Firefighters battle flames from a bushfire in Western Australia. Photo / File
Firefighters battle flames from a bushfire in Western Australia. Photo / File
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2020. Here's what made headlines in January.
January 2
The year started with a bang for Tui Rd residents after an out-of-control party on New Year's Eve in Rotorua saw three people taken to hospital, four cars smashed and the road left littered with broken bottles and empty cans.
Angry residents were left cleaning up the mess after the party saw more than 100 people turn up, ending with fights and cars being badly damaged.
Those hosting the party told the Rotorua Daily Post they tried to do the right thing by warning neighbours they were having a party, but several people they didn't know turned up and caused trouble.
Although thousands of kilometres away, the Australian bushfires hit close to home for many in the Bay of Plenty.
Jamie Rhodes, the Eastern Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade's deputy controller, spent two weeks fighting the Australian fires in December then put his hand up to return in January.
The team was originally deployed to Port Macquarie before being reassigned to the Hunter Valley, near Laguna in New South Wales.
January 8
Dr John Armstrong at his retirement in January. Photo / File
A public farewell for, Dr John Armstrong, the city's longest-serving GP was held.
Liz Campbell fought back tears and trembled as she clutched a microphone and told a crowd of people just what Dr Armstrong meant to her family.
"Through John's wonderful love and medical care, [my husband] lived longer and happier ... We are going to miss you."
Armstrong, who is Pākehā and is fluent in te reo Māori, addressed the crowd in Māori before saying thanks to his staff in English.
He thanked his patients for their love and trust and for sharing their lives with him.
January 12
Taupo's Kyle Smith takes the win and smashes the course record at the Tauranga Half triathlon event. Photo / File
It was starting to look like Kyle Smith would be a name we would be hearing a lot more often.
The Taupō triathlete announced his arrival into long-distance triathlons with a win in his debut event – the Taupō 70.3 Ironman in December 2018 then put the triathlon world on notice with a course record-breaking victory at the Tauranga Half in Mount Maunganui on January 8.
Smith finished the 2km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run in 3h 42m 7s, smashing the record set by Braden Currie in 2017 by three minutes and 31 seconds.
January 15
The Pullman Hotel, Rotorua's first five-star hotel, opened its doors.
Local mum Eden Anderson was one of 80 local staff at the frontline.
The hotel which had a consent issued for $10.9 million was in the works for almost five years, after Chow Group Management Ltd bought the well-known former Zen building in the Rotorua CBD in 2015.
Netflix's mother of decluttering Marie Kondo was spotted in the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua lakes.
Kondo rose to stardom when her Emmy-nominated television show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo became a global sensation.
The 35-year-old Japanese organising consultant and author of bestseller The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up posted on her Instagram raving about her latest trip to New Zealand.
She illustrated the post with a photo of her sitting on a deck in front of Lake Tarawera.
January 31
Tiny Deane subleased the laundromat two doors down from his night shelter for the homeless. Photo / File
Free doctor's appointments, new clothing, laundry services, haircuts and showers were announced to be available to Rotorua's homeless at a one-stop-shop set to open in the city.
Tiny Deane and his advocacy trust, Visions of a Helping Hand, subleased a former gym and a laundromat two doors from his night shelter for the homeless on Pukuatua St to create the expanded operation.
But a local retailer criticised the move, saying city leaders needed to consider: "Are they happy to let Rotorua become New Zealand's capital for street people?"
