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Story: Thermal pools and spas

Advertising Queen Mary Hospital

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Advertising Queen Mary Hospital

A services hospital built at Hanmer during the First World War became Queen Mary Hospital, which from 1921 was run by the Health Department. In the 1920s and 1930s the hospital catered for convalescents and people suffering from nervous complaints. This advertisement suggests that bathing in thermal pools was an accepted treatment, alongside healthy outdoor pursuits such as hunting and fishing. 

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: Eph-A-TOURISM-Hanmer-1925-01-04

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 – Health benefits, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/6486/advertising-queen-mary-hospital (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.