The 1987 arrival
When the Lakeland Queen first slid into Lake Rotorua in 1987, she looked like something out of a Mark Twain novel. At 32 metres long and two decks high, her stern paddle turned slowly, pushing the big vessel across the lake in stately calm.
Locals had never seen anything like it — a purpose-built Mississippi-style sternwheeler, constructed in Rotorua in 1986 and launched the following year. She was powered by a 240-horsepower Cummins diesel, her thrust delivered through hydraulics to an eight-bladed stern paddle. Smooth and quiet, she could move without passengers barely noticing.
Rotorua’s new “Lady of the Lake” was, quite simply, unique.
Three decades as an icon
Over the next thirty years, the Lakeland Queen became as familiar as the sulphur smell drifting across the city. She carried tour groups by day and wedding parties by night. Families celebrated anniversaries on board; couples marked engagements with dinner cruises. At full capacity she could seat more than 200 guests across her two decks, served from her galley and bar.
For skipper Melvyn Bowen, she was more than a workplace. In 2017 he reflected on her three decades afloat, recalling the pride of captaining the only sternwheeler passenger vessel in New Zealand. She was occasionally called Te Ao Kapurangi, a name that acknowledged Rotorua’s bicultural story.
The heartbeat falters
That continuity ended in 2021. When Covid-19 border closures gutted tourism, the Lakeland Queen was laid up and moved into dry dock at Sulphur Point.
For a time, she was kept alive: engines turned over weekly, systems checked. But her jetty deteriorated. A 2022 engineering report requested by the Rotorua District Council described the wharf piles as “severely rotted” and steel beams as “severely corroded,” rating the structure in “poor to unsatisfactory condition”.
By 2024, her operator had gone into liquidation. RNZ called it “a sad day for Rotorua” as the “beautiful icon” sat idle and moulding ashore. To many, it felt as if the city had lost part of its identity.
A bargain and a gamble
The turnaround came from an unlikely quarter. In 2024, Damon and Arna Hagaman bought the Lakeland Queen out of liquidation. Damon, son of Scenic Hotel founder Earl Hagaman, knew that was only the start.
The Rotorua Daily Post (28 August 2025) reported that in the year that followed, the couple spent more than $2.5 million on restoration, with another million still earmarked for galley and bar refits. They were joined by contractors, volunteers, and even entertainers — singer Howie Morrison Jnr traded his microphone for a paintbrush to help with finishing work, before stepping into his new role as entertainment manager.
Most importantly, they called in Rotorua firm Sitewide Engineering. Their team stripped and rebuilt the Queen’s hydraulic systems, refurbished the paddle drive, overhauled the bow thruster, and restored the steering gear. Without that mechanical resurrection, the Queen would never have moved again.
The relaunch
On 28 August 2025, just after 8am, the Lakeland Queen eased back into Lake Rotorua.
The Queen is now alongside her jetty, receiving finishing touches. With more work to do before she can resume commercial operation, cruises are expected to restart late 2025, with dinner sailings, themed nights, and live entertainment all on the programme.
