Government Gardens
The Government Gardens is a public park, partly laid out as gardens, located beside Lake Rotorua in central Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. It was built by the government as a tourism attraction, and is still a major tourism destination in New Zealand.
Facilities
[edit]The Rotorua Museum, housed in the former Bath House building, looks over the Government Gardens. There are sports facilities, including the Blue Baths swimming pool, a bowling green, and a croquet lawn. There is also a bandstand. The Polynesian Spa is close by, beside Lake Rotorua.[1]
History
[edit]Part of the site was known to the Māori people as Paepaehakumanu and the northern part as Motutara.[2] The area known as Paepaehakumanu was a bird-snaring ground, which led to its name.[3] The area is of historical significance to the local Maori, with battles having been fought here.[1] The Maori gave 50 acres of the land to the British Crown in the late 1800s.[2] The combined Paepaehakumanu and Motutara area became known as the Sanatorium Reserve, or more commonly, the Government Gardens.[2]
The New Zealand Government opened a large bath house here in 1908. A second building, the Blue Baths, opened in 1933, amidst much controversy, as mixed bathing was accommodated.[1][4] The Blue Baths were closed in 1982, and restored in 1999–2000.[5] The original 1908 Bath House closed to bathing in 1966. The building was extensively renovated in 1995 and converted into a museum.[6]
Heritage registrations
[edit]A number of items are covered by formal registrations by Heritage New Zealand. The former Bath House, now Rotorua Museum, and the Blue Baths have Category I registrations.[6][5] Four structures have Category II registrations, including the Prince's Arch and Gateway which was built for the 1901 royal visit of the Duke and Duchess of York; this structure is now unique in New Zealand.[7][8][9][10] The area as a whole is also covered by a Historic Area registration.[2]
| Photo | Name | Category | Description |
 | Former Bath House, now Rotorua Museum | Category I | half-timbered Elizabethan Revival building[6] |
 | Blue Baths | Category I | Spanish Mission-style bath house[5] |
 | Prince's Arch and Gateway | Category II | archway resembling a royal crown built for the royal visit in 1901[7] |
 | Te Runanga Tea Pavilion and Ticket Office | Category II | tea kiosk and an adjacent small octagonal building that served as a ticket office[8] |
 | Rotunda | Category II | band rotunda[9] |
 | Gardener's Cottage | Category II | cottage for the reserve's gardener[10] |
 | Rotorua Government Gardens | Historic Area | heritage registration covering the whole setting[2] |
 | Arawa War Memorial | Historic Monument | World War I memorial by William Henry Feldon unveiled in 1927 by the Duke of York (later King George VI.)[11] |
References
[edit]
- ^ a b c "Government Gardens". Tourism New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Rotorua historical site receives Waahi Tapu status" (Press release). Destination Rotorua Marketing. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2019 – via Scoop.
- ^ Utiger, Taryn (29 January 2015). "Ancient history, new beginnings in Rotorua". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "Blue Baths". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Bath House (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Prince's Arch and Gateway". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Te Runanga Tea Pavilion and Ticket Office (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Rotunda". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Gardener's Cottage (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Arawa war memorial, Rotorua | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 7 September 2019.