Nostalgic Rotorua

Nostalgic Rotorua Celebrating the rich history that Rotorua has to offer since its formation in 1883.

Growing up in Rotorua there was always the free things that came out… stickers was a collectible thing we got, that we t...
28/03/2026

Growing up in Rotorua there was always the free things that came out… stickers was a collectible thing we got, that we traded with friends, Ice Cream had the Star Wars, Six Million Dollar man ones, there was ninja turtles etc… and bubble gum cads…. weetbix cards…

Who still has their stickers ? Did you know the average asking price for a Six Million Dollar man sticker is roughly $30 each !!

Nov 1969 - Ngongotaha took out the Rotorua sub-union single round competition winning 8/8 games. This was also Sol Stock...
28/03/2026

Nov 1969 - Ngongotaha took out the Rotorua sub-union single round competition winning 8/8 games. This was also Sol Stockwells farewell from the club.

Not coming from Ngongotaha myself, but I do recognise ALOT of the names in these teams from WHHS in the 80s. It’d almost be legacy material here.

April 1970 Ngongotaha Primary School fair…. I remember the gala days at Kaitao and Selwyn Primary were fantastic events....
27/03/2026

April 1970 Ngongotaha Primary School fair…. I remember the gala days at Kaitao and Selwyn Primary were fantastic events. The raffles and winning Rewana bread or a frozen Chicken were always a buzz.

1990 vs 2021 - Fenton St police station wall mural . I'm still… ehhhh maybe not. But it really feels like life was alot...
25/03/2026

1990 vs 2021 - Fenton St police station wall mural . I'm still… ehhhh maybe not. But it really feels like life was alot simpler back then. Its hard to get my head around what a complicated road map life is now.

I could fix a car in the 1990s, replace a universal joint, change a head gasket, even the cars were easy to fix, now its all crazy electronics. hahahahahaaaaa

1969- Kaingaroa shout out …. these guys were in Rotorua Photo News - Sept 1969. Please give us props to the band… w...
25/03/2026

1969- Kaingaroa shout out …. these guys were in Rotorua Photo News - Sept 1969.
Please give us props to the band… who were they, what was the bands name, anything? The fact a band from Kaingaroa in 1969 named The Jimmy Hendrix group existed it very VERY COOL.

Photo Copyright Rotorua Photo News.

Kiwi Ranch Sept 1969 - by this time around 15,000 children passed through the ranch. Ces Hilton ( pictured with glasses)...
23/03/2026

Kiwi Ranch Sept 1969 - by this time around 15,000 children passed through the ranch. Ces Hilton ( pictured with glasses) created Kiwi ranch. Ces it was said, made sure every child that stayed had an incredible time there.
By this time they were planning a 6 acre lake , which was situated in the foreground in the colour photo where the text is placed. The low brick wall you see is the lakes edge.
in 1997 it was sold to a developer and turned into a ‘ sport and spa' retreat kind of thing, this ran into financial trouble after a few years and was sold to a Christian Trust who were hoping to turn it back to what it was. Now days you can stay there as a BnB stay.

I never got to go to Kiwi ranch, but friends that did had the best time… did you stay there ??

February 1966 - Rotorua got a visit from Surfers Paradise - meter maid Terri Hughes pictured with local June Grant. It c...
23/03/2026

February 1966 - Rotorua got a visit from Surfers Paradise - meter maid Terri Hughes pictured with local June Grant. It caused a stir here in Rotorua. The Rotorua Retailers Association brought Terri over from the Gold Coast, and people drove from all over to leave their car in a metered spot, hoping to get a courtesy ticket. It was sunny for 4 days in the week Terri was here and rained on the 5th, sounds like summer.
Please keep in mind this was 1966, it was a different era, but it did cause a stir, and it was a popular stunt.

Photos Copyright Rotorua Photo News.

The Lake House Hotel as originally known as the Ohinemutu Hotel, opened in 1872 . It holds alot space in many memories. ...
22/03/2026

The Lake House Hotel as originally known as the Ohinemutu Hotel, opened in 1872 . It holds alot space in many memories. I know for me , there was some crazy times there. It underwent several ownership changes and was eventually demolished in 2018.

This is a well photo of the Lakehouse, I was gifted a copy by the family of Harry Jukes. I tried something differrent here… I got ai to recreate the image.. Its eerie to say the least. AI is interesting, and spooky. Most of the people it either redrew looking really spooky or deformed. I do like the clean and clear image it returned of the back of the hotel, and you can see Pukeroa Hill (Hospital Hill) in the background to the left. I think this helps to imagine how the buildings and things looked… from here, when I post an AI generated image, I will add the AI in a red circle so its obvious.

July 1970 - the back road to get into the Rotorua Hospital, its the Lake Road entrance. As you can see the parking lot ...
22/03/2026

July 1970 - the back road to get into the Rotorua Hospital, its the Lake Road entrance. As you can see the parking lot to the left hasnt been installed yet….

Photo Copyright Rotorua Photo News - AI RESTORATION

09/06/2025

Reposting before it gets deleted !

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Nostalgic Street
Rotorua
3000

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