The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2023. Here’s what made headlines in January.
January 2:
The north’s wild weather hit the Bay of Plenty and holidaymakers cut their plans short.
Campers and concertgoers alike were impacted by the weather. Across much of the North Island on Wednesday, campers packed up early and concerts were canned, including Tauranga’s A Summer’s Day Live.
For Rotorua camper David Cossar, the rain proved too challenging to stick to the plan of staying at the Holdens Bay Holiday Park.
The Levin man was packing up the tents and camping gear to head home.
January 5:
The owner of six liquor stores in Rotorua and Tauranga says he feels forced to spend more than $100,000 on security measures to protect his livelihood and staff from criminals.
Charanjit Dhillon, who owns five Rotorua Bottle-O stores and one in Tauranga, spent yesterday going around his stores with a builder and metal engineer pricing up installing bollards around each store and fixing metal grates and bars to the buildings.
His Ngongotahā Bottle-O store was targeted in the early hours of New Year’s Eve by would-be thieves who tried to ram raid the front of the store.
Dhillon said he needed to install bollards at all six stores and had been told the ones he wanted would cost $800 to $1000 apiece. He said the Ngongotahā store alone would need at least six bollards. The metal grates for the doors and walls and bars for the windows would be a separate cost.
He estimated he would need to spend at least $20,000 per store.
January 12:
Pianist Ludwig Treviranus was living overseas when he first heard, years ago, of a “welcoming, magical place” in Rotorua – a town he had never visited.
He was set to perform at that magical place – Te Puia – for a third time at Opera in the Pā in March, alongside headliner Moses Mackay from Sol3 Mio as well as Kawiti Waetford, Elisha Fa’i-Hulton, Ellis Carrington and the inaugural Opera In The Pā Youth Choir.
Treviranus said it was of those “special places”.
“You feel the energy. It’s an environment that has historical value.
He said it was “neat” to bring classical music – a European art form – to Te Puia as it was a place to learn about Māori and New Zealand culture.
January 19:
The Government announced plans to build 350 homes on Rotorua land it rejected for a smaller private development about four years ago.
A Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesman said it bought 15.9 hectares at 31 Ngongotahā Rd to provide a mixed development of affordable housing for the private market and public housing.
The ministry would not reveal the purchase price because it was commercially sensitive and was in the process of finding a development partner for the site.
It had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Watchman Residential to progress design and consenting works.
January 20:
Rotorua Labour supporters and politicians have described Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as an “incredible Prime Minister,” who was staunch, compassionate and caring.
Choking back tears, Ardern announced she would stand down on February 7.
She said she had hoped to find the energy and heart to continue in the role over the summer, “but I have not been able to do that”.
Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said she was thankful to Ardern for the significant amount of investment committed to Rotorua during her leadership.
January 28:
A Rotorua school took the “radical” step of making school uniforms and stationery free to boost attendance and help families cope with soaring living costs.
It came as the latest Stats NZ figures revealed the consumer price index increased 7.2 per cent in the 12 months to December and food prices were 11.3 per cent higher than a year earlier – the biggest annual increase in 32 years.
For the first time, new students at Kaitao Intermediate would receive free back-to-school necessities in line with the start of the year.
The school’s principal, Phil Palfrey, hoped the “radical” initiative would ease financial strain for parents, improve attendance and engage students not yet enrolled in school.
January 30:
Ngongotahā residents had another nervous night as water levels rose.
MetService lifted all severe weather warnings for the Bay of Plenty,
However, Bay of Plenty Civil Defence advised people to continue to take care as the region’s rivers and streams were running high, some roads were still closed, and there was a lot of clean-up work taking place.
An update from the Lakes District Council said the Ngongotahā Stream had reached peak levels, which could cause some surface flooding, particularly on roads in the area.
The council urged residents to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate if the need arose.