Government Gardens

View in Government Gardens with the timber-framed Rotorua Museum, previously the Bath House
Historic view of Government Gardens with the ornamental lake and the Bath House

The Government Gardens (originally known as Paepaekumana) is a public park, partly laid out as gardens, located by Lake Rotorua in central Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. Built by the government as a tourism attraction, it is still a major tourism destination for New Zealand.

Facilities

The Rotorua Museum, housed in the old 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

This site is of historical significance to the local Maori people, with battles having been fought here.[1] The Maori gave 50 acres of land here to the British Crown in the late 1800s. The Government of New Zealand opened a large bath house here in 1908. In 1933 a second building, the Blue Baths, opened under much controversy, as mixed bathing was accommodated.[1][2] The Blue Baths were closed in 1982, but were restored in 1999–2000.[3] The original Bath House, which opened in 1988, closed in 1966 for bathing. The building was extensively renovated in 1995 and converted into a museum.[4]

Heritage registions

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.[4][3] 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.[5][6][7][8] The area as a whole is also covered by a Historic Area registration.[9]

Photo Name Category Description
Rotorua Museum Category I former Bath House, now the town's museum[4]
Blue Baths Category I Spanish Mission-style bath house[3]
Prince's Arch and Gateway Category II archway resembling a royal crown built for the royal visit in 1901[5]
Te Runanga Tea Pavilion and Ticket Office Category II tea kiosk and an adjacent small octagonal building that served as a ticket office[6]
Rotunda Category II band rotunda[7]
Gardener's Cottage Category II cottage for the reserve's gardener[8]
Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area heritage registration covering the whole setting[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Government Gardens, Rotorua.
  1. 1 2 3 "Government Gardens". Tourism New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  2. ↑ Utiger, Taryn (29 January 2015). "Ancient history, new beginnings in Rotorua". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Blue Baths". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Bath House (Former)". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Prince's Arch and Gateway". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Te Runanga Tea Pavilion and Ticket Office (Former)". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Rotunda". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Gardener's Cottage (Former)". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Rotorua Government Gardens Historic Area". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

Coordinates: 38°08′08.9″S 176°15′29.1″E / 38.135806°S 176.258083°E / -38.135806; 176.258083

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.