Rotorua Lakes District | |
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Coordinates: 38°13′48″S176°16′41″E / 38.23°S 176.278°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Regions |
|
Wards | None |
Main towns and settlements | Rotorua, Ngongotahā |
Government | |
• Mayor | Tania Tapsell |
• Parliamentary electorate | Rotorua |
• Territorial authority | Rotorua Lakes Council |
Area | |
• Land | 2,409.30 km2 (930.24 sq mi) |
Population (June 2023) [2] | |
• Total | 78,200 |
Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
Postcode(s) | |
Area code | 07 |
Website | www |
Rotorua Lakes District or Rotorua District is a territorial authority district in the North Island of New Zealand. It has one urban area of significant size, the city of Rotorua. The district is governed by Rotorua Lakes Council, which is headquartered in Rotorua and is headed by a mayor. The district falls within two regional council areas, with the majority of the area and Rotorua city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the rest in the Waikato region. [3] Tania Tapsell has been the mayor of Rotorua since the 2022 local elections.
Rotorua has an unusual history, as the town was built by the Government as a tourist destination in the 1880s. [4] Through the Rotorua Borough Act 1922, which achieved royal assent on 28 September 1922, the Rotorua Borough was formed. [5] The inaugural elections for mayor were held in February 1923 and Cecil Clinkard was successful. [6] [7] In 1962, Rotorua was proclaimed a city. [8] In 1979, the status was changed to a district when Rotorua City and Rotorua County amalgamated. [9] The district council held its first meeting on 2 April 1979. [10] At the 27 November 2014 council meeting, it was decided to change the operating name of the council to Rotorua Lakes Council, while the official name would remain unchanged. [11] Since then, the district has been known as Rotorua Lakes[ clarification needed ] and the council's web domain changed from www.rdc.govt.nz to rotorualakescouncil.nz.
Rotorua Lakes covers 2,409 square kilometres (930 sq mi). [12] The district's area is 61.52% in the Bay of Plenty region and 38.48% in the Waikato region. Adjacent districts (in a clockwise direction starting in the north) are Western Bay of Plenty, Whakatāne, Taupō, and South Waikato. [13] [14]
The Bay of Plenty portion of the district includes the settlements of Rotorua, Ngongotahā Valley, Mamaku, Hamurana, Mourea, Rotoiti Forest, Lake Rotoma, Lake Okareka, Lake Tarawera, Rerewhakaaitu, and Kaingaroa Forest. The Waikato portion includes the settlements of Waiotapu, Reporoa, Broadlands, Mihi, Waikite Valley, Ngakuru, and Ātiamuri.
Rotorua District covers 2,409.30 km2 (930.24 sq mi) [1] and had an estimated population of 78,200 as of June 2023, [2] with a population density of 32 people per km2.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
2006 | 65,901 | — |
2013 | 65,280 | −0.14% |
2018 | 71,877 | +1.94% |
2023 | 74,058 | +0.60% |
Source: [15] [16] |
Ethnicity | Population |
---|---|
New Zealand European | |
Māori | |
Pasifika | |
Asian | |
MELAA | |
Other |
Rotorua District had a population of 74,058 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,181 people (3.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 8,778 people (13.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 30,048 dwellings. The median age was 36.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 16,050 people (21.7%) aged under 15 years, 14,073 (19.0%) aged 15 to 29, 32,361 (43.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 11,574 (15.6%) aged 65 or older. [16]
Ethnicities were 61.6% European/Pākehā, 43.5% Māori, 6.4% Pasifika, 10.1% Asian, 0.7% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.0% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. [16]
Rotorua District had a population of 71,877 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 25,056 households, comprising 35,148 males and 36,729 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female.
