Te Wairoa
Encyclopedia
Te Wairoa, also known as The Buried Village is located close to the shore of Lake Tarawera
in New Zealand
's North Island
. It was a Māori and European settlement 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 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.
The Smith Family
Around three to four generations of the Smith Family have had ownership of the land at Te Wairoa. The first generation of the Smith family bought the site of Te Wairoa from the first missionary, Rev. Seymour, at Te Wairoa. From then on the Smith family have run the excavating of Te Wairoa.
Lake Tarawera
Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. Like the mountain, it lies within the Okataina caldera. It is located 18 kilometres to the east of Rotorua, and five kilometres to the west of the mountain...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
. It was a Māori and European settlement where visitors would stay on their way to visit the Pink and White Terraces
Pink and White Terraces
The Pink and White Terraces, also called Otukapuarangi or Te Tarata in Māori, were a natural wonder of New Zealand...
. The village was destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera is the volcano responsible for New Zealand's largest historic eruption. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua in the North Island, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissured down the middle by an explosive basaltic eruption in 1886, which killed over...
on June 10, 1886. 120 people died in the eruption, many of them in other villages closer to the volcano.
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
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
on Tarawera Road.
The Smith Family
Around three to four generations of the Smith Family have had ownership of the land at Te Wairoa. The first generation of the Smith family bought the site of Te Wairoa from the first missionary, Rev. Seymour, at Te Wairoa. From then on the Smith family have run the excavating of Te Wairoa.