Why Nobody Wants to Visit Rotorua Anymore

Why Nobody Wants to Visit Rotorua Anymore 25 November 1880: 47 rangatira signed the Fenton Agreement. Rotorua wasn't just a spa town, it was the world's first government tourism project, where the Bath House gave 80,000 baths a year. But in March 2020 a Wellington ministry contracted three Fenton Street motels for emergency housing. By late 2023: 163 households, 252 children. Residents renamed the Golden Mile the Misery Mile. Today, the last contract has ended and the street is quiet. The Bath House has stood shut since 18 November 2016 — scaffolding off, doors locked until 2028. This is the story of how a town lost twelve years of its front door, and what a locked landmark says about who a place is for. This is not just the story of Rotorua. It's the story of the room nobody could get into. #Rotorua #FentonStreet #ForgottenNewZealand #NZHistory #RiseAndFall #NewZealand