Rotorua fire: Whakarewarewa sports club blaze destroys decades of taonga

• Rotorua’s oldest rugby club lost its clubrooms and memorabilia in a devastating fire.
• Club president Marty Hatu said the roof and inside were destroyed, likely needing a complete rebuild.
• Fire and Emergency contained the blaze; investigations into the cause are ongoing.

Rotorua’s oldest rugby club has lost its clubrooms in a devastating fire that tore through the building, destroying photos, trophies and precious club memorabilia.

The fire gutted the Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports Club off Te Ngae Rd early this morning.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said the fire was not being treated as suspicious, and a specialist fire investigator was working to determine a cause.

A karakia was due to be held at 5.30pm today to “officially close our club”, the club posted on social media.

“Our club has been lost to us for now. Red Kingdom will be back.”

Club president Marty Hatu told the Rotorua Daily Post this morning he was called by the club’s security company at 2.45am, saying the club’s alarm was going off.

Crews battled a fire at Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports Club overnight.

He said the security officer called him back, and he could tell from her voice that it was bad.

“I had no words for how I felt right then,” he said.

Hatu said while the building was still standing, the roof and the inside were destroyed. He anticipated it would need a complete rebuild.

He said the devastating part was losing all the club’s memorabilia and photos that lined the walls.

These include decades-old photographs donated to the club.

A painting of a koroua [elderly man, grandfather] that hung on the club’s walls was among items destroyed.

“He sat like a guardian over our club over the years.“

The Tai Mitchell Shield, the Rotorua Rugby Sub Union Senior Championship Banner and the Baywide Premier Cup were among taonga inside the club.

Hatu said the shield had suffered a lot of smoke damage and the banner had a piece on the bottom that had been burnt.

“They are pretty badly damaged but they are still there. I guess now they will have more of a story to tell.“

He said endless trophies - many won this year - that sat in cabinets were destroyed or badly damaged.

Fire destroyed the Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports club overnight. Photo / Kelly Makiha

“There were so many, we won it all this year.“

Hatu said the reality of the fire and what the club meant to everyone sunk in when older members came to the club early this morning and stood with them watching the emergency services do their work.

“We were all crying.“

Hatu said it wasn’t known yet where the fire started and whether it or not it was an electrical fault or something suspicious.

“We have already had the worst happen to us with the fire so I would like to think that it wasn’t that [arson].”

The Tai Mitchell Shield and the Rotorua Rugby Sub Union Senior Championship Banner was damaged.

Hatu said the club moved to the site in 1997 after its former clubrooms on Froude St at Whakarewarewa were condemned when a ngawha [geothermal activity] appeared underneath the ground. The current site was previously the Old Boys Rugby Club.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said crews were able to contain the blaze about 4am.

Five fire trucks, one ladder truck, two water tankers and multiple support vehicles were sent to the scene.

Whakarewarewa men’s premier rugby coach Ngarimu Simpkins said he was devastated to get the news at 4am.

“The first thing that comes to mind is all the photographs on the walls of all the players that we used to look up to as young ones.

“I’m talking about the likes of the Maniapotos and the Schusters. Those are probably all gone now.”

He said he had seen a photograph of the Tai Mitchell Shield and it looked in a “bad way”.

“I’m not sure if that can be restored but it’s devastating.

Fire destroyed the Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports club overnight. Photo / Kelly Makiha

“The biggest treasures were all the memories of the past teams and times we spent there together.“

Simpkins said it saddened him to think of all the hard work everyone had put into the club now being gone.

“I’m sure we will recover but right now I’m just really sad for everyone.“

Simpkins said the beauty of Whakarewarewa Club was its people and he knew everyone would pull together to rebuild.

“I don’t know what that’s going to look like but we will be thinking of our rangatahi and our juniors having a home.

“I know in times like these we will all come together and help for the sake of our kids.”

Club captain Te Miri Roberts said he raced to the club when he got the call from Hatu early this morning.

He arrived when the club was well ablaze.

“Firefighters were working hard but you could see from the damage and the flames already that there wasn’t going to be too much to salvage inside.”

Roberts said it had been a long night and many club members and community members were at the club this morning trying to pick up the pieces and come to terms with the devastation.

Among the items destroyed were most of the playing uniforms that were in the storage area as well as irreplacable documentation.

“A loss like this is immeasurable for our community and I’m just a bit maemae [sad] at the moment for all of our kuia, kaumātua and rangatahi that they have lost their second home, essentially.”

Fire crews at Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports club after a fire overnight.

He said the club had not only had a great year for the seniors but it was the largest JAB club in the district. He said it provided a safe environment for young people to put their energy into something positive.

The uniforms lost included new kit for the youngsters for next year.

“We will regroup and do our best to save what we can and reassure our community that we are still there for them.”

Life member Turi Eparaima, who described himself as “just the man on the tools”, was at the club this morning with fellow club members.

He said the club meant everything to him because he had played for the club since his JAB days and his father, Charles Ngarepo Eparaima, was a past club president.

“Looking at the club, it’s going to have to come down but the biggest thing is all the stuff inside that we can’t get back.”

Crews battled a fire at Whakarewarewa Rugby Community Sports club overnight.

The club suffered another loss in December last year when thieves broke in and stole more than $10,000 worth of alcohol and property. The thieves were never caught.

But 2025 has been one of the club’s most successful years. Earlier this month it celebrated its success at the Bay of Plenty Rugby Awards, describing it as “the year that keeps on giving”.

The club won many awards, including Administrator of the Year for Hatu, Coach of the Year for Simpkins, Player of the Year for Jessie Mason-Grant, Women’s Player of the Year for Jordyn Tihore and both Men’s and Women’s Team of the Year.

The men’s team won the Baywide Premier final in July against Tauranga Sports, its first Baywide win in 19 years.

The women’s team also won the Baywide Championship final.