The Spa Ethos

“There is the tired business man who is beginning to find his work an increasing burden no longer borne with zest; the man or woman on whose overstrung nerves little worries begin to jar unbearably; the man whose professional problems follow him to a sleepless pillow; there is that ever-increasing multitude whose tired stomachs protest against the habitual violation of the laws of health, whose tell-tale eyes proclaim the bile-laden blood, the overstocked liver, and the gorged and sluggish veins ….all the victims, in fact, of that Juggernaut, complex modern civilisation.”
A.S. Wohlmann, The Mineral Waters and Health Resorts of New Zealand, 1914

“People came to Rotorua for two or three weeks once or twice a year and stayed at Brents, Grande Vue, Park Vue or Prince’s Gate. The relaxing regime included a swim at the Ward Baths before breakfast, followed by a visit to the Bath House for prescribed treatment. The Aix douche took half an hour, followed by half an hour in hot towels, and perhaps an hour in the Cooling Room, a totally relaxing process. An afternoon stroll through the gardens, perhaps a Rachel bath and an evening bath at the Ward Baths concluded the daily routine whilst ‘taking the cure’.”
Dr Keith Ridings, 1995

taking-the-cure-story-42 After the World Wars, convalescing soldiers came to the Bath House for treatment. “The work that has been done for wounded soldiers has been of incalculable benefit to the men themselves, and deserving of grateful recognition by the country” wrote Dr Duncan (second balneologist at the Bath House) in a letter to the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts in 1920.

A Maintenance Nightmare

“…there will be a real economy in maintenance.”
A.S. Wohlmann, Balneologist’s Report, 1905

taking-the-cure-story-43 “There is not one single line of piping that has been put down between the various pumps and the baths that has not proved useless when tried, and had to be replaced at great expense and after annoying delay.”
A.S. Wohlmann to T.E. Donne, 22 August 1908

From the beginning, corrosion caused by acidic waters and hydrogen sulphide gas has made the maintenance of the Bath House a nightmare.

Within days of the official opening the building was closed while white furniture was stripped and repainted. Lead used in the priming paint had reacted with hydrogen sulphide in the moist air and turned the white paint black.

Three months later two and a half foolscap pages had been recorded of defects in pipes, valves, shafts and other fittings. These weren’t the only problems. Acidic water-vapour and steam caused corrosion. Plaster swelled and dropped, and in 1937, parts of the ceiling in the Women’s Priest Bath area fell in.

An on-going list of problems is recorded in copious reports, memoranda and press coverage over the years. Ian Rockell, former Rotorua Museum Director, recalls the building in 1959: “the place was blackened – a place out of hell. The building smelt: salty, dampness, sulphur, a decayed monster.”*

*Source: Conversation with Ann Somerville, 1997
taking-the-cure-story-44 Bath House Staff

Over the years , a large number of men and women served as doctors, physiotherapists, masseurs and masseuses, nurses, attendants and maintenance personnel in this building.

Dr J. C. Duncan was appointed the second balneologist in 1919, a position he held until his death in 1942. During his years of service, Dr Duncan was known as a caring doctor who was enthusiastic about the benefits of thermal waters. He noted in his report in 1921: “Hydrotherapy has become an exact science capable of effecting cures that were previously considered impossible…”

taking-the-cure-story-45 He was also a distinguished artist who won a number of national awards. His obituary in the Observer of October 28 1942 notes: “Few men had a wider circle of friends than the late Cam Duncan. They are to be found in many a land: he had a genius for friendship. Scientist, painter and writer, he was a man of varied cultural interests….For nearly a quarter of a century he welcomed distinguished visitors to Rotorua. G. Bernard Shaw was one of many guests who had sampled the hospitality of his delightful home..”

Dr A.T.M. Blair was the last Government Balneoloogist, appointed to the position in January 1943. He was not replaced after his retirement in 1957. Born in 1886, he was educated at Nelson College and graduated from Otago University in 1906. Study at Cambridge University was followed by service in the Royal Army Medical Corp which he joined in 1914. Dr Blair assisted Dr Duncan, taking over the position of balneologist after Dr Duncan’s death. His own health was seriously affected by a vicious assault near his Whakaue St home in 1956. His obituary following his death on April 4 1961 notes: “We have lost a valued and much respected member of the local medical profession, a senior member who taught us much about the healing waters.”

Arthur White arrived in New Zealand from Kent in 1906 and began work at the Bath House as a physiotherapist in 1915. He continued in this position until 1957. His daughter Verna White recalls: “One year we decided to count how many treatments he had given in that year and it numbered between 3 000 and 4 000. During that time he had treated many influential people from all over the world.” Arthur White died in 1981 aged 91. He had the foresight to save some of the therapeutic equipment, which has provided a valuable link to the Bath House’s past.

Born in Dunedin in 1911, James Meek trained as a physiotherapist and arrived in Rotorua in 1936. Doctors from all over New Zealand referred patients to Dr Duncan, who in turn prescribed treatments which James Meek and other staff carried out. James Meek’s treatment rooms were upstairs in the bay window overlooking the gardens. Around 8 – 10 patients per day received his care, many coming back year after year. James Meek spent 10 years at the Bath House before moving in to private practise. He now lives in Whakatane.

Alice Robinson began her career at the Bath House as an Aix masseuse in 1939. The 20 year old Rotorua woman was trained for her role by Sisters Tyson and McTier. She remembers a rigorous routine which included washing a long corridor every day, and endless cleaning of the baths. Patients became Alice’s personal friends, and she also remembers celebrities coming to the Bath House for treatment. Alice left the Bath House in 1942.
taking-the-cure-story-46 The End of an Era

One notices in the earliest accounts of the Rotorua water, an almost awe-stricken wonder at the marvellous healing property of these waters….”
Dr Blair, last full-time balneologist (1942 – 1957) writing for the Medical Journal

Faith in spa treatments waned and the fashion for rest-cures faded. In 1947 the Health Department took over the management of the Bath House and the Tourist Department began to promote other attractions.

Tourism is not mentioned in the articles Dr Blair, the third balneologist, wrote for medical journals in the 1940s. Spa treatments came to be seen as complementary to work done in hospitals.

The Health Department’s annual report of 1949 contained a damning statement that hastened the closure of the spa. Its writer was Rotorua’s new Director of Physical Medicine, Dr G.A.Q. Lennane:

“The old fashioned spa conception, a conception of treatment which has been responsible for the delayed knowledge of the treatment and cause of the rheumatic diseases – had to be abandoned, and the further exploitation of the mineral waters of Rotorua as miraculous cure-alls could not be condoned by the Health Department. A more rational and scientific outlook required to be developed.”

In 1963 the Rotorua City Council assumed control of the Bath House and in 1966 all treatments were transferred to nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Rotorua Museum opened in the south wing in 1969 and Rotorua Art Gallery in the north wing in 1977. Two licensed restaurants, one upstairs and one down, and a night-club also occupied areas of the building until 1990.

Today Rotorua Museum is the guardian and tenant of a building that is classified under the Historic Places Act.

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The Spa Ethos