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Story: Te Arawa

Pink Terraces at Lake Rotomahana, 1870s

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Pink Terraces at Lake Rotomahana, 1870s

This photograph of a Māori canoe on Lake Rotomahana shows the distinctive Pink Terraces on the hillside. The terraces, made of silica, were an important tourist attraction in early New Zealand and many Te Arawa people worked as guides escorting people to view the spectacular sight.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: F-77560-1/2

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Paul Tapsell, Te Arawa – The Tarawera eruption, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4184/pink-terraces-at-lake-rotomahana-1870s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Paul Tapsell, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.