Rotokawau Virginia Lake is a lake in the city of Whanganui in the

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 ...

of New Zealand. It is situated in the suburb of

St Johns Hill St Johns Hill is a suburb of Whanganui, in the Whanganui District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. Demographics St Johns Hill, comprising the statistical areas of St Johns Hill East and St Johns Hill West, covers ...

in the north of the city. The lake was called Virginia Lake for many years but in 2016 the

Whanganui District Council Whanganui District is one of the districts of New Zealand. It includes the city of Whanganui and surrounding areas. Geography Formerly spelled "Wanganui", the Whanganui District Council resulted from the amalgamation of Wanganui and Waitotara cou ...

voted to rename it Rotokawau Virginia Lake. Rotokawau is the Māori name for the lake of the black shag. There are a number of attractions at the lake and surrounding reserve: the Higginbottom Fountain, winter garden in an Art Deco conservatory and a statue of Tainui. Tainui was the daughter of a local chief, and the statue was sculpted by local sculptor Joan Morrell. In 2022 it was moved within the reserve to a site closer to the lake. A ''waka maumahara'' (memorial canoe) built of Corten steel and decorated by artist Cecelia Kumeroa was unveiled in 2020. It replaced an older canoe which was erected in memory of

Pura McGregor Pura McGregor (née Te Pura Manihera, 1855 – 4 March 1920), also known as Pura Makarika, was a community leader in Whanganui, New Zealand, and the first Māori woman to receive an MBE. She was of Ngā Poutama, Ngāti Ruāka and Ngāti Rangi ...

, a Whanganui community leader and first Māori woman recipient of an MBE. A statue of children's story character Peter Pan is also located close to the lake. Sculpted by Cecil Thomas and unveiled in 1967, it is a variant of the sculptor's 1965 sculpture in

Dunedin Botanic Gardens The Dunedin Botanic Garden (known in local slang as the "Botans", "Botang", Botanic or Botanical Gardens) is located at the northern end of central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. The garden is close to the University of Otago and one ...

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