Rotorua will this week celebrate the relaunch of one of the most important books to emerge from the city - the late Don Stafford's Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick will join Te Arawa representatives, the Stafford family, Professor Paora Tapsell, McLeods Booksellers and invited guests at the launch at the Rotorua Museum on Wednesday night.
This epic history tells the story of Te Arawa from the iwi's origins in the South Pacific until
European contact.
Before the book's publication on Thursday, the book will be blessed at the launch, and
tributes paid to Te Arawa tupuna, and to the author.
Mr Stafford, known as "Mr Rotorua" for his lifelong commitment to the history of the city and region, has a wing of the Rotorua Museum named in his honour.