Long-time Rotorua resident Terry Lemon shares memories and views on a city that has changed

Rotorua-born and raised Terry Lemon knows a lot about the city's history, and as a recent report has shown the overall worsening wellbeing of residents, he has seen the issues himself.

Despite this, he knows not all is bad in the city, and says there are still opportunities to be found.

Both he and Ann Willetts, who he raised two daughters with at their Pukehangi home, spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post about how things had changed since they grew up.

Rotorua Lakes Council released its pre-election report this month, which found the overall wellbeing of Rotorua residents is getting worse by most measures.

The report stated the council was concerned measures of wellbeing – such as home and rental affordability, crime, income and secondary school retention - were worsening in Rotorua compared with other regions.

Lemon thinks a lot has changed since the days of his youth, a time when bread was wrapped in waxed paper and milk was delivered in glass bottles.

And while there were issues in the city needing to be fixed, he said continued investment was the way to go about it.

"And don't get negative about it."

Lemon was born in 1958 and his early memories were of dirt roads and intersections lacking traffic lights. It was a day outing when travelling from one side of the city to the other.

He recalled how his home in Pukehangi was not too long ago farmland, and how it was a big deal when the first shopping centre - Geyser Court - was built in the 70s.

A keen outdoorsman, Terry Lemon was born in Rotorua and has lived here most of his life. Photo / Laura Smith

Friday nights in town were buzzing and the races were "big days out".

Shops did not open at the weekend and the kids waited in the car while their parents were at the pub - which closed at 6pm.

Lemon worked most of his life in forestry, working for a long time at the Waipa Mill.

"We had a lot of mills around Rotorua."

Willetts and Lemon went back and forth about the gradual changes in the city - what bank was where, when did the first supermarket come to town, in what year did the Fenton St airport close.

He said a controversy of the 1980s was the installation of a lightning bolt sculpture in the CBD. Its fate was to be taken to Castlecorp yard on Vaughan Rd in 1997.

The White Lightning sculpture was gifted to Rotorua in the 1980s. It was taken Castlecorp yard on Vaughan Rd in 1997. Here it is pictured in 2014. Photo / Ben Fraser

The conversation moved on to how things were different in the city from the one he grew up in.

Crime in the city, and a fear of it, was something newer to the pair. Willetts said people had to be careful at night by themselves. "Now, you do," Lemon agreed.

Up until the early 2000s, there was not a thought of safety, he said. "I suppose that's one deterioration."

This prompted Willetts to think of how the town centre had changed, and how after the introduction of the shopping centre at the top of Tutanekai St, "the city centre died".

Terry Lemon's great grandparents ran Whaka Coaches in Rotorua. Photo / Supplied

"Now you just park outside the shop you want to go to and leave again ... you don't stop and look at the shops," she said.

After a moment's pause, Lemon noted how Rotorua's homeless population was something of a talking point.

"If we're going to get tourism back we will have to do something about it. We've heard from a number of people coming through Rotorua they won't stay here."

Willetts said she didn't blame the motels that had been looking for income during the pandemic.

Lots of Lemon's memories centred on gatherings and get-togethers.

When asked if people still did that, he pondered before answering. He thought people's lives had changed a lot, and cost had to be factored in.

Terry Lemon at the Rotorua home he has lived in for the last 40 years. Photo / Laura Smith

Willetts said if someone knocked on the door when they were growing up, Aunty would break out the biscuits and make a cup of tea.

"They'd welcome anyone that came in. These days, if someone knocked on our door you hide.

"It's just changed."

Despite having lived in their home for the past 40 years, she said they would now not know half the street's residents.

The pair also knew that not all was bad in the city - Lemon said Rotorua had taken on the biking world.

Willetts said the Redwoods, Waipa and the newly improved lakefront were wonderful.

"We've got to keep improving."

Lemon felt the area still had a lot on offer but wondered how many people could afford it. For instance, he said locals had been priced out of buying a lakeside bach.

"If you want to do stuff, there's still lots to do."

He was not in favour of the sale of reserve sites for more housing, and speaking of the council's proposed Plan Change 9 which would enable housing intensification, he said "you can't stop progress".