ROTORUA MUSEUM
Where Great Stories Begin…..
The award-winning Rotorua Museum is a department of Rotorua District Council.
As a storehouse of the community's treasures, the museum is responsible for the following collections:
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Taonga Maori Collection - Spiritually and historically significant treasures of Te Arawa.
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Fine Arts Collection - Important early graphic images of New Zealand, historic and contemporary artworks, sculpture, ceramics and craft.
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Photographic Collection - Over 70,000 images depicting Rotorua's rich past.
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Social History Collection - Items relating to the Rotorua area since European settlement.
Rotorua Museum is located in the world-famous Bath House building, a building holding the highest classification under the Historic Places Act. The Museum plays an important role in the community – acting as a guardian for our local treasures and providing free educational opportunities for local children and students of all ages.
Over the past five years Rotorua District Council, with the strong support of the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, has upgraded every aspect of the Museum from its exhibitions and gallery spaces to its vitally important collection storage facilities.
Rotorua Museum tells the great stories of the Rotorua Region. The best of modern technology, including audio visual and interactive displays, are used to present stories in a way that captures the imagination of all ages.
Explore A Fascinating Past
The Bath House opened in 1908 as the Great South Seas Spa, drawing people from around the world to 'take the cure' in waters drawn from nearby springs. In its heyday, around seventy thousand baths were given annually, as well as thirty thousand special treatments including massage, mud baths and electrical therapy.
Administered until 1947 by the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, the building proved to be a maintenance nightmare. Popularity of spa treatments waned until in 1963 the Rotorua City Council took over control of the Bath House. In 1966 all treatments were transferred to nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The Rotorua Museum opened in the South Wing in 1969 and the Rotorua Art Gallery in the North wing in 1977. In 1989 the museum and Art Gallery combined to become the Rotorua Museum of Art and History. Today the museum is visited over 100 000 people per annum.
Rotorua Museum is Free for all Rotorua Residents. I.D is required to show that you are a resident in the Rotorua District.
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