Abstract

The historic Rotorua spa complex in New Zealand, described in its promotional material as ‘Cureland’, provides a case study of the appeal of a holistic approach to health, incorporating diet, massage, and hydrotherapy, as well as the supposedly uplifting influence of scenery and the inspirational impact of music and genteel artworks. Its contemporary relevance is that the whole spa programme was an analogue to current health makeovers and the search for wellness. The healing process was managed by experts and the patients were encouraged to adopt an external health locus of control, in which they were described as victims of modern civilisation. A belief in the curative effects of mineral waters was reinforced by gadget quackery in the form of electrical equipment. Though treatments ceased in the 1960s, the spa remains a useful metaphor for enduring attempts to restore health in a specialised facility, available largely to a particular social class, and where the status and exclusiveness of the location are paramount.