The presence of
hot springs bubbling up through the sands of
Waiwera Beach was known to
Māori in pre-European times. The name Waiwera means 'hot water' Records indicate that the
Ngāti Rangi tribe originally "owned" the area, and that the entire bay was "protected by four fortified pahs; on the North by the Kakaha pah, 300 feet high; on the South by the Whau pah, 230 feet high; on the East by the Mahurangi, 140 feet high; and on the West by the Pitawai, 320 feet high". Negotiations for the deal took two years, and in 1846 Graham began planting grape vines, strawberries and apple, cherry, guava, peach, and pear fruit trees. Cows grazed in the pasture land and provided milk. During these early times, Māori continued to use the area abundantly, and as many as 3,000 people per day could be seen at the beach where the hot springs bubbled up from the ground. It had originally been promoted to the public by advertising the thermal waters' alleged rehabilitative properties: “To the sick and debilitated… follow Shakespeare’s advice, throw physics to the dogs and visit Waiwera hot springs… for healing virtues of painful diseases, sores, stiff joints, paralysis and more restored to perfect health”. In 1875 the property had been developed into a hotel with adjacent primitive soaking pools (produced by holes dug into the sand that were lined with sheets of tin), as well as cottages for visitors. The commercial establishment, a large thermal
spa and water park, was branded as Waiwera Infinity Thermal Spa Resort at the time of closure in 2018. The park had been New Zealand's largest
water park. The complex claimed 350,000 visitors per year and consisted of 26 pools plus various slides. The
New Zealand Herald reported that the site had fallen "into a sorry state described by locals as a “bloody mess”", and the temperature of the thermal water had dropped. In 2019 Khimich fled the country one million dollars in debt, but was ordered to return in order to pay back his debts from Waiwera. Urban Partners still owns land containing a hotel and campground next to the hot springs site. ==References==