Visit New Zealand

- By Diana Tijoriwalla

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• Indians in NZ
• The Howick Historical Village
• School Levels
• The Treaty of Waitangi.
• Maori Cooking
• Anzac Day 25th April
• Auckland Regional Parks
• Tongariro National Park
• The Buried Village (Rotorua)
• Auckland's Islands
• Paradise Valley Springs (Rotorua)
• MOTAT
• The Polynesian Spa
• Rules for Teachers
• Daffodil Day
• The Waitakere Ranges
• Western Springs Tramway
• Auckland Museum
• New Zealand's Pride
• The Tuatara
• Maungakiekie
• Secondary Schools
• Sir Edmund Hillary
• Halloween
• Auckland Zoo

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The Buried Village (Rotorua)

History alive today

Violent & unexpected, the eruption of the Tarawera volcano, during the early hours of June 10, 1886, was New Zealand's greatest natural disaster. For more than 4 terrifying hours, rocks, ash & boiling hot mud bombarded the peace of Te Wairoa village. About more than 150 people lost their lives & the eruption destroyed the pink & white terraces. The fiery glow in the night sky & the thunderous roar of the explosions were seen & heard far & wide. In the gloom of the day the wreckage of the hotels & houses, & the burial of 5000 square miles of scenic countryside brought awe & dismay to rescuers.
Today you can see living history at Rotorua�s Buried Village, where nature displayed her most fierce & unforgiving forces.

A number of small dwellings remain undisturbed beneath the heavy mud & ash.

# The Blacksmith�s Shop : Inspect the tools & implements used to shoe the horses & maintain the coaches & wagons that brought visitors & supplies to this village

# Tohunga�s whare: In this house the Maori high priest who predicted the destruction remained buried for 100 hours. Reputedly aged 110 years, the man died several days later.

# Maori whare: This place was excavated to the original floor level. You can see the fireplace & some assorted relics recovered when digging first began in 1931.

# Flour Mill: You can see parts of the mill, including millstone & gears. Wheat was grown in the Te Wairoa Valley & the stream was diverted to drive the mill�s watermill.

# Aspen poplars: These are the tallest trees in New Zealand which grew from fence posts that formed a property boundary before the eruption. Tops of posts can be seen above the ground.

# Barman�s House: Some of the things found here were plates, household items, bottles, tools & implements, a well preserved fireplace & a cast iron bed frame.

# Stone Chimney: You can see the remains of the home of one of the two local Maori leaders.

# Faloona�s Store: One of two general stores in Te Wairoa, selling everything from tobacco to toothbrush.

# Rotomahana Hotel: This two storey wooden building collapsed six hours after the eruption. You can see some parts of the hotel.

# Baker�s oven: Bread was baked in this large unit from locally produced flour. It was built of hewn volcanic stone & imported firebricks.

# Stone storehouse: The people stored various foods for winter in this storehouse. You can view the Maori carvings in this type of a storehouse.


As you enter the gates of this Buried Village, you can take an emotional journey through the museum which tells the fascinating story of Te Wairoa village , the voyages to the Pink & White Terraces & the eruption of Mount Tarawera. You can also see the artifacts & belongings recovered from the village. You can wander in the scenic pathways that link the excavated sites & enjoy native bush & the Te Wairoa stream full of Rainbow trouts.

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