ATTRACTIONS OF ROTORUA

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28620, 24 June 1958, Page 12

ATTRACTIONS OF ROTORUA

Whakarewarewa Pa “Run Down”

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 23.

Travel organisations in Auckland have expressed concern at the falling off of interest in Whakarewarewa as a tourist attraction. They intend to have something done about it. These points were raised by local interests in Auckland after a comment by Mr W. D. Patterson, an American expert on world travel, al the recent travel convention at the Chateau Tongariro that some shipping lines were thinking twice before sending tourist parties to Rotorua because of a decline at Whakarewarewa.

The Auckland district manager of the Government Tourist Department (Mr A. G. Hill) said today that he had received complaints about the general state of the model village and some adverse comments about remarks passed by the guides there. Mr Hill has referred the complaints to Wellington. Mr M. Lurie, New Zealand manager for the Matson Lines, said that his company had been “underplaying” Rotorua for some time. It was realised that most tourists, after hearing so much about Rotorua, the Maoris and the model pa were left rather flat after seeing it. “Rotorua has more activity than Yosemite Valley in Yellowstone Park,” he said, “but at Yellowstone it is so much cleaner, neater and better presented.” Mr W. A. Smith, manager in Auckland for the Union Steam Ship Company, said his company had received no complaints from passengers, but he had been dison revisiting Whaka The place was run down, he said, and some of the remarks made by guides made him feel uncomfortable.