumulated in the nearby Mamaku ranges and in the outer reaches of the district, where snowfall occurs on average once every three years.Lakes
The Rotorua region has 17 lakes, known collectively as the Lakes of Rotorua. Fishing, waterskiing, swimming and other water activities are popular in summer. Several of the lakes are stocked for sports fishing with trout from the Fish and Game New Zealand hatchery at Ngongotahā. The lakes are also used for event venues; Rotorua hosted the 2007 World Waterski Championships and Lake Rotorua was the venue for the World Blind Sailing Championships in March 2009. Lake Rotorua is also used as a departure and landing point for float planes.Suburbs
;Inner suburbs;Outer suburbs
Demography
The Rotorua urban area, as defined by Statistics New Zealand, covers and incorporates 29 statistical areas. It has an estimated population of as of.Rotorua had a population of 55,326 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,140 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 6,429 people since the 2013 census. There were 26,883 males, 28,254 females, and 189 people of other genders in 19,137 dwellings. 2.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 35.6 years. There were 12,270 people aged under 15 years, 10,878 aged 15 to 29, 23,739 aged 30 to 64, and 8,442 aged 65 or older.