Rotorua's Buried Village continues to be family business with fourth and fifth generations coming home

There are exciting things in the pipelines for the Buried Village of Te Wairoa with the fourth generation to be involved in the business' 87 year history having returned home.

Dave and Amanda McGrath have moved back to Rotorua to take up roles at the Buried Village of Te Wairoa with Dave's mother and father, Pat and Pam McGrath who are the village's directors.

The couple had been living in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, with Dave teaching percussion and Amanda working as an event manager.

Amanda and Dave have been back in Rotorua for about seven weeks.

"It's been great, but cold. We've definitely had the fire going."

Dave says he still has a lot of family in Rotorua, and being involved in the family business and continuing the business on was a great drawcard for them moving back to Rotorua.

He says he was brought up at the Buried Village until he was 18-years-old.

"We lived out here, and Mum and Dad were working in the village. I have memories of coming home to the bush and the stream, it's a nice environment.

"Bringing our kids home to have the country lifestyle is quite exciting."

At the Buried Village of Te Wairoa, Dave is doing heritage conservation and Amanda is running the cafe, as well as working on bringing some new offerings in terms of events and functions.

"We definitely have some things in the pipelines - lots of exciting plans to bring youth back into the business."

Dave's mother Pam says it is fantastic to have the couple at the Buried Village and it is nice to see that the business is being kept in the family.

She says it is great to see this generation coming back to live in Rotorua, bringing the things they have learnt.

"It's given us new passion for it, and it's great to have the grandchildren around.

"You get to the point where things plateau a bit. To have young people that are passionate about it come in and share their ideas is great.

"I can see the Buried Village moving back to being one of the go-to places in Rotorua because of its uniqueness and it's got a special place in New Zealand history."

Te Wairoa was established by the Christian missionary in 1848 as a model village, but survived for fewer than 40 years before it, and the nearby Pink and White Terraces, were obliterated by the eruption of Mt Tarawera.