Rotorua iwi Ngāti Whakaue to buy Rainbow Springs land from Ngāi Tahu

Rainbow Springs closed indefinitely earlier this year. Photo / Andrew Warner

A collective of Ngāti Whakaue entities has agreed to buy the land Rainbow Springs used to operate on and is eyeing up new tourism offerings.

The Ngāti Whakaue collective is made up of Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Ngāti Whakaue Assets Trust and Ngāti Whakaue Education Endowment Trust.

Ngāi Tahu Holdings closed Rainbow Springs in March citing substantial operating and maintenance costs which, combined with Covid-19 uncertainty, meant Rainbow Springs was not financially viable as a business.

A statement released this morning said the Ngāti Whakaue collective had bought the underlying land, and the assets fixed to the land would also transfer to the collective as the new landowner.

“The immediate objective of the Ngāti Whakaue collective was to get the whenua back for Ngati Whakaue,” Ngati Whakaue collective negotiator David Tapsell said in the statement.

“We will now take some time to consider the future use options for the whenua. Given its proximity to Skyline, and being strategically located at the northern gateway to Rotorua, a new tourism offering makes sense and we will look at a range of options.

“Although the tourism market has been less than ideal over the last three years, it is definitely starting to rebound.

“We were also conscious of the immediate opportunity to secure this whenua for Ngāti Whakaue now, rather than risk it being generations before our iwi had the chance again.”

RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said he was delighted with the news.

“It’s fantastic for Rotorua that the Ngāti Whakaue collective have been able to secure this site,” he said.

“Ngāti Whakaue have a solid reputation in business and have other tourism interests including the iconic Te Puia | NZMACI and the game-changing Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa set to open on the lakefront next year.

“I’m really excited to see what the Ngāti Whakaue collective have planned for the site in the future.”

Ngāti Whakaue collective and Ngāi Tahu have agreed that Ngāi Tahu will remain on site for up to a year to allow them to fully relocate the National Kiwi Hatchery to the Agrodome site. Once this has happened, a formal transfer ceremony will take place at a date to be agreed next year.