A.C. Baths

About the A.C Baths

Soap/no soap

In the 1870s the men of the Armed Constabulary soaked in the pools and drank their cares away at Lofley’s Glen (now the Spa Hotel). Lofley had a small house nearby where, for a price, he would accommodate those in poor health who had come to heal themselves in the beneficial waters of his bath house. He also sold beer and the Armed Constabulary members were good patrons of his services.

However, Lofley raised the price of his beer and the enraged constables boycotted his bar. He then forbade them the use of his bath house.

The Armed Constabulary men then sought permission from the Government to make their own baths beside a spring not far away. They dug out a pool and lined it with tōtara slabs and built a small changing shed alongside. Over the years new pools and sheds were added. The name A.C (Armed Constabulary) Baths stuck.

With no reticulated water in Taupo until the 1950s generations of residents armed with towels and soap regularly bathed in the pools. The upgraded pools of the 1960s however banned the use of soap advertising this with large signs