In 1888 the first New Zealand rowing championships were held in fours and single sculls only and at different regattas. Two events, the pairs and double sculls, were added in the following season. These continued to be contested at different regattas until 1891, when they were all held at Wanganui. Up until 1927, probably owing to the cost of eight-oared boats, eight-oared rowing was confined to local regattas and to university clubs. In March 1928 the first inter-provincial championship eights race was held in Wellington for the Hallyburton Johnston Cup. A New Zealand championship eights event was added to the annual championship venue in 1937.

R. B. Smith, of Auckland, who won 10 New Zealand championship titles, has the finest record in this respect. Before the Second World War he won the single sculls on six occasions and the double sculls three times; while in 1946 he stroked an Auckland Rowing Club crew to win the New Zealand eights title. Don Rowlands is another who has built up an enviable record in New Zealand rowing. He has nine New Zealand championship titles, in the single and double sculls and eights, to his credit. In 1954 he added the Empire Games Gold Medal for single sculls to his achievements.

On 16 March 1887, at the instance of William Fitzgerald of the Star Boating Club, Wellington, representatives of nine clubs established the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association, which was formed under the patronage of Sir W. F. D. Jervois. J. O. Jones, of Christchurch, was the first president and A. G. Biss, of Wellington, was secretary. The nine clubs which formed the association were: Union Rowing Club (Christchurch) (1866); Star Boating Club (Wellington) (1867); Canterbury Rowing Club and Wanganui Rowing Club (1875); Union Boating Club (Wanganui) (1878); Napier Rowing Club (1886); Wellington Rowing Club (1885); and the Nelson and Whakatu Rowing Clubs (Nelson).

As rowing became more popular, the number of clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association increased. The original nine became 34 in 1892 and 45 ten years later. On 4 October 1902 the association's annual meeting approved a proposal to provide for the sport to be administered on a regional basis under a central managing body. Accordingly, on 5 January 1903, nine local provincial rowing associations were set up. These were the Auckland, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay (now East Coast), Marlborough, Nelson, Otago, Southland, Wanganui, and Wellington Provincial Rowing Associations.

There are 20 lakes within 20 miles of Rotorua, though some are small and not well known. All are of volcanic origin, filling craters, calderas, or valleys blocked by lava flows.

Lake Rotorua is circular, 6 miles in diameter, and slopes gently down to the deepest part west of Mokoia Island. It occupies a caldera, and a bench 300 ft above the lake marks its original level. Tapsell in 1830 was probably the first European to seethe lake, but in 1831 Henry Williams and Thomas Chapman came through the district, and in 1835 the latter established a mission station on Mokoia. Well known for the hot springs of Whakarewarewa, Kuirau, and Ohinemutu, and the cold springs of Hamurana, Rainbow, and Fairy, the lake is a popular tourist resort for yachting, fishing, and swimming. The city of Rotorua is on the south shore. The Ohau channel flows out at the north-east end into Rotoiti.

Rotoiti is 8½ miles long by less than 2 miles wide, and the deepest point is near the centre. The lake is a popular fishing and boating resort and hot-spring baths at Manupirua are accessible by boat on the south shore. The Kaituna River flows out at Okere. Rotoiti, Rotoehu, and Rotoma lie along the northern rim of a large caldera, cut off by big lava flows on the south side. The cliffs on the north of Rotoiti and along Hongi's Track form part of the caldera wall. Rotoehu has hot soda-spring baths at the south-east end, and Rotoma is a popular picnic and boating resort. Neither lake has any outlet.

Lake Okataina also lies between the caldera wall and Haroharo lava flows, its steep bush-clad slopes giving it great scenic beauty. Lake Tarawera is a broad, branching lake with fairly flat floor filling a valley between Haroharo and Tarawera lava flows over which the Kaituna flows out to the east. Rotomahana occupies craters formed by steam-blast eruptions which accompanied the Tarawera eruption of 1886 and which destroyed the famous Pink and White Terraces and the earlier Lakes Rotomahana and Rotomakiriri. The eruption debris blocked the valley leading to Lake Tarawera. The round trip for tourists crosses Rotomahana and Tarawera Lakes by boat.

Okareka, Rotokakahi (Green Lake), and Tikitapu (Blue Lake) are lakes of scenic beauty nestling among steep hills, and the last is a crater from which the coarse pumice quarried near Rotorua was erupted. Rotokawau, Roto Ngata, and Roto Atua are small crater lakes, and a number of small lakes at Waiotapu, some of them warm, occupy craters formed by steam-blast eruptions.

