A History Of Evenys To 1900. Large book in Dust Jacket, First Edition 1986, end papers, previous owners inscription on front endpaper, Black and White Photographs, illustrations, maps, 448 Pages, Published by Ray Richards Publisher and The Rotorua District Council.
A Fine Copy.
'The township of Rotorua, in the heart of NZ's North Island and the centre of its thermal region, was established just over 126 years ago. Every NZ city, borough and county has features and influences that distinguish its history. In Rotorua the distinctions are unusual: major Maori habitation, abounding thermal activity and a consequent flow of tourist visitors, lakes and waterways and gracious amenities, a period of guerilla warfare, dense forest that gave an early timber industry and yielded to abundant agriculture, isolation and terrain that made transport difficult, and government involvement that was mainly expressed as a difficult and distant bureaucracy. Rotorua's birth came with the introduction of the Thermal Springs District Act and 1882 saw its infancy begin. It was a birth that was not welcomed. The earlier European settlers bitterly resisted attempts to prize tham away from the 'old town' at Ohinemutu. There was no joy for the Maori either, for the grand scheme to lease the new township to a host of clamouring would-be investors turned sour and left the Maori owners lamenting. However, despite the inauspicious start, economic depression and the devastating eruption of Mount Tarawera, the settlement survived and gradually prospered. Major aspects of its success have been the blending of Maori and European cultures and the absence of serious conflict in the town since the two first met. The author's research has been comprehensive. The Founding Years in Rotorua is based on the records left by its Maori and European inhabitants. The result is an historical record of a unique city and region in its colonial period, supported by many inhabitants'