Story: Thermal pools and spas

Māori use of thermal pools

For generations, Māori have used thermal waters for medicinal purposes, especially to treat skin complaints and rheumatic diseases. This oil painting by John Philemon Backhouse shows Māori people bathing in two small thermal pools near the edge of Lake Rotorua about 1880. The title, ‘Old painkiller bath, Te Kauwhanga Point, Rotorua’, makes clear the therapeutic properties of the waters.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: E-053-004

by John Philemon Backhouse

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Thermal pools and spas – A valued resource, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/6440/maori-use-of-thermal-pools (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Ray Watt
10 April 2024

I went to Nothland College as a boarder. The Māori matron used hot water to treat many ailments, which worked. Today I use hot water as a treatment. Yet I have not found out anything of Māori using hot water for treatments.