*North of Sulphur Point is an isolated spot with a depth of 120ft. Possibly this is a small crater.

by James Healy, M.SC., Volcanologist, New Zealand Geological Survey, Rotorua.

Rotorua is situated in the Rotorua basin on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua. The town itself is on comparatively flat land which rises gently to the south and west to surrounding hills. Rotorua is the terminus of a railway line from Frankton. By road it lies 67 miles south-east of Hamilton (76 miles by rail), 54 miles south of Tauranga, and 53 miles north of Taupo. The port of Tauranga at Mount Maunganui (50 miles north by road) is the nearest seaport. Limited air services are available from the Rotorua airfield, but there are plans for the construction of a new airport at Rotokawa, 2 miles east. In the district there are many landing strips for aerial-topdressing aircraft.

The two main rural activities of the district are sheep and cattle farming and logging and sawmilling. There is also a little dairy farming on the fertile pockets of land. Much of the farming is a post-war development, for until then the land was regarded as waste. But the problem of bush sickness was solved by the use of trace elements and, with modern machinery for clearing the scrub and ploughing, land development is proceeding on a large scale. Since 1947 the Lands and Survey Department has been preparing land for the settlement of ex-servicemen, and considerable development on blocks of Crown land has been carried out by the Department of Maori Affairs for the settlement of Maori farmers. Logging and sawmilling are also major industries in the area, of recent development. As a result of hand planting before and during the depression of the thirties, there are 1,250,000 acres of exotic and indigenous forests in the district, mainly Pinus radiata (q.v.). In 1939 the New Zealand Forest Service commenced milling operations at Waipa, 2 miles south of Rotorua, and in 1954 the New Zealand Forest Products paper-pulp mill was opened at Kinleith, 34 miles from Rotorua. The following year the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mills began production at Kawerau, 30 miles east. There are large timber mills at Kinleith, Tokoroa, Pinedale, and Waipa (4 miles south of the city). This region produces more than half of the Dominion's exotic timber, more than three-quarters of its pulp and paper, and much of its native softwoods.

Rotorua is the commercial centre for the area stretching from Taupo in the south, Tokoroa and Kinleith in the west, and Whakatane in the east. It is also the centre of the tourist industry in the North Island, being situated in the heart of the thermal and lake region. Because it is capable of accommodating and entertaining big crowds, the city is favoured as a conference centre. Secondary industries include the manufacture of wire rope, small engineering workshops, a factory manufacturing disinfectants, insecticides, polishes, etc., sawmilling, an aerated-water factory, and the manufacture of concrete and building materials. Butter is manufactured at Ngongotaha (5 miles north).

The country around Lake Rotorua was settled originally by descendants of the Maoris who came to New Zealand in the Arawa canoe in A.D. 1350. Their principal settlements were at Ohinemutu and Whakarewarewa. In 1823 the lands of the Arawa people were invaded by the Ngapuhi chief, Hongi Hika, but he was obliged to withdraw. In 1828 Philip Tapsell established himself at Maketu (37 miles north) as a trader, flax being exchanged for firearms. In 1833 Scott, a trader at Tauranga, opened a branch station at Mokoia Island, which closed down after the Maoris forced it to be shifted to the mainland. A missionary, Chapman, erected a mission station in 1835 on the high point which juts out into Lake Rotorua at Koutu. The next 10 years saw intermittent warfare between the Arawa and the powerful Waikato tribes after a local chief had murdered one of the Waikato chiefs. In 1867 the Waikato tribes again attacked the Maoris around Rotorua, to take punitive measures for the Arawa's part in preventing the passage of East Coast reinforcements for the Maori “King” through their territory. With the help of government troops, the Arawa finally drove out the Hauhaus.