The percentage of people born overseas was 17.8, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.9% had no religion, 35.0% were Christian, 3.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.8% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 9,876 (17.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 10,434 (18.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. 7,122 people (12.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 27,117 (48.6%) people were employed full-time, 8,541 (15.3%) were part-time, and 3,378 (6.1%) were unemployed. [15]
Every three years, a mayor and the district councillors are elected in local elections. In the most recent elections in 2022, Tania Tapsell was elected as mayor and ten councillors were returned. Rotorua Lakes uses the first-past-the-post (FPP) voting system and elects six councillors at-large, three for the Māori ward, and one for the rural ward. [17]
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Rotorua has four sister cities: [19]
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of 113,729 km2 (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island, constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 3,997,300, which is 77% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world.
The Waikato is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of the Rotorua Lakes District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council.
The Bay of Plenty Region is a local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the marine bight of that same name. The bay was named by James Cook after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to the earlier observations he had made in Poverty Bay.
Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited 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 encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. It has an estimated resident population of 58,900, making it the country's 13th largest urban area, and the Bay of Plenty's second-largest urban area behind Tauranga.
Hauraki District is a territorial authority governed by the Hauraki District Council within the Waikato region of New Zealand. The seat of the council is at Paeroa.
South Waikato District is a local government district in the Waikato Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located between the cities of Hamilton to the north, Rotorua to the east, Taupō to the south and Ruapehu District to the west.
Ōpōtiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Lake Rotomā is the fourth largest lake of the 11 lakes in the Rotorua Lakes district, or the Hot Lakes district as it was known in the early decades of the 20th century. The Rotorua lakes are located in New Zealand's North Island in the Bay of Plenty Region. Lake Rotomā is the easternmost in the chain of three lakes to the northeast of Lake Rotorua The other two are Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoehu. Rotomā is located halfway between the city of Rotorua and town of Whakatāne.
Murupara is a town in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is in an isolated part of the region between the Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera protected area, on the banks of the Rangitaiki River, 65 kilometres southeast of Rotorua. Indigenous Māori also make up over 90% of the population.
Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres south-east of Hamilton. State Highway 1 and the Kinleith Branch railway run through the town.
Taupō District Council is a territorial authority that administers the Taupō District in the Central North Island of New Zealand. The district stretches from the small town of Mangakino in the northwest to the Tongariro National Park in the south, and east into the Kaingaroa Forest, covering 6,970 km2. It had a population of as of June 2023.
Ātiamuri is a former hydro village in the central North Island of New Zealand. It lies alongside State Highway 1 about 27 km south of Tokoroa and 38 km north of Taupō. It is bordered by the Waikato River and surrounded by pine plantations. Upper Ātiamuri, just north of the Waikato River, is a small community of lifestyle blocks, dairy farms and farm servicing businesses.
Taupō District is a territorial authority district in New Zealand. It covers 6,333 km² of land, and a further 610 km² of lake area, including Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, and Lake Rotoaira. The district stretches from the small town of Mangakino in the northwest to the Tongariro National Park in the south, and east into the Kaingaroa Forest. The district's population is largely located in the two main centres, Taupō and Tūrangi.
Taupiri is a small town of about 500 people on the eastern bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is overlooked by Taupiri mountain, the sacred burial ground for the Waikato tribes of the Māori people, located just to the north.
Kinloch is a small town on the most northerly bay of Lake Taupō, 20 kilometres (12 mi) by road northwest of Taupō on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. It is in the Waikato region.
Tikitere, also known as "Hell's Gate", is a suburb in Rotorua's most active geothermal area on State Highway 30, between Lake Rotorua and Lake Rotoiti in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. It includes many geothermal features such as steaming lakes, mudpools, fumaroles, a mud volcano and the Kakahi Falls, the largest hot waterfall in the southern hemisphere.
Ōtorohanga District is a territorial authority in the King Country area and Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a mostly rural area, with Ōtorohanga town being by far the biggest urban area, with a population nearing 3,000. The District was called Otorohanga County from 1971 to 1979.
Rotoiti is a settlement on the shore of Lake Rotoiti, in Rotorua Lakes within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Mourea is a settlement in Rotorua Lakes within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Tania Tapsell is a New Zealand politician. She has served on the Rotorua Lakes District Council since 2013 and was elected mayor of Rotorua at the 2022 local elections. She is the first woman of Māori descent to hold the role.
Media related to Rotorua District at Wikimedia Commons