PHOTO: Waiwera Hot Pools. FILE
Recent aerial footage reveals that the once-thriving hot pool complex in Waiwera has been reduced to mere ground following extensive demolition efforts. The vacant site now consists of piles of rubble and scrap, cleared to offer potential buyers a blank canvas for future development.
Once a popular retreat for Aucklanders seeking relaxation, the park faced challenges over the years and changed ownership multiple times. The iconic towering slides at the heart of the park were dismantled over weeks, with the pieces finding a new home at a waterpark in Northland. The 26 swimming pools, now gone, have left behind only the springs that once fed them.
From an aerial perspective, the destruction is stark, revealing only a brown patch of land and remnants of the faded blue facade. The 1.73-hectare property, valued at $17.5 million in the most recent Auckland Council assessment, has remained vacant since 2018, when staff were laid off in anticipation of a supposed three-month redevelopment that never materialized.
Originally owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Khimich, who failed to implement redevelopment plans, the property eventually fell into the hands of liquidators Urban Partners. The company is now working to make the site as attractive as possible, with plans for a potential spring sale. According to a 2014 Metro Magazine article, Waiwera was acquired from Māori in exchange for “26 blankets, four spades, one cask of tobacco, four double-barrelled guns, one bag of shot, four cartridge boxes, three casks of powder, five shirts, two cloth caps, one coat, and £16 in cash.” Despite changing hands, people continued to enjoy the hot pools until 1875, when entrepreneur Robert Graham enhanced the site by constructing bathhouses and a large hotel for guests.
