Town 56 km north-east of Hamilton. Established in the late 1870s, Te Aroha flourished from 1880, when gold was discovered locally. The boom was brief, but hot springs at the foot of the mountain made the settlement prosperous. Mokena Hau, a Ngāti Rāhiri chief, gifted the springs to the government. Te Aroha developed as a spa from 1883, attracting thousands of visitors, especially after a railway link from Hamilton was completed in 1886. Its popularity waned from the 1930s, but some hot pools were modernised in the late 20th century.
Meaning of place name
Properly Te Aroha-a-uta; te: the; aroha: love or affection; a: preposition; uta: inland; Love flowing inland.
