Tikitere
Encyclopedia
Tikitere, also known as "Hell's Gate", is Rotorua
's most active geothermal
area on State Highway 30
, between Lake Rotorua
and Lake Rotoiti
in the Bay of Plenty
, New Zealand
. It includes many geothermal features including steaming lakes, mudpools, fumaroles, a mud volcano and Kakahi, the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tikitere, the Maori name for the area is derived from the tragic action of a Maori princess, Hurutini, the young wife of an abusive and shameful chief, who threw herself into the boiling hot pool that bears her name today. Upon finding her daughter's body floating in the hot pool, Hurutini's mother cried out a sad lament "Aue teri nei tiki" ("here lies my precious one"), which was shortened to Tikitere and became the name from the thermal reserve and the surrounding area.
"Hellsgate", its most commonly known name, was used following the visit to the geothermal reserve by noted Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw
in the early 1900s who likened the area to the comments that were made by his theologian colleagues back in England who were explaining to him that the result of the error of his ways as a practising atheist would result in his "going to hell". What he saw at Tikitere moved him to believe that this would be the gateway to hell. His visit to Tikitere was well received by the local Maori owners of the land and as an honour to note the occasion of his visit the owners decided that this would be the English name for the geothermal area.
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
's most active geothermal
Geothermal
Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to:* The geothermal gradient and associated heat flows from within the Earth- Renewable technology :...
area on State Highway 30
New Zealand State Highway 30
State Highway 30 is a New Zealand State Highway, linking the Waikato and Bay of Plenty towns of Te Kuiti, Mangakino, Rotorua, and Whakatane....
, between Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8km2. With a mean depth of only 10 metres it is considerably smaller than nearby Lake Tarawera in terms of volume of water. It is located in the Bay of Plenty region...
and Lake Rotoiti
Lake Rotoiti
Lake Rotoiti is the name of two lakes in New Zealand:*Lake Rotoiti, Bay of Plenty, in the North Island*Lake Rotoiti, Tasman, in the South Island...
in the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It includes many geothermal features including steaming lakes, mudpools, fumaroles, a mud volcano and Kakahi, the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tikitere, the Maori name for the area is derived from the tragic action of a Maori princess, Hurutini, the young wife of an abusive and shameful chief, who threw herself into the boiling hot pool that bears her name today. Upon finding her daughter's body floating in the hot pool, Hurutini's mother cried out a sad lament "Aue teri nei tiki" ("here lies my precious one"), which was shortened to Tikitere and became the name from the thermal reserve and the surrounding area.
"Hellsgate", its most commonly known name, was used following the visit to the geothermal reserve by noted Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
in the early 1900s who likened the area to the comments that were made by his theologian colleagues back in England who were explaining to him that the result of the error of his ways as a practising atheist would result in his "going to hell". What he saw at Tikitere moved him to believe that this would be the gateway to hell. His visit to Tikitere was well received by the local Maori owners of the land and as an honour to note the occasion of his visit the owners decided that this would be the English name for the geothermal area.