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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 7 (December 1, 1932)

Charm of Te Aroha

Charm of Te Aroha.

There is a quaint, unusual charm about Te Aroha that sets it apart from all other towns of the Waikato. It seems to have been pushed to the very edge of the plains and into the shadow of the hills. There is something very Swiss and fascinating about the way the houses perch themselves high on the slopes of the mountain, and the rugged spurs sweep down into people's back yards. Groves of immense pines march gravely up to Bald Spur (1,000 feet), and another couple of thousand feet higher is the trig.

Te Aroha owes its origin to the gold discoveries of the “eighties,” and the curative properties of its mineral waters have long since given it prominence among the health resorts of Auckland Province. Over twenty acres have been page 43 laid out by the Government in the formation of a delightful domain at the foot of Te Aroha Mountain, where the bath-houses have been built. The baths are a delight; Te Aroha possesses over twenty mineral springs, of the Vichy water type, and “drinking the waters” is part of the routine to which every good visitor conforms.

But to those who do not need to take such matters seriously, it is Mount Te Aroha itself that will make strongest appeal. The slopes form part of the Tourist Domain, and are covered with native bush, which serves as a sanctuary for the tui, bell-bird, native pigeon, and other feathered forest folk. The climb to the summit is moderately stiff, but is not, strictly speaking, anything of a mountain climb. The track for the first 1,000 feet up to the Bald Spur is easy and well graded. It winds up from the gardens through the splendid pine grove to the native bush higher up. From open spaces beside the track, one gets magnificent glimpses of the Waikato Plains, and of the homes and farm-lands at the foot of the mountain. Beyond Bald Spur lies the thick native bush—and here you begin to do a little climbing. The track grows steeper and steeper, and you occasionally help yourself up with the aid of handy roots and branches. Drooping crepe ferns and kidney ferns make a fringe of green lace on trunk and bough; gold and green mosses brighten bare rock faces, and from out the dense thicket of the bush comes the long trill of a tui's song.

Reached Daily From Auckland. (Rly, Publicity photo.) Te Aroha station, within easy walking distance of the chief attractions of the town.

Reached Daily From Auckland.
(Rly, Publicity photo.)
Te Aroha station, within easy walking distance of the chief attractions of the town.