NEW HOT SPRINGS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23060, 10 June 1938, Page 12

NEW HOT SPRINGS

ROTOKAWA DISCOVERY "baths for native school [by TELEGRAPH —OWN' correspondent] ROTORUA, Thursday As a result of the discovery by a well-known water diviner, Mr. A. GThompson, of three hot springs some distance below the surface of the school g'rounds, the liotokawa native school, about two and a-half miles from Rotorua, will shortly be provided with a constant supply of hot water.

The services of Mr. Thompson were secured in an effort to locate a suitable fresh cold water supply. Up to the present the school has depended entirely on rain water, but with a large increase in the number of pupils this has been found very inadequate, particularly during dry spells. During a visit to the school on his way to Tauranga r from Rotorua last week, the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Eraser, expressed great pleasure at the result of the wcjl-sinking. Ho instructed the diviner to continue his work and Mr. Thompson tested two other localities some distance apart. In each case hot water gushed up, so that if necessary the school can secure a hot water supply from three different sources. Although the authorities were pleased with the discovery of the hot springs, they had yet to find the necessary cold water supply. Since it appeared impossible to secure a cold spring under the school grounds, the diviner removed his attentions to a near by field, where at a depth of 58 feet ho located a cold stream. By the aid of pipes this will bo tapped for the school. With the discovery of a free hot water service, it is possible that swimming baths will be constructed within the school grounds. A section of the grounds lends itself to the construction of an open-air pool and it is believed that the work could be underI taken ;at very little cost.