The Government Gardens is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

, partly laid out as gardens, located beside

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 central

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 ...

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, New Zealand. It was built by the government as a tourism attraction, and is still a major tourism destination in New Zealand.

Facilities

The

Rotorua Museum The Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa is a local museum and art gallery in the Government Gardens near the centre of Rotorua, New Zealand. The museum is housed in the former Bath House building which was opened in 1908 and is noted as t ...

, 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 A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

, and a

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

lawn. There is also a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

. The Polynesian Spa is close by, beside Lake Rotorua.

History

Part of the site was known to the

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

as Paepaehakumanu and the northern part as Motutara. The area known as Paepaehakumanu was a bird-snaring ground, which led to its name. The area is of historical significance to the local Maori, with battles having been fought here. The Maori gave 50 acres of the land to the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

in the late 1800s. The combined Paepaehakumanu and Motutara area became known as the Sanatorium Reserve, or more commonly, the Government Gardens. The

Government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...

opened a large

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

here in 1908. A second building, the Blue Baths, opened in 1933, amidst much controversy, as mixed bathing was accommodated. The Blue Baths were closed in 1982, and restored in 1999–2000. The original 1908 Bath House closed to bathing in 1966. The building was extensively renovated in 1995 and converted into a museum.

Heritage registrations

A number of items are covered by formal registrations by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. The former Bath House, now

, and the Blue Baths have Category I registrations. Four structures have Category II registrations, including the Prince's Arch and Gateway which was built for the 1901 royal visit of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

; this structure is now unique in New Zealand. The area as a whole is also covered by a Historic Area registration.

References

{{coord, 38, 08, 08.9, S, 176, 15, 29.1, E, display=title Tourist attractions in Rotorua Gardens in New Zealand Parks in New Zealand Sport in Rotorua Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Bay of Plenty Region Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in the Bay of Plenty Region Heritage New Zealand historic areas in the Bay of Plenty Region