Flowers left at the scene of the fatal bus crash near Rotorua on State Highway 5. Photo / Stephen Parker
The Rotorua Daily Post is taking a look back at the stories of 2019. Here's what made headlines in September.
A Rotorua taxi driver has been shot after being caught in the crossfire of a firearms incident on the eastern suburbs of Rotorua on Sunday night.
Police are piecing together what has happened and a 25-year-old man has been arrested.
Read more: Shot Rotorua taxi driver plans to get married this month, may not make trip
Five people have died after a tourist bus rolled in bad weather earlier today on State Highway 5 at Ngātira, near Rotorua.
Two others were seriously injured when the bus rolled and came to rest on its side.
Inspector Brent Crowe told reporters this afternoon that 27 people were on the bus, and five on board had lost their lives as a result of the crash.
Read more:
Horror tourist bus crash near Rotorua: Five dead, 2 seriously hurt
This is a behind-the-scenes look at how local health authorities are dealing with the worst measles outbreak in at least 20 years.
Reporter Scott Yeoman spends time with the experts as they trace infections and attempt to prevent the spread.
And he talks to people who have had their lives changed by this highly contagious and potentially deadly disease.
Read more:
Operation Measles: Inside the public health response to an escalating outbreak
A Rotorua Lakes Council candidate is disgusted after being subjected to a racial slur while putting up hoardings.
Fisher Wang, 18, is one of 34 candidates vying for a spot on Rotorua Lakes Council.
Read more:
Elections 2019: Rotorua council candidate subjected to racial slur
A Givealittle page has now been set up for the families of the Chinese tourists killed in a bus crash last week.
The tour bus carrying 27 Chinese people, most understood to be from China's Sichuan province, rolled on State Highway 5 at Ngātira, near Rotorua on September 4. The families of those killed in the crash were in Rotorua
Read more:
Givealittle page set up for Rotorua fatal bus crash victim families and survivors
A Rotorua council candidate who suggested housing homeless people in a barn has been slammed by other candidates - including one who says in their view his comments are ''offensive'' and ''inhumane''.
John Rakei-Clark made the remarks at a Chamber of Commerce meet-the-candidates event on Wednesday night.
Read more:
A Rotorua marae has banned fizzy drinks and plastic bottles - a move a health professional has described as ''trailblazing''.
The chairwoman of Ohinemutu's Tūnohopū Marae, Norma Sturley, said all 20 trustees were involved in the decision gradually introduced over winter to ban soft drinks and plastic bottles (not just single-use), both large and small.
Read more:
'Trailblazing': Rotorua's Tūnohopū Marae bans fizzy drinks, plastic bottles
There was a time when many places were foggy with cigarette smoke and the smell of stale tobacco hung in the air. Cars, restaurants, bars and workplaces - all were areas where people could light up as they pleased. But not any more. Smokers have been pushed outside, often enduring the glares and pointed coughs of non-smokers. But with the explosion of vaping, it has suddenly become cool once more to puff away on a little stick. But is vaping safe?
Read more:
Cutting through the smoke: Is vaping the answer to quitting smoking - or is it the new danger?
A poignant mural that captures the legacy of the late Aunty Bea has been painted in the Rotorua CBD.
The painting, titled Te Toki Te Arawa Hero Mural, was designed to capture a Te Arawa arts hero and was part of this month's Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival.
Read more:
Rotorua mural captures 'beautiful smile' of the late Aunty Bea
Unknown to him, sitting on the couch and sharing a glass of port before bed was the last time Garry Harpur would see his son.
A moment he would not change even if he could, and one he would cherish forever. The next night, a knock on the door from police tore family's heart open with the news the 23-year-old St John ambulance officer died on the job.
Read more:
'That boy was our world': 23-year-old Rotorua St John ambulance officer dies on job in Whakatāne
Quick reactions from a group of Rotorua locals saved a man's life when he was found unresponsive in his car on Sunset Rd.
With no pulse, the man's fate was not looking good.
But Rohan Knowles, Simon Kirner and Selena Layne acted quickly, along with perfect timing from ambulance paramedic Jordan Retemeyer and emergency medical assistant Amelia Fleming and an off-duty firefighter, who happened to be driving past.
Read more:
Rotorua locals save man's life with CPR and defibrillator on Sunset Rd
