Rotorua District Council is hosting the descendants of Te Paea Hinerangi, a pioneer of tourism in New Zealand, to mark the centenary of her death.
Known as Guide Sophia, she was principal tourist guide at the renowned Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomaha, south of Rotorua, in the early 1870s.
She arranged tour parties, supplied visitors with information, settled accounts, and organised other workers at the popular site.
She survived the 1886 Tarawera eruption that destroyed the Terraces and then moved to guiding at Whakarewarewa village in Rotorua.
She was chosen to look after a member of the British Royal family who visited the city in the early 1900s.
Te Paea Hinerangi died on December the 4th 1911 and is buried at Whakarewarewa village.
The weekend's commemoration began on Friday when the Mayor of Rotorua hosted a function for some of her descendants who had travelled from Northland, Taranaki, Australia and Hong Kong.
On Sunday, a memorial headstone will be unveiled near the war memorial at Whakarewarewa village.
