Rotowaro was once a small coal mining township approximately 10 km west of

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

in the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The town was built especially for miners houses, but was entirely removed in the 1980s to make way for a large opencast mine. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "lake of glowing embers" for .

History

Mining by Taupiri Coal Co began in Rotowaro around 1915 after a railway to the area and a bridge over the Waikato River were completed. In 1928 it was producing 11,000 tons of coal a month. The current

open cast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

working and the much smaller O'Reilly's, Puke Coal and

Maramarua Maramarua is a locality in the north-eastern part of the Waikato District of New Zealand. State Highway 2 runs through the settlement. Demographics Maramarua settlement is in an SA1 statistical area which covers . The SA1 area is part of the ...

are the only remaining mines in the Waikato coalfield. It opened in 1958 and produces about 700,000 tonnes a year to make steel at Glenbrook and for limeworks, meat works, timber processing, light industry and horticulture. It was sold by

Solid Energy Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government. The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owne ...

Bathurst Resources Bathurst Resources, along with a number of subsidiaries, is a coal mining company in New Zealand that was established in 2010. Company history The company was originally based in Perth, Western Australia, and incorporated on 30 May 2007, listing ...

and Talleys in 2016. The Rotowaro Class A train station was opened on the Huntly-Awaroa railway on 11 February 1918 (or 7 January) and closed to passengers on 26 June 1972 and to goods on 12 August 1997. A hall was built in Rotowaro during the 1920s and opened by Rev H G Gilbert on 28 April 1929. The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes NZ Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England once had a lodge in Rotowaro, the aptly named Rotowaro Lodge No. 106 which at one point owned its own Lodge Hall in Rotowaro. The Lodge relocated to Ngāruawāhia in the 1980s but has long since ceased to operate. The formation of the Buffaloes lodge in Rotowaro was preceded by the establishment of other Fraternal Orders in Rotowaro such as the Oddfellows. In the late 1960s local legend Floyd Cox set up a pioneer Private Radio Station in Rotowaro, broadcasting out to surrounding areas. Rotowaro's association football team was one of the strongest clubs in the Waikato Region in the 1920s and 1930s, reaching later rounds of the

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...

on several occasions.

References

External links

Renown Mine about 1910

One inch map 1944
{{Geographic Location, title=Neighbouring areas, Northwest=

Onewhero Onewhero is a village and rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Pukekohe and Tuakau are located north of Onewhero, across the Waikato River; The name Onewhero translates from Maori as "Red ...

, North=

Lake Whangape Lake Whangape (also written as Wangape, Whangapu, or Whangapae) is shallow, supertrophic, lateral and the second largest lake (after Lake Waikare) in the lower Waikato River basin in New Zealand. One source said the name translated to 'a large s ...

, Northeast=

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

, West=

Glen Afton Glen Afton and Pukemiro are twin settlements in the Waikato District, in northern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest town is Huntly, New Zealand, Huntly, some 14 km (15 minutes' drive) away. The settlements were prev ...

, Centre=Rotowaro, East=

, South= Glen Massey, Southeast=

Hakarimata Range Hakarimata Range is a range of hills on the western edge of Ngāruawāhia township, Retrieved 2016 in the Waikato region of New Zealand, overlooking the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers. The Hakarimata Range is separated from the Tau ...

, Southwest=

Waingaro Waingaro is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, on the banks of the Waingaro River, where it is fed by a hot spring. Demographics Waingaro is in an SA1 statistical area which covers . ...

Geography of Waikato Ghost towns in New Zealand Waikato District Mining communities in New Zealand

History

See also

References

External links