Following the gifting of the land around the springs by the Māori Chief Mokena Hou, the Government of the day established a health resort in the centre of town, constructing buildings some of which are still in use and can be seen today around Te Aroha Domain.
Te Aroha’s mineral springs vary in temperature. Some are naturally infused with sodium bicarbonate on the way to the surface underground, making for natural hot soda springs.
To improve access to the soda water, a bore was sunk in the 1930s resulting in one of the few natural hot soda water geysers in the world – named Mokena Geyser after the gifting chief.
Mokena Geyser erupts approximately every 40 minutes, supplying both Te Aroha Mineral Spas and the historical No. 2 Bath House.
