Rotorua Museum

The Rotorua Museum, known in Māori as Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa, is a local museum and art gallery located in the Government Gardens near the centre of Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand. It is dedicated to the art, culture, and heritage of Rotorua and wider New Zealand. The museum holds particular significance for its extensive collections of over 2,000 Māori taonga and its setting in one of New Zealand's most architecturally distinctive heritage buildings. Since 2016, the museum has been closed to the public due to earthquake damage, with restoration works currently underway.

The land on which the museum stands has deep historical roots. On 22 November 1880, Judge F.D. Fenton met with 47 Māori leaders to discuss the creation of a township, resulting in Ngāti Whakaue gifting 50 acres of land along the southern area of Lake Rotorua. This area, formerly known as the Sanatorium Reserve and now called the Government Gardens, was given with the purpose 'hei oranga mo nga iwi katoa o te Ao', 'for the benefit of the people of the world.' The government had established Rotorua as a tourist resort in 1880, capitalising on growing international interest in the region's thermal pools, though the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera destroyed the famed Pink and White Terraces and several villages. The building that houses the museum was originally constructed as the Bath House between 1906 and 1908 by the newly-created Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, which had been established in 1902. The Bath House opened in 1908 with Prime Minister Joseph Ward officiating, representing New Zealand's first major government investment in the tourism industry. Dr Arthur Wohlmann, an expert in balneotherapy who had worked at the Royal Hospital at Bath, was employed as the first Government balneologist in 1902 to advise on the development of thermal spas, though he was dismissed in 1912. The Bath House declined from the 1940s as medical professionals questioned the efficacy of spa treatments, and it closed in 1966 after the Rotorua City Council took ownership in 1963, with treatments transferred to the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Rotorua Museum opened in the south wing of the former Bath House in 1969, while the Rotorua Art Gallery opened in the north wing in 1977. These two institutions combined in 1988 to form the Rotorua Museum of Art and History Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. Up until 1990, parts of the building also housed a nightclub and two licensed restaurants. The museum closed in 2016 due to damage from the Kaikōura earthquake and its failure to meet earthquake standards. In 2023, the Rotorua Lakes Council committed to completing repairs, with construction beginning in June 2024 and completion expected in 2027.

The museum's collections span multiple disciplines, reflecting both local and national significance. As of 2021, the museum held 2,490 artworks, approximately 55 percent of which were gifted, 45 percent purchased, and 1 percent commissioned. The photographic collection is particularly extensive, containing over 70,000 images depicting Rotorua. The collections are organised into several categories: Taonga Māori, Fine Arts, Photographic, Social History, Natural Environment, and Ethnology. The Spanish-language source indicates the museum formerly featured eight main galleries with collections spanning fine arts, photography, social history, and Māori taonga.

Among the museum's notable holdings and exhibitions were several dedicated displays. Nga Pumanawa o Te Arawa was a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history and culture of the Te Arawa Māori people, featuring taonga objects, ritual tools and weapons, and wood carvings accompanied by informational panels. The Pink and White Terraces exhibition commemorated the Mount Tarawera eruption that buried these natural formations, incorporating photographs of the terraces. Ake! Ake! was devoted to the 28th Māori Battalion that fought during the Second World War, accompanied by a collection of portraits of the battalion's soldiers. Taking the Cure was a permanent exhibition containing memorabilia from the former Bath House, including furniture, pools, and rooms offering thermal cures, along with objects from the former restaurant and nightclub.

The museum occupies the former Bath House building, a half-timbered structure that has been described as 'the most impressive Elizabethan Revival building in New Zealand' and 'the most photographed building in New Zealand.' The Spanish source characterises it as a timber-framed construction in a neo-Tudor style. The building cost £40,000 to construct and was designed to attract wealthy international tourists, particularly from the Northern Hemisphere. At its peak, the Bath House attracted between 60,000 and 80,000 visitors annually. The building is listed as a Category 1 Historic Place on the Heritage New Zealand list of historic sites, an appointment made in 1985. This heritage status has influenced the approach to its restoration following earthquake damage.

The Rotorua Museum is located in the Government Gardens near the centre of Rotorua, New Zealand, within the Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island. The museum is run by the Rotorua District Council. It has been closed to the public since 2016 due to earthquake damage from the Kaikōura earthquake and its failure to meet New Zealand earthquake standards. Following the Rotorua Lakes Council's 2023 commitment to complete repairs, construction work began in June 2024 with an expected completion date of 2027. The museum's website is http://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz/.