The Agrodome in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies 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 encompass ...

is a major tourist attraction in New Zealand. The farm theme park, majority-owned by

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

-based Ngāi Tahu Tourism, was founded in 1971.

History

The Agrodome was set up in 1971 by

Godfrey Bowen Walter Godfrey Bowen (13 February 1922 – 2 January 1994) was a New Zealand farmer and world acclaimed sheep shearer. With his brother Ivan, he developed the Bowen Technique, which involved the shearer using his spare hand to stretch the sheep' ...

and George Harford as a farm theme park. Bowen was a world championship sheep shearer with a large international reputation and Harford was a local farmer. The venture was part-funded by the government as a tourism initiative. Bowen's brother Ivan, also an expert shearer, was the Agrodome's chief showman.

Attractions and activities

In 2016, the Agrodome management bought a trio of

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a Scottish breed of draught horse. It is named for its area of origin, the Clydesdale or valley of the River Clyde, much of which is within the county of Lanarkshire. The origins of the breed lie in the eighteenth century, ...

s that had been a tourist attraction in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of Devonport and that had acting roles in ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'' and '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. Since 2018, the Agrodome holds

Valais Blacknose The Valais Blacknose, german: Walliser Schwarznasenschaf, italic=no, is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Valais region of Switzerland. It is a dual-purpose breed, raised both for meat and for wool. History The breed originates in ...

sheep, which are new to the country. The purchase brought the number of sheep species at the Agrodome to 26. The annual Rotorua A&P (agricultural and pastoral) Show is held at the Agrodome. The 2016 secondary schools cross country championships were held at the Agrodome. There are three farm shows held per day lasting one hour each. Components include sheep shearing, learning about farm animals. The show, which is both educational and entertaining, is popular with tourists and locals alike.

Ownership

The Agrodome was owned by the Bowen and Hartford families. In 2006, the families bought the ''Lakeland Queen'' from receivers; the ship is used as a restaurant and for cruises on

Lake Rotorua , image = Lake Rotorua.jpg , caption = Lake Rotorua , alt = Lake Rotorua , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=New Zealand#North Island , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Rotorua , pushpin_relief=yes , caption_bathymetry = , location = R ...

. In 2011, Ngāi Tahu Tourism was brought in as a business partner with experience in the tourism market, with the

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

obtaining a 75% shareholding.

References

{{Reflist Entertainment companies of New Zealand Agriculture companies of New Zealand Travel and holiday companies of New Zealand Tourist attractions in Rotorua Agriculture companies established in 1971 New Zealand companies established in 1971