Sand-preserved history: 86-year-old wall of salt water baths discovered in Pātea

Michelle Dwyer painting the wall. Photo / Pātea Historical Society

Workers carrying out part of a revitalisation project at Mana Bay in Pātea have uncovered a piece of the town’s sand-preserved past.

The Pātea Town Revitalisation Programme committee was clearing sand near the toilet blocks about two months ago when the old wall of a saltwater baths facility was found.

Pātea Historical Society president and South Taranaki historian Jacq Dwyer said the 20-25m wall was buried under the sand.

“We didn’t realise that it was under there, it was just so buried,” Dwyer said.

“I was like ‘far out, there is the wall, it is still there’ - it’s a wonderful little relic that we have uncovered.”

The baths, completed in December 1939, were named the Centennial Memorial Baths in honour of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Centennial Memorial Baths in Pātea opened in December 1939. Photo / Pātea Historical Society

The swimming pool and paddling pool were filled with seawater by the incoming tide.

“Every week it was emptied and then refilled so there was no chlorine, the saltwater kept it semi-preserved - it was a little cloudy by the end of the week, apparently,” Dwyer said.

Despite their popularity, the pools closed in 1968 and were demolished in 1973 after being deemed unsafe and unhygienic by the Department of Health.

Additionally, the Town Baths had been built on Stafford St in 1958, which meant it was difficult to manage two facilities, Dwyer said.

Before this year’s work, it had been 25 years since sand build-up at the beach was cleared.

Dwyer said sand was a “great preserver” of history and, despite it being cracked, the wall was restored.

A coat of concrete sealer and two top coats of paint later, “it is good as new”.

The old wall of the Centennial Memorial Baths before being restored. Photo / Pātea Historical Society

The repairs were done by Don Adams, whose great-great-grandfather, Robert Albert Adams, was the third mayor of Pātea. Don’s father was one of the founders of the Pātea Beach Beautification Society in the 1950s.

Dwyer said it was wonderful to discover part of the town’s history and there was “no reason why it can’t just be preserved” from here on.

“[In New Zealand] we don’t leave a lot of these reminders of our past so I think it is wonderful that we still have this and now, by painting and restoring it, it is going to stay.

“The feelings and stories that have come from it have been astounding - people all over the world have made comments on it.

“It has done almost 86 years and it’s going to be here a lot longer now.”

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.