Te Aroha's spa history
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Taken from the Feasibility Study for the new day spa project.
Mana whenua have been aware of the Te Aroha hot springs and making use of the waters for hundreds of years before European arrival.
European visitor use of the hot springs began to build after the opening of the Thames Goldfield in 1867, with many residents of the ensuing ‘boomtown’ of Thames travelling up the Waihou River for recreational activities, including regular excursions visiting the hot springs at Te Aroha. The possibility of a 'sanatorium' being developed at Te Aroha was raised as early as the 1870s.
A decade later, the discovery of gold at Te Aroha (1880) and nearby Wairongomai (1881) led to Te Aroha’s own time as a ‘boomtown’. While this was only a short-lived period it contributed to improved access to Te Aroha and improved infrastructure within it. In 1880 regular boat services commenced up the Waihou River between Thames and Te Aroha and a coach service established from Hamilton. Following Te Aroha land purchases in 1878, the springs area was designated the ‘Te Aroha Hot Springs Reserve’ in 1882 under the Public Domains Act. The construction of the first permanent Bath Houses began in 1883. In 1885 the initial landscape development began including manicured lawns, provision for lawn tennis and racket courts, and tree planting. Further springs were being opened and the paths were beginning to be constructed linking the new features.
By this time Te Aroha was becoming increasingly well known as a tourist spa destination. The railway from Hamilton to Te Aroha was completed in 1886, opening a direct link from Auckland and greatly increasing Te Aroha’s accessibility and popularity for visitors. This was enhanced by the opening of the Thames to Te Aroha railway link in 1889, increasing local accessibility, and creating an option to boat from Auckland to Thames and then taking the railway. With these enhanced accessibilities the town of Te Aroha developed rapidly with visits to the hot pools progressively taking over from mining as the main driver. There was accommodation for up to 500 visitors and in the year ended March 1887, 28,553 baths were taken at Te Aroha, compared with only 4,878 in Rotorua over the same period. By the 1890s Te Aroha had become the most popular Spa in the country (although Rotorua soon took over following its connection to the rail network in 1894).
In Te Aroha Domain itself the Cadman Bath House and a new band rotunda were opened in 1898. By the turn of the century 22 springs had been discovered. And by 1910 many new facilities were established including new and wellused bowling greens, croquet lawns, tennis courts (grass and asphalt), baths and bath houses, massage rooms, a tea kiosk, and staff facilities.
Visits had initially been driven by the attraction of the reputed ‘curative’ properties of the hot spring waters, which were a very strong driver of tourism in the late 19th and early 20th century:
Over time visits became increasingly driven by recreational experience opportunities as well as expectations of therapeutic outcomes. The Domain became a popular picnic spot and school parties regularly came on special excursion trains. Apart from the hot springs and the recreation opportunities associated with the Domain itself, these visitors also enjoyed visits to the mines, walks on Mount Te Aroha and along the river, and river trips. Te Aroha became an especially popular destination for day-trippers on public holidays. It was reported that on New Year’s Day 1912, 7,000 visitors arrived in Te Aroha for the day. Many of such visitors arrived on special excursion trains from Auckland, which took five hours each way.
From their heyday in the early 20th Century there ensued a gradual decline. This resulted in part initially from the rise of Rotorua as the pre-eminent spa destination, a loss of rail and river access options, and then increasingly from a general decline in the attraction of the ‘health-spa’ destination concept overall. People still continued to use the baths, but with emphasis on more casual recreational enjoyment than the more formal health-driven ‘taking of the waters’. Most facilities had closed or were re-purposed by the mid-20th century, although basic maintenance of the Domain and retention of its facilities continued.
In signs of turning the corner in more recent years there appear to have been some reconsolidation of experiences in the Domain. ‘Te Aroha Mineral Spas’ was opened in 1980, providing modern spa pools using the thermal soda water. ‘Swim Zone Te Aroha’ was opened in 1990, providing a new outdoor swimming and soaking pool. In 1997 the historic No.2 Bath House was restored as a heritage bathing pool, the No.7 Bath House refurbished, a new Foot Pool established, and historic lakelets re-established. Development of tracks for walking and mountain biking starting from the Domain has also added new activities and visitors. Overall the focus appears to have now shifted to as much a historic heritage theme as a hot springs theme.
Compared to other thermal water attractions in New Zealand, the living historic heritage component now appears to represent a particularly unique feature of the Te Aroha Hot Springs attraction.
