Bathing in the Victorian Era - Tauranga

The Redoubt, Tauranga
Real photo postcard by Henry Winkelmann, Tourist Series 932
Image courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0761/10

Daybreak in Colonel Ward’s house and the sound of his bugle floated over the surrounding streets. Was it a call to arms! No, he was issuing a summons to his friends to join him in an early morning dip in the harbour (or so the story goes). Only his male friends though, as in the late 1890s it wasn’t deemed acceptable for men and women to be seen bathing together. By 1881 there were complaints (maybe from the ladies) about the unfairness of gentlemen being able to enjoy themselves splashing about in the water but not so the ladies. Maybe, they pondered, bathing boxes could be considered.

In October 1881 the editor of the Bay of Plenty Times commented, “that with the bathing season approaching some people were already turning up each morning on the beach below Captain Tunks’ house or round by the Redoubt.” It was definitely time to look at building a properly kept bath house handy to town where people could enjoy the healthy benefits of sea water without worrying about stingrays and sharks. By 1883 a bathing wharf had been built by public subscription, on the beach near the Redoubt. To keep the gentlemen safe from nosy sharks it was decided that an enclosure should be added. Alas, owing to the lack of privacy there were still no ladies allowed.

Heggarty's Bathing Pavilion, c. late 1880s
Detail from large format print “Tauranga from the Redoubt”, unidentifed photographer
Image courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection, Ref. 0607/08

In January 1885 Mr. Haggerty, who had a small boatyard at the Redoubt end of the Strand, unveiled his bathing pavilion, a square platform with a small circular tent at each corner of the platform. It was constructed to float in and out with the tide and was attached to a mooring in deep water. There was also a running rope passing through a ring bolt and round a windlass on the beach. At last privacy for the ladies!

In 1885 the Tauranga Improvement Company called for tenders for the building of a bathing enclosure at Tunks Point, at the eastern end of 1^st Avenue. Until the baths were completed people continued to offend Victorian sensibilities by bathing at public beaches during daylight hours. Finally in December 1885 the baths were opened by the mayor Mr. R. C. Jordan. Gentlemen were allowed during the hours of 6am – 9am, 12noon – 2pm and 5pm – 7pm when a blue flag was flying. The ladies’ hours were 9am – 12 noon and 2pm – 5pm when a red flag was flying, later changed to white.

Tauranga Public Salt-water Baths. Rules and Regulations
The Bay of Plenty Times, 23 March 1910, Courtesy of PapersPast

The new baths consisted of the pavilion containing eight comfortable changing rooms with a large enclosure in front of them. This had been built so that even at low tide some sort of bathing was possible. Races were held on opening day but once again nothing for the ladies. On 18 March 1886 the Bay of Plenty Times reported that a red and blue flag were flying at the same time at the Bathing Pavilion. A mistake or someone having a bit of fun, I wonder?

By October 1886 a ladder had been erected against the enclosure’s wall so that on a low tide bathers could enjoy a swim on the outside. One gentleman wrote to the paper to let it be known how horrified he was to see men that he’d known and respected for years making a spectacle of themselves by going up and down the ladder. On Dec 23 1889 the caretaker at the Bathing Pavilion saw two sharks, 12 and 6 feet long, playing about in the shallow water close to the enclosure. Maybe the ladder wasn’t such a good idea.

Baths and Railway Bridge, Tauranga, c1940s-1950s
Real photo postcard by National Publicity Studios, 4968
Courtesy of Tauranga City Libraries, Pae Korokī Ref. 99-1291

Unfortunately the baths turned out to be a financial loss for the Tauranga Improvement Company and in 1892 the Borough Council took them over for the sum of 100 pounds. The Council struggled with their upkeep and by 1919 the baths were in a poor state. By 1930 only the dressing sheds and one lonely post in the harbour remained. With the advent of new baths being opened at Memorial Park and Greerton the old 1^st Avenue ones were finally demolished in 1958.

References

Tauranga 1882 – 1982, A.C. Bellamy (ed.)
Papers Past Bay of Plenty Times 18 Mar 1886 and Oct 1886