Watch NZH Local Focus: Book sale bonanza in BOP

Book lovers from across the region lined up hours ahead of the Easter weekend opening of a popular annual book sale.

Organised by the Tauranga Rotary Club for over thirty years, the sale has become one of the largest in the country.

"The range that is available here, particularly in the technical side, is quite amazing. And the volume of books that we get for the public - is also amazing."

As the clock struck nine, the doors opened and eager customers raced to find their bargains.

Spokesperson Ann Pritchard says thousands of books were packed into this year's venue - with the help of fellow Rotarians and volunteers from the community.

"They're a wonderful group of people, and we couldn't do the book sale without the volunteers."

91-year-old Len Speir has been involved with the club since before the book sale even began.

"The book sale is just so far ahead of anything else that's been around. Not many Rotary clubs have this source of income. It enables the club to be able to do things that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do.

Mr Speir says the funds raised by the sale go towards local charities that Rotary supports - as well as funding projects and the work of individuals in the wider community.

Mrs Pritchard first got involved in the club through the book sale.

"We had a whole lot of books, we took them along and donated the lot of them to Rotary. And then we found we'd donated ourselves as well."

This years sale is expected to be the biggest yet, and it's open through Easter until Monday evening.

Made with funding from