The Musuem has been closed since 2016 due to damage from the Kaikōura earthquake. Due to its listing on Heritage New Zealand list of historic sites as a Category1 Historic Place (appointed in 1985), the museum is undergoing strengthening and restoration.[1][2]
History
Early history
In the late nineteenth century, there was growing interest among tourists to visit and bathe in the thermal pools located near the Pink and White Terraces. As a result, in 1880, the government established Rotorua as a tourist resort.[3]
On 22 November 1880, Judge F.D. Fenton met with 47 Māori leaders to discuss a proposal supporting the creation of a township, resulting in Ngāti Whakaue gifting 50 acres of land along the southern area of Lake Rotorua.[4] This area, formerly known as the Sanatorium Reserve, is today named the Government Gardens, and is the land that the Rotorua Museum stands on.[4] The gift by Ngāti Whakaue was 'hei oranga mo nga iwi katoa o te Ao' - 'for the benefit of the people of the world.'[3]
The Bath House
Bath House Rotorua, before 1913
In Europe, spas had become fashionable meeting places for the middle and upper classes to treat illnesses, diseases, or simply as a social activity.[5][6] As such, the New Zealand government hoped that the development of a Bath House would appeal to wealthy tourists, particularly from the Northern hemisphere, who could afford to stay in Rotorua for two or three weeks and use the baths to treat their physical or psychological needs.[6]
The Bath House interior, c.1916
The newly-created Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, established in 1902, was tasked with constructing the Bath House, which took two years to build, between 1906 and 1908, and cost £40,000.[3] The Bath House opened in 1908 by Prime Minister Joseph Ward.[7] It was New Zealand's first spa facility, and was noted as the first major investment in the New Zealand tourism industry by the government.[8]
The Bath House was known for its therapeutic treatments using water sourced from surrounding thermal springs.[9] The bath treatments were thought to be able to successfully treat a series of illnesses such as; Rheumatism, Indigestion, Constipation, Obesity, Sciatica, Nerve Trouble, Spinal Curvature, and Neuritis.[10] The north wing accommodated male patients, while women were treated in the south wing.[4]
One of the rooms in the Bath House
Efforts were made from the beginning to attract international interest, with Admiral Sperry, the commander of the American Atlantic Fleet, invited to participate in the opening ceremony.[7] At its peak, it attracted between 60,000 to 80,000 visitors annually.[5] These numbers reflect the popularity of the site given that Rotorua's population was 4,700 in 1926, growing to 12,302 by 1956 - a decade before the Bath House closed.[11]
By the 1940s, spa treatments greatly declined in popularity, with medical professionals advising that they should be complementary to work done in hospitals, rather than relying on them as a cure-all solution. Rotorua's new Director of Physical Medicine, Dr. G.A.Q Lennane, condemned the promotion of spas as substantial treatment for illnesses, stating that the spa conception was responsible for the delayed knowledge of the treatment of rheumatic diseases.[12] They called for the exploitation of Rotorua's mineral waters to stop and for rational science to be used instead.[12] By 1963, the Rotorua City Council took ownership of the Bath House, and in 1966, all treatments were transferred to the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital.[4] Concurrently, due to the sulfur corroding the metal piping, the building became too difficult to maintain, and it closed down in 1966.[5]
Arthur Stanley Wohlmann
Rotorua's first Balneologist
In 1902, Dr Arthur Wohlmann, an expert in balneotherapy, was employed by the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, subsequently leaving his home in London to move to Rotorua. He was appointed as the first Government balneologist. Wohlmann had worked at the Royal Hospital at Bath and was to bring his experience and expertise to advise on the development of thermal spas.[13]
Despite Wohlmann being considered the most distinguished balneologist available, he was fired by the government in 1912 due to the fact they could pay a younger and less experienced balneologist for half the price.[14]
The Museum's origins
The Rotorua Museum is now housed in the former Bath House building. Rotorua Museum opened in the south wing of the Bath House in 1969; Rotorua Art Gallery opened in the north wing in 1977.[4] In 1988, the Museum and Gallery combined to form the Rotorua Museum of Art and History Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa.[15][4]
Up until 1990, there was a nightclub and two licensed restaurants, one upstairs and one downstairs, that occupied parts of the building.[4]
Photograph of the original building, taken in 1908
The Museum was closed in 2016 due to not meeting New Zealand earthquake standards.[18] In 2023, the Rotorua Lakes Council committed to continuing and completing repairs to the building to enable it to reopen.[19] Construction began in June 2024, and works are expected to be complete in 2027.[20][21]
As of 2021, the Museum collection owned 2490 artworks; approximately 55% were gifted, 45% purchased, and 1% commissioned.[24] There are over 70,000 images depicting Rotorua in the collection.[22] Overall, there is an estimated total of 55,000 items in the collection.[25]
Library and archives
A large majority of the library collection is dedicated to the history and people of Te Arawa and the Rotorua district. The collection comprises rare books, historic maps and plans, local publications, local business and organisational records, diaries, manuscripts, and documentation related to the history of the Bath House. It also includes files from previous Museum exhibitions and exhibition catalogues.[26]
Exterior, 2017
Gallery
Related Research Articles
Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. It has an estimated resident population of 58,800, making it the country's 13th largest urban area, and the Bay of Plenty's second-largest urban area behind Tauranga.
