MY VISIT TO TE AROHA.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 338, 30 May 1885, Page 3

MY VISIT TO TE AROHA.

When within a few miles of the little township of Te Aroha, travelling by night from Morrinsville, the "Mountain .of Love" presents itself in bold relief against the clear starlit sky. The quaint Maori name of Aroha represents ' Love ' in English. ' Why thus called 1 was unable to ascertain during my short stay. It might have been out of tribute to the God of Nature, who has caused t healing springs of hot mineralised water to bubble from the bowels of this wonderful mountain, sending health and strength to the c sick and rheumatic, and producing most extraordinary curative effects on all people who bathe in them for such a purpose. Sick Maoris suffering from the tortures of rheumatism are brought many miles on a sort of a sleigh, or cart without wheels, by their friends to receive the benefits .derivable. from these springs. The little township exists principally upon the money distributed by visitors from all parts of the colonies who, go thither for relief. The climate is salubrious, the air is clear and bracing, and the earth productive to a wonderful extent. There are hotels and boarding-houses, generally full, replete with every convenience ; pretty rides and drives ; good boating, and pheasant shooting in the season.

I climbed on to a peak of Te Aroha immediately overlooking the township, and from there enjoyed a panoramic view very seldom surpassed anywhere. The river shows its course along the plain, fringed by mangroves, as it winds its tortuous way to the ocean. In the distance, toward the south, you may discern the snake-like railway train gliding along the ground, and for miles around your eye may travel unfettered over acres of grassy plains, dotted with homesteads, farms, and townships. To the northward, fifty, miles away, the Hauraki Gulf is visible, and just at your feet, as if from the top of a precipice (for Te Aroha is very steep)nestles the little township, with its pretty dwelling-houses, its baths, and hotels, which, from, this altitude, look like the miniature buildings in a child's box of toys. From the highest point of this range (the trig station, which I had not the time to visit) it is said you may have even a far more comprehensive and magnificent prospect. On a clear day that strange volcanic mass in the Bay of Plenty, known as White Island, may be seen throwing vapour upwards of a thousand feet into the air from the mouth of its crater. White Island is supposed to be connected by submarine passages with all the hot lakes and springs about these parts, for the direction of the wind in the neighborhood of that island influences the heat and force of all the springs and geysers. The hot water that flows from out of the side of the hill immediately below Te Aroha mount; and within, a few hundred yards of the principal hotels, is now carefully conserved as it ! bubbles up, in commodious cemented basins, . through which it passes after filling them, j There are at present tour separate bathing houses. The hottest one is a plunge bath, and its average temperature is 120deg. Fahr., but sometimes it becomes many degrees hotter. This spring also supplies a house, which, is divided into several small rooms. Each, room contains a bath, fitted with taps of hot and cold water, so that the visitor may bathe at whatever temperature is desired. There are two other baths about two hundred yards distant, in a northerly direction, which are not so hot as the firstmentioned, registering only 80deg. of heat. These baths are also formed of concrete — about 10 feet by 7 feet, and 4 feet in depth. The water oozes out of the ground at your feet, so that the bath is always in motion as if it were boiling, and presents a weird diabolical appearance. The sensation whilst in this more temperate bath is remarkably pleasant—it gives you a very luxurious feeling, and as each bath is supplied with a cold shower, it is your own fault if you catch cold. Close to the temperate baths, as they are familiarly called, a hot spring has been bricked around, which causes the water to be forced about a foot above the ground, where j it is continually bubbling and boiling in an earthenware basin. It is provided with a tap, from which you may draw a cupful or so, which may be drunk with impunity — in fact, it is the correct thing to do. The water is not disagreeable to the taste — rather the reverse — and does not make you feel sick, as hot water generally does. Its effects are slightly laxative, but it is a splendid tonic and very soothing, invariably curing dyspepsia. A drink of this water is always indulged in for relief by the residents who are in the habit of carousing. In fact, Te Aroha should make a perfect paradise for Bacchanalians. Besides the springs, which have been utilised for bathing purposes, there are numbers of others most peculiar in character, notably, one almost the colour of' " half-and-half," which effervesces, and is quite agreeable to the palate. There is a sulphur spring, and another that surges up as white as milk. Wandering amongst these springs, one is filled with a strange sense of awe, and what with tbe sulphurous smell and the strange

-"sigEtsfoHe's^^ "tKouglilf'"'are™ v 3raWrf: to the supernatural or infernal, The whoie of "the springs in the immediate^ vicinity of Te Aroha are vested under trustees, who control all things relating to them. The grounds are being- gradually improved and beautified; English and foreign trees have been planted; and as the rich volcanic soil is wonderfully fertile, the place should by-and-bye become a very pretty spot indeed. Most of the best sites in TeAroha have been leased, but there are any quantity of desirable places for villa residences still available. From my personal knowledge of grape - producing country^ 1 should say the slopes of the Te Aroha range present special facilities for grape growers and the .production of wineproducing varieties. The almond, orange, and lemon should flourish as well; in fact, all sorts of semi-tropical fruits and flowers. Te Aroha has undoubtedly a great future in store for it. Some time, I prophecy, her baths, instead of concrete, will be formed of marble, and all the luxuries that the world affords, and art and science can provide, will be there found for the delectation of her visitors. C. -Voice-Hawkins.