Prior to 1870 Rotorua was still an almost unknown Maori territory and it was not until 1882 that there was any movement toward settlement in the present township. The site of the township appears to have been selected because it was close to a large number of boiling springs and was the centre from which the natural wonders and scenic beauties of the lake district could be most easily reached. It was also the junction of the early lines of communication in the district. The original township contained 600 acres of which 125 acres were offered for European settlement under the Thermal Springs District Act of 1881. The visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870 had a great effect on tourist trade and at the beginning of the eighties visitors were given a chance to “take the waters”. This, together with the availability of town sections, caused the gradual drift of population from Ohinemutu. As a result of the Tarawera eruption in 1886, settlement was retarded for some years, but confidence gradually returned and Rotorua began to progress. The railway opened at the end of 1894, and by 1897 the population was 500. In 1883 Rotorua was constituted a special town district under the Thermal Springs Act. It became a borough in 1922 and a city in 1962. Rotorua may mean “two lakes”, “lake of the pit”, or “crater lake”.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 14,693; 1956 census, 19,004; 1961 census, 25,068.

by Susan Bailey, B.A., Research Officer, Department of Industries and Commerce, Wellington.

(1862–1930).

Mountaineer and journalist.

Malcolm Ross was born in Dunedin on 13 July 1862, a son of Alexander Ross, a first-generation immigrant from Scotland. He was educated at the Palmerston District High School and the University of Otago. Early in life he showed the interests he was to follow to the end – a passion for sport, particularly mountaineering, and a talent for writing. He served his apprenticeship in journalism on the Otago Daily Times from 1882 to 1889. In 1889 he became private secretary to the managing director of the Union Steam Ship Co. (Sir James Mills). In 1890 he married Forrest Grant, who shared both his love of mountains and his literary ability. A few years later he returned to journalism, moving to Wellington where he worked as parliamentary correspondent to several local papers and as New Zealand correspondent to The Times (London) and other overseas journals. As a war correspondent in 1914–18 he visited Samoa, Egypt, Gallipoli, and France.

Besides his interest in running, rowing, cycling, tennis, and golf, Malcolm Ross was a footballer of distinction, representing Otago in 1885–86. His paper sent him into the Manapouri-Sounds area in 1888 to take part in the search for the missing Prof. Mainwaring Brown. In 1890 he made the first of many visits to the Hermitage and was one of a group of young New Zealanders who attempted Mount Cook, then unclimbed, but although they had been associated with some manful attempts, neither he nor his brother Kenneth (d. 1959) was a member of the successful party in 1894. In 1892 the brothers had made the second ascent of the east peak of Earnslaw and the first ascent of Double Cone in The Remarkables. Although Ross also reconnoitred Tutoko, his main work lay in and around Mount Cook where, in his best season 1897, with T. C. Fyfe as guide, he made first ascents of the Minarets, the north peak of Haidinger, and the first crossing of Lendenfeldt Saddle from the Tasman Glacier to the Whataroa. His greatest climb was the first traverse and fourth ascent of Mount Cook in 1906 (with S. Turner and guides Peter Graham and Fyfe), an ascent forced through in difficult conditions in a 36-hour “day”.

Ross published several books, most notably A Climber in New Zealand (1915) and, with his son Noel, Light and Shade in War (1916). He helped to found the New Zealand Alpine Club in 1891 and served it as vice-president and editor. He was elected to the Alpine Club (London) in 1909. He died in Wellington on 15 April 1930.

It is difficult to think of Ross's career without remembering his wife (d. 1936) who devoutedly aided all his enterprises except the most exacting mountain climbs. The Ross household in Hill Street, a stone's throw from Parliament, was on easy social terms with many of the legislators who figured in Malcolm's reports. Unhappily their only son Noel, who had shown considerable promise as a journalist and had joined The Times, died in London in 1918 from sickness resulting from his war service.

Malcolm Ross's success in journalism was in some part due to his man-of-the-world relations with the men who controlled events in New Zealand's capital. His war dispatches were the high-water mark of his professional achievement, which included a great deal of miscellaneous writing and many articles and pamphlets on the country's scenic attractions. As a mountaineer he profited by the pioneering work of such men as G. E. Mannering, but entered into the activity in time to make an excellent contribution himself. Although he was one of the most enterprising amateurs of his day above snow line on the high peaks, his greatest expedition was probably the exploratory crossing of Lendenfeldt Saddle when his friend and guide, Fyfe, received injuries to his leg which made an already hazardous journey desperate and exceedingly arduous. Ross's gifts as a writer enabled him to pass on to others much of his enthusiasm for mountains.

by David Oswald William Hall, M.A., Director, Adult Education, University of Otago (retired).

