Demolition crews move in on iconic North Auckland pools

It was the beginning of the end of an era for an iconic Auckland destination, as demolition crews moved into the Waiwera Thermal Resort in North Auckland on Monday.

The pools have a history spanning generations, and many Aucklanders feel nostalgic for its notorious slides the Black Hole, Twister, and Speedslide.

But in recent years they have fallen into disrepair, and now its current owners think their best prospect is to flatten the site and start afresh.

'Race you to the bottom?' used to be a call that rang out from the towers as kids lined up to launch themselves down the slides that curled around each other to the hot pools below.

But in more recent times the only race to the bottom was around the maintenance of the facilities at Waiwera, with former operators and leaseholders - including an interesting cast of Russian oligarchs and American diamond tycoons - failing to invest and allowing the pools to rust and decay.

The only voices ringing out were those of vandals who scaled the wavy walls to smash, deface, and pull apart whatever nature had not done by itself.

Local resident Ann Sherwin said it was a far cry from the Waiwera of old.

"I used to go over to aquarobics over there, and I thought, 'Oh, this is great, I can just walk across the road, and this is wonderful'."

She was glad the demolition crew had finally moved in if it meant an end to the trespassers disturbing the neighbourhood.

"We've had a problem with people climbing into the pools and the security side of it, which hasn't been so nice.

"We've spoken to a few people and decided maybe we back off and keep away from that.

"It wouldn't be so safe for kids climbing over into the pools either - we were concerned about that more than anything."

Waiwera Property Owners and Residents' Association chairperson Kay Scott remembered the precinct as a buzzing, happy place.

"Fun, laughter, lots of parties, good times.

"[It was] vibrant; the whole place was full - chocka."

Scott wanted to see Waiwera restored to its