Shortland Street's Rotorua links

Twenty years ago today, the first episode of Shortland St aired. The Daily Post reporter Kristin Macfarlane looks at Rotorua's links to the show and why it is still going strong, two decades later.

Over two decades, Shortland Street has seen countless romances, tragedies and characters come and go and Rotorua people have helped bring the storylines to life.

Shortland Street celebrates 20 years today. The show first screened May 25, 1992, the day Kiwi viewers heard the now famous line "You're not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata" being said to Rotorua's own Temuera Morrison.

He played Dr Hone Ropata on New Zealand's longest-running soap opera. After leaving the show he returned for a short stint in 2008 when he had a fling with Tania Jeffries (Faye Smythe) and got into a fight with TK Samuels (Benjamin Mitchell).

The show is still going strong and since Morrison, other Rotorua people have made an impact. Rotorua-born Miriama Smith took on one of the starring roles as nurse Awhina Broughton and former John Paul College student Semu Filipo has had a recurring role on the show as ambulance driver Grunter.

Helen Corry played Chloe Blackwell and Douglas McCaulay, who appeared on the show 10 times over a 15-year period has played various characters including a personal trainer, a drug dealer and a patient with a sexually transmitted infection.

But Rotorua has more links with the show than just supplying actors and actresses.

In 2006, several scenes of Shortland St were shot at locations including Skyline Skyrides, Te Puia and the Royal Lakeside Novotel. Numerous Rotorua extras featured in the episodes providing essential background as conference delegates, tourists and other travellers.

The episodes centred on an international emergency medicine conference being held at the Novotel.

The Rotorua storyline was the first Shortland St had shot outside Auckland since the show visited Fiji two years before.

Senior publicist for South Pacific Pictures Rachael Keereweer said Shortland St had only been filmed in Rotorua once and although there weren't any plans to head back to the city, it didn't mean there wouldn't be any more Rotorua visits.

Shortland St Facts

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  There have been 31 weddings (involving core or major guest cast members)
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  It is impossible to calculate the amount of couples there have been
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  There have been eight male villains and nine female villains
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  Over 20 years there have been 38 deaths (of core cast and major guest cast characters)
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  There has been 16 births
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  There have been more than 4000 guest cast members (anyone with a speaking role)
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  And there has been more than 220 core cast members
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  Shortland St has been on air for a grand total of 999 weeks
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  The 5000th episode will screen on Monday

Rotorua's Shortland St stars

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  Temuera Morrison - Dr Hone Ropata
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  Miriama Smith - Nurse Awhi
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  Semu Filipo - ambulance driver Grunter.
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  Helen Corry - Chloe Blackwell
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  Douglas McCaulay - multiple characters