RIF to fund final touches to Rotorua Museum ahead of its reopening
Published: 8 October, 2026
Rotorua’s iconic Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa has reached a major milestone, with restoration and seismic strengthening work now complete, and the museum on track to reopen in August 2028.
The building has undergone $73.55 million of restoration work supported by $31 million of Crown investment, including $22 million from the Provincial Growth Fund and $9 million from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s Regional Culture and Heritage Fund.
The Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) will support the final chapter of the museum’s journey to reopening with a $2 million grant to co-fund the permanent exhibition fit-out of the museum.
This final investment will help bring the museum back to life, ensuring local and international visitors can once again experience around 1,600 taonga Māori and 60,000 collection items held within its walls.
Once opened, the museum is expected to welcome 120,000 visitors each year through its doors, helping to encourage longer visitor stays, and deliver economic benefits for businesses and communities across the region.
Completing the construction phase of this iconic landmark is a key milestone for the people of Rotorua, and the wider Bay of Plenty region. The exhibition fit-out is scheduled to be completed ahead of the museum's planned reopening in 2028.
About Rotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa
The historic Elizabethan Revival-style Bath House building, which houses the museum, was constructed between 1906 and 1908 and is a Category 1 heritage building.
Over the years the building has served many purposes, including as a bathhouse, sanatorium for wounded soldiers, and as a restaurant and nightclub.