• The Exploration of New Zealand, McClymont, W. G. (1959)
• New Zealand Alpine Journal (1930), (1955)
• Canterbury Mountaineer, No. 16 (1946–47)
• Otago Daily Times, 17 Apr 1930 (Obit).

(1883–1959).

Politician and welfare worker.

A new biography of Ross, Grace Hilda Cuthberta appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Dame “Hilda” Ross was born on 6 July 1883 at Whangarei, the daughter of Adam Nixon, a fireman. She spent her early life in Sydney and her youth in Auckland, studying music, particularly the piano. In January 1904 she married Harry Ross who went to Hamilton the following year to establish the firm of Barton and Ross. She taught music and took a leading part in the life of the community, being particularly active in efforts to raise money for worthy causes. In the influenza epidemic of 1918 she was among those who worked untiringly to help the sick. Her musical activities led to the founding of the Hamilton Choral Society of which she was conductor, while she was also pianist of the Hamilton Operatic Society. In 1927 she was one of the leaders in establishing the Waikato Children's Health Camp League and was secretary of the organisation for over 20 years. Dame Hilda was made a Justice of the Peace in 1938 and entered public life when she was elected to the Waikato Hospital Board in 1941. She became a member of the Hamilton Borough Council in 1944, and deputy mayor the following year. At the outbreak of the Second World War she undertook the task of organising patriotic work in the district, founding the Women's Auxiliary Volunteer Corps, of which she was commandant, and becoming president of the Hamilton Women's Patriotic Committee.

On the death of the National member for Hamilton, F. Findlay, she was elected to represent the city at a by-election in May 1945 and was returned at the five following general elections. After the National victory in 1949 Dame Hilda was made Minister in Charge of the Welfare of Women and Children. This post without departmental responsibilities allowed full scope for her to help those in need, and to speak in Cabinet for the women of New Zealand. In the short-lived Holyoake Cabinet of 1957 she was Minister of Social Security. She represented New Zealand at the 1952 Geneva meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Hamilton recognised her services to the city in 1948 when she was given the freedom of the city. In the 1956 New Year Honours she was created a D.B.E. Her husband died in 1940. There were two sons by the marriage.

Dame Hilda died on 6 March 1959. She was not a strong political partisan; her forthright character and direct manner prevented it. She was one with a great respect for her fellow beings, especially for those in need and she never failed to work for their good.

Dame Hilda evidently adopted the names “Hilda” and “Cuthbert(h)a” at the time of her marriage in 1904.

by James Oakley Wilson, D.S.C., M.COM., A.L.A., Chief Librarian, General Assembly Library, Wellington.

• Waikato Times, 6 Mar 1959 (Obit).

Ross is situated on a flat southwards of the Totara River within a semicircle of high bush-clad hills. The flat lies open to the north-west and extends out 1 to 3 miles to the shores of Westland Bight. The town is the terminus of a railway from Greymouth, the nearest port, and 15 miles from Hokitika. The main South Westland highway, after following a more inland route than the railway, reaches Ross 20 miles south-west of Hokitika.

The district of which Ross is the centre was once the scene of intensive gold mining. The main rural activities are now sawmilling, lime-crushing, and farming, including dairying and sheep and cattle raising. Two sawmills are working within the borough. Lime is quarried on the north-eastern boundary of the borough.

Gold was discovered in the district in 1864. A short-lived rush to the Totara River followed. Towards the middle of 1865 further discoveries were made in gullies at and near the site of the present borough. In August the main activities were centred on Jones Creek. A settlement sprang up on a terrace east of this creek, but following the cutting of a direct access track to eliminate a difficult route which ran via the beach, Totara River mouth, and an estuarine lagoon, a town site was marked out by J. Rochfort on a lower terrace west of the original “canvas town”. It was called Georgetown. Shortly afterwards, as a compliment to George Ross, Provincial Treasurer of Canterbury, the name was changed to Rosstown. About 1866 the name was shortened to Ross. For many years the mines at and about Ross continued to yield much gold. During the early 1900s production tapered off. The auriferous beds were found to dip steeply seawards and, as workings extended towards the sea from Jones Gully mouth, the more difficult it became to cope with water seepage. All accessible alluvial beds were gradually worked out. By 1917 active mining had ceased. Ross was constituted a borough in 1878.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 471; 1956 census, 549; 1961 census, 503.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

(c. 1807–97).

Maori leader and warrior.

