Buried Village of Te Wairoa, Rotorua 3076, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Te Wairoa is a deserted village located close to the shore of Lake Tarawera in New Zealand’s North Island. It was a Māori and European settlement founded in 1848 by the Revd Seymour Mills Spencer where visitors would stay on their way to visit the Pink and White Terraces. The village was destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Mount Tarawera on June 10, 1886. 120 people died in the eruption, many of them in other villages closer to the volcano.The site of one of these villages i.e. Kokotaia was instrumental in the recent rediscovery of the Pink and White Terrace locations.
The Buried Village is open to the public and shows the excavated ruins of the village, recovered relics on display in a museum and the history of the eruption. It is located 14 kilometres southeast of Rotorua on Tarawera Road.
Epic New Zealand Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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