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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 7 (October 1, 1936)

Father Mahoney's Journey

Father Mahoney's Journey.

There were no roads, simply narrow and difficult bush tracks. He struggled slowly along with a heavy swag on his back, containing some provisions, a small tent and his portable altar. In great pain the good Father tramped through forest and scrub. He was several days in the wild lone country, and at last, in despair of ever reaching Rotorua, he was about to turn back, when in the distance he saw a lake, the blue waters of Rotorua. With that cheering sight before him, he trudged on and at last came to the Maori villages and the hot springs. The Maoris guided him to the wonderful geyser-pool called Te Pupunitanga.

He pitched his tent there, beside the steaming pool, and for some days he bathed there, in the water issuing from the sandy ground; he almost lived in the bath. Daily he improved; in about a week he was free of pain and perfectly cured of his rheumatism. He returned thankfully to Tauranga and he spread the story of his wonderful cure. From that day to this the spring in which he found healing and new life has been called the Priest's Bath.

Te Pupunitanga, the Maori name of this pool in the manuka, means “The Ambush”; there is a tradition of an olden battle there, in which two of the Rotorua tribes met in combat in the lakeside manuka.