A new biography of Wahawaha, Rapata appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Wahawaha Ropata, whose ancestors were not particularly notable, was born about 1807 near Waipiro Bay on the East Coast. At an early age, when his tribe was defeated by Rongowhakaata of Poverty Bay, he was taken prisoner and made the slave of one Rapata Whakapuhia, from whom he derived his more commonly used name. Although ransomed after a few years, Ropata never forgot the shame of that experience, and this perhaps accounts for the ruthlessness of his later dealings with his former captors.

Ropata did not achieve prominence until, at middle age, he opposed the Pai Marire (Hauhau) missionaries who were making converts of some of his own people. Amongst those who drove this faction from the coast, he proved himself an outstanding warrior. Later that year, 1865, he and his followers were called to assist the English settlers in Poverty Bay where the Hauhaus had been more successful. Here he demonstrated his tactical ability by turning a threatened disaster into victory at Te Kopani.

In 1868 Te Kooti's intention of raiding the English settlers in Poverty Bay became known to Ropata, but his warning to Colonel Lambert went unheeded. It was only after the tragic massacre in November of that year that he was again asked to help. He distinguished himself at Makaretu pa; then at Ngatapa he won the New Zealand Cross by leading his few followers right up to the palisades and clinging there for hours in a vain wait for reinforcements. On 4 January 1869, when Ngatapa was finally taken, 120 prisoners were left to Ropata who had them shot down mercilessly.

Te Kooti took refuge in the hills and forests of the Urewera, making sporadic raids on neighbouring districts. Throughout 1870 and much of 1871 Ropata carried on an extremely arduous and frustrating chase, ending finally in Te Kooti's flight. Ropata now showed that he could be conciliatory, the outcome being a rapid improvement in the relations between the Tuhoe of Urewera and the Government. On his return to his own tribe Ropata set about encouraging education and land development, succeeding generations making Ngati Porou the leaders in these fields. He was given a place in the Legislative Council where, although somewhat diffident, he brought some important matters to the attention of the Government. He is remembered mainly, however, for his great personal courage and his ability to inspire his followers. His wife Harata accompanied him wherever he went and, after his death at Gisborne on 1 July 1897 and his military burial at Waiomatatini, lived near his grave until her own death 18 years later.

by John March Booth, M.A., DIP.ANTHR.(LOND.), Secretary, New Zealand Maori Council, and the Polynesian Society, Wellington.

• N.Z.P.D., 23 Sep 1897
• Major Ropata Wahawaha, Porter, T. W. R. (1897)
• Defenders of New Zealand, Gudgeon, T. W. (1887).

Population (1961 Census)

Parishes, Churches, and Clergy

Roman Catholic Schools (1963)

by Peter Thomas Bertram McKeefry, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Wellington.

• Archivium de S. C. Propaganda Fide (Vol. 1820–40), Rome
• Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, Vol. 9, et seq., Lyons
• History of the Catholic Church in Australasia, Moran, P. F. (1897)
• The Church in New Zealand, Vol. 1 and 2, Wilson, J. J. (1910)
• Life and Times of Bishop Pompallier, Keys, L. G. (1957)
• Sons of France, Goulter, M. C. (1957)
• Fishers of Men (edited writings of early missionaries), McKeefry, P. (1938).

Apart from its schools, the Church's growth has not been spectacular, but one, nevertheless, of steady development. Fifty years after Pompallier's arrival, Roman Catholics numbered 79,000, approximately one-seventh of the total population. The proportion is about the same now, but over the years original works have become intensified and new ones begun. Prominent in the educational field, the Church has in its schools almost one-tenth of the total primary and post-primary pupils of the country.

Through its secondary schools, university hostels, and training schools, the Church has its place in the development of the islands and countries bordering the Pacific. Pupils from these territories on finishing secondary courses go on to the universities or teachers' training colleges. In Auckland, Loreto Hall (founded from Craiglockhart, Scotland) and the Marist Brothers' House of Studies are helping in the growth of schools in the Pacific. Similar work is being done at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Auckland, and Calvary Hospital, Christchurch, in the training of nurses. As members of missionary societies and religious orders, New Zealand Roman Catholics are engaged in the world's major mission fields.

The strained religious relations marking the first days of the Church's entry into the country have long passed, and in inter-denominational societies, social, civic, and national bodies, Roman Catholics are represented and take an active part.

The denominational papers are the Tablet and the Zealandia.