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Rotorua Lakes District
District
Rotorua district within the North Island
Coordinates: 38°13′48″S 176°16′41″E / 38.23°S 176.278°E / -38.23; 176.278
Country	New Zealand
Regions	Bay of Plenty (majority) Waikato (part)
Wards	Rotorua Rural Te Ipu Wai Auraki Te Ipu Wai Taketake (Māori)
Main towns and settlements	Rotorua, Ngongotahā
Government
• Mayor	Tania Tapsell
• Parliamentary electorate	Rotorua
• Territorial authority	Rotorua Lakes Council
Area
• Land	2,409.31 km (930.24 sq mi)
Population
• Total	77,800
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	Map of postcodes
Area code	07
Website	www.rotorualakescouncil.nz

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. Tania Tapsell has been the mayor of Rotorua since the 2022 local elections.

History

Rotorua has an unusual history, as the town was built by the Government as a tourist destination in the 1880s. Through the Rotorua Borough Act 1922, which achieved royal assent on 28 September 1922, the Rotorua Borough was formed. The inaugural elections for mayor were held in February 1923 and Cecil Clinkard was successful. In 1962, Rotorua was proclaimed a city. In 1979, the status was changed to a district when Rotorua City and Rotorua County amalgamated. The district council held its first meeting on 2 April 1979. 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. Since then, the district has been known as Rotorua Lakes and the council's web domain changed from www.rdc.govt.nz to rotorualakescouncil.nz.

Geography

Rotorua Lakes covers 2,409 square kilometres (930 sq mi). 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.

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.

Demographics

Rotorua District covers 2,409.31 km (930.24 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 77,800 as of June 2024, with a population density of 32 people per km.

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 36,336 males, 37,491 females and 234 people of other genders in 25,905 dwellings. 2.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 36.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 16,053 people (21.7%) aged under 15 years, 14,076 (19.0%) aged 15 to 29, 32,358 (43.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 11,571 (15.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 61.6% European (Pākehā); 43.5% Māori; 6.4% Pasifika; 10.1% Asian; 0.7% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.0%, Māori language by 13.6%, Samoan by 0.4% and other languages by 9.8%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 30.9% Christian, 1.7% Hindu, 0.3% Islam, 3.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.3%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 8,565 (14.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 32,001 (55.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 14,844 (25.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 4,803 people (8.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 29,181 (50.3%) people were employed full-time, 7,746 (13.4%) were part-time, and 2,526 (4.4%) were unemployed.

Local government

Local council

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.

Coat of arms

Sister cities

Rotorua has four sister cities:

• Klamath Falls, Oregon
• Beppu, Kyushu
• Lake Macquarie, New South Wales
• The Wuzhong District of Suzhou, China

References

1. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
3. "About the Rotorua District". Rotorua Lakes Council. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
4. "Rotorua". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
5. "Rotorua Borough Act 1922". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
6. "Cecil Clinkard". Rotorua District Library. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
7. "Mayor of Rotorua". Auckland Star. 28 February 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
8. McKinnon, Malcolm (25 May 2015). "Volcanic Plateau places – Rotorua city". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
9. "John Keaney, CBE QSO". Rotorua District Library. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
10. "Coat of Arms". Rotorua Lakes Council. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
11. "District council becomes Rotorua Lakes Council" (Press release). Rotorua: Rotorua Lakes Council. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
12. "Rotorua District Council". Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
13. "Waikato Regional Council". Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
14. "Bay Of Plenty". Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
15. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Rotorua District (024). 2018 Census place summary: Rotorua District
16. ^ "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Rotorua District (024). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
17. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
18. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Rotorua Rural General Ward. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
19. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Te Ipu Wai Auraki General Ward. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
20. Lampp, Warwick (17 October 2019). "Rotorua Lakes Council – 2019 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Results" (PDF). Rotorua Lakes Council. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
21. "Coat of Arms – Rotorua Lakes Council". Rotorua Lakes Council. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
22. "Rotorua Sister Cities". Rotorua Lakes Council. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2020.

External links

Media related to Rotorua District at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Adjacent cities and districts
Western Bay of Plenty South Waikato Rotorua Lakes Whakatane Taupō

• Rotorua Lakes District
• Politics of the Bay of Plenty Region
• Politics of Waikato