Rotorua Model Railway Club, Inc.

Membership grew and the members' interests became more diverse and at the Annual General Meeting in March 1983 the proposal was made (by the Marklin enthusiasts) that the name be changed to Rotorua Model Railway Club. Construction of the club's first layout began that year, a modular display using OO gauge track for the running of British models. The layout was displayed at the exhibition held in August that year, again in the Pipe Band Hall, and over the next few years was stored or set up in several members' homes.

In 1984 a club member made available part of his garage for use as a clubroom and the layout was housed there until 1987. Meetings were also held there, or in members' homes.

From 1986 exhibitions were held every year (from that year in the much more comfortable Conference Room of the Sports and Conference Centre in the Government Gardens), the proceeds going into a fund to enable the club to purchase more layout-building materials and perhaps, one day in the future, to be able to have a clubhouse of its own. In that year, too, members had the foresight to institute the process of incorporating the club under the Incorporated Societies Act.

From 1987 until 1989 the club rented a disused Scout Hall in Wingrove Rd, Owhata, which provided space for the creation of more layouts, including the small models built each year as raffle prizes at the club's exhibitions.

In 1989 the club was offered the St Mary's Scout Hall in Pererika St for purchase at a modest figure, an offer too good to be refused although ownership of a building of that size required an ongoing commitment to hold exhibitions to provide the necessary funds to meet its running costs, and there the club resides today.

Meetings are held at the clubrooms every week, open days for the public to see the club's operations on long weekends and exhibitions annually. In 1994 (the centenary of the opening of the railway line to Rotorua) the decision was made to "go big" and this time the Sportsdrome was hired for a very large exhibition indeed. This attracted large numbers of visitors, including the passengers from a special steam-hauled excursion train from Auckland.

The Sportsdrome was used again in 1995 but the next year the rebuilt Town Hall, known as the Rotorua Convention Centre, became available. Situated in Fenton St opposite the Tourism Centre, it was an ideal site and was used again in 1997.

The club's membership is steady, its members' interests encompass all aspects of the model railway hobby, and it possesses the valuable asset of clubrooms of its own. Credit must be given to all of its members who, over the years, have worked towards its success, including those founder members (some of whom are still with the club today) who had the wisdom to bring the model railway enthusiasts of Rotorua together.

Ronald Mayes,
Club Editor 1982 to 1998.