Rotorua's history of sharing our great outdoors with tourists from near and far
Hunting became popular with overseas visitors in the 1950's in New Zealand, and Rotorua's Rex Forrester had already proved himself to be a successful hunter gatherer with his business New Zealand Safaris. He then went on to publish two books on his craft "Hunter for hire" c.1965 and
"Hunting in New Zealand" c.1967.
His next job was with the governments Tourism & Publicity Department employed as a Hunting and Fishing Officer. This was to be 1 year job, but it turned into a 20 year career. He retired in 1986 and became a full-time writer from his Kawaha Point home. He passed away in 2001, but his books live on in libraries around NZ as well as our own Rotorua Library.
Information above is with thanks to the 'Don Stafford Collection', research notes held in the Heritage & Research section of the Library.
To see an interview with Rex Forrester by Don Stafford, borrow the DVD from the NZ History & Travel section.This interview was conducted by Don in 1998.
Here is a small sample of his books :
Available to borrow from the
Library, shelved with the sports books.
