Rotorua's famous Pink Terraces reappear after 125 years

One hundred and twenty five years after their destruction in the 1886 eruption of Tarawera, part of Rotorua’s world famous Pink & White Terraces are to be seen again in the city.

But the Pink Terraces about to be revealed in Rotorua are not those few remnants of the original formation recently rediscovered by scientists at the bottom of Lake Rotomahana. This time the location of the Pink Terraces is the Rotorua International Stadium, venue for the region’s three Rugby World Cup matches later this year.

The stadium’s concrete seating terraces opposite the main grandstand have been transformed by acclaimed local artist Marc Spijkerbosch into a twenty first century version of the historic Pink Terraces, a visual replica of what was in Victorian times considered the eighth wonder of the natural world.

Mr Spijkerbosch, who has won numerous art awards in New Zealand and overseas for his realistic works, has employed the trompe l’oeil (deceive the eye) painting genre on the terraces, an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery to create a three dimensional optical illusion.

The project has taken around 400 hours of the artist’s time painting on site, and many more hours planning and preparation work. More than 500 litres or half a tonne of paint have been applied to an area equivalent to around a quarter of an acre (1200 square metres) with the paint being sponsored by Rotorua's Resene Colorshop.

Events & Venues Rotorua operations manager Crispian Stewart said the stadium's original concrete terraces were already scheduled for major maintenance, including water blasting and repainting, when it was decided to do something creative and memorable ahead of the venue’s three Rugby World Cup matches.

Mr Stewart said that iwi had been consulted as part of the planning work to ensure any cultural items were addressed appropriately.

“We anticipate our version of The Pink Terraces will intrigue visitors to the stadium and attract the interest of media visiting Rotorua. More importantly it’s an impressive piece of art, and a visual and historic reminder of one of Rotorua’s original visitor attractions.

Mr Stewart said the timing couldn’t be better.

“It’s Rugby World Cup year, it’s the 125th anniversary of the terraces’ disappearance in the Tarawera eruption, it's just months since the discovery of some of the original Pink terraces at the bottom of Lake Rotomahana, and of course the stadium terraces were already scheduled for a major repaint job this year. These things have coincided allowing us to create something very special and spectacular for Rotorua."

“The result is simply stunning. Mark Spijkerbosch has created a unique large-scale art work that is sure to attract widespread attention during the Rugby World Cup in September and October.”