Dargaville is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland region. Dargaville is located 55 kilometres (34 mi) southwest of Whangārei, and 174 kilometres (108 mi) north of Auckland.
Elizabeth Lillian Marvelly is a singer, songwriter and social commentator from Rotorua, New Zealand. She first achieved success as a classical crossover vocalist before switching to pop music. She ran the website Villainesse until 2021, and has written for the New Zealand Herald, discussing feminist issues. In July 2020 she was director of the Rotorua Museum from 2020 to 2021 after which she became head of Girl Guiding New Zealand.
Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, based in the Bay of Plenty.
The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is an indigenous traditional art school located in Rotorua, New Zealand. It operates the national schools of three major Māori art forms.
Toi whakairo or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone.
Thomas Edward Donne (1860–1945) was a New Zealand civil servant, author, recreational hunter and collector of Māori antiquities and New Zealand fine art.
The Government Gardens is a public park, partly laid out as gardens, located beside Lake Rotorua in central Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand. It was built by the government as a tourism attraction, and is still a major tourism destination in New Zealand.
Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa was a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kinohaku descent. At the time of her death she was regarded as New Zealand's most renowned weaver.
Ngahuia Te Awekotuku is a New Zealand academic specialising in Māori cultural issues and a lesbian activist. In 1972, she was famously denied a visa to visit the United States on the basis of her sexuality.
Wi Te Tau Pirika Taepa is a significant figure in contemporary New Zealand ceramics, and a leading figure in contemporary Māori clay art.
Lyonel Grant is a New Zealand Māori master carver and sculptor. Born in Rotorua, he affiliates to Ngāti Pikiao and Te Arawa. Grant identifies as Maori Indian.
Ngāti Tarāwhai is a Māori iwi of the Rotorua area of New Zealand, and a member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. The iwi's rohe covers the western shore of Lake Ōkataina.
Mourea is a settlement in Rotorua Lakes within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom is a multi-cultural, multi-purpose visitor and community hub in Foxton, in the southern part of New Zealand's North Island. The facility hosts some 150,000 users annually - to visit the Maori and Dutch museums, the library or the community rooms, the gallery or the heritage room. Locals take care of their affairs in the Council Service Centre.
Tania Tapsell is a New Zealand politician. She has served on the Rotorua Lakes District Council since 2013 and was elected mayor of Rotorua at the 2022 local elections. She is the first woman of Māori descent to hold the role.
Charles Eldon Fayne Robinson is a New Zealand Māori artist specialising in carving. Robinson has contributed to the carving of buildings on many marae in New Zealand as well as exhibiting his art in galleries and museums.
Arthur Stanley Wohlmann (1867–1943), also known as Arthur Stanley Herbert, was an English physician and balneologist, known for his significant contributions to the therapeutic use of the spa in New Zealand. Born in London, he qualified as a dentist in 1894 and moved to New Zealand in 1902. Wohlmann was appointed as the first government balneologist in Rotorua, where he played a pivotal role in developing the town into a renowned spa destination.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Somerville, Ann (1997). Taking the Cure: The Story of the Rotorua Bath House. Rotorua: Rotorua Museum of Art & History Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. ISBN0-473-05033-1.
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