Local Democracy Reporting found the building looked generally worn, with numerous areas of cracked paint, holes in windows and a patched roof. On the warm afternoon, an unpleasant odour was distinct but not overpowering.
“We have had so many people complain about them, absolutely disgusted,” Guy, a former Tauranga City councillor of 12 years, said.
He said he had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to raise the issue with the council. In his view, “they’ve made no attempt to even keep it clean”.
Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village, New Zealand’s oldest continuous Māori tourism experience, welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year.
Guy said that many of his passengers are “fresh off the tarmac” in New Zealand.
Rotorua is often their first stop, with Whakarewarewa a likely first experience. After a long bus ride, however, “nature calls” and the toilet block becomes one of the first impressions they get of the city and the country.
“Welcome to New Zealand, right?”
Inside the toilet block at the Whakawerawera Māori Village on Tryon St, Rotorua. Photo / Mathew Nash
Rotorua Lakes Council community experience group manager Alex Wilson confirmed the toilet block was a council responsibility and it had received three complaints about it in the past 12 months.
She said cleaning occurred three times daily but conditions were still “not up to the standard” the council wanted.
The council is responsible for 70 toilet facilities in the district, with maintenance and renewal work prioritised to fit within allocated budgets, Wilson said.
Factors considered to prioritise work included the age and condition of facilities, cost and use.
The public toilet block at the Whakawerawera Māori Village on Tryon St, Rotorua. Photo / Mathew Nash
A $12,000 tidy-up of the building is scheduled for next week and will include interior and exterior painting.
A full renewal of the old toilet block was estimated to cost at least $250,000.
“Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village plans to build its own toilets next year and any future plans for the existing facilities are to be decided,” Wilson said.
Village marketing and communications officer Renee Raimona-Hunter said it had been in talks with the council for the village to build its own toilets and she hopes the work will start before the end of this year.
Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village plans to build its own toilets next year. Photo / Mathew Nash
Local Democracy Reporting spoke to two tourists at the location last week.
Canadian visitor Mason said the toilets were better than some he had encountered in other countries, but it was “unusual” to see facilities so bad in New Zealand.
“They are a bit dirty and not very appealing, but they are a toilet, not many are,” he said.
Asked if he thought the toilets needed improvement, he said they might just need “a real deep clean”.
Franke, a backpacker from the Netherlands said the toilets were “not the best I have seen but not the worst”.
She said they needed an “upgrade”, but hoped the character of the “cute”, whare-shaped structure would remain.
“At least it is different,” she said.
“The design is cool. Better than just a boring metal box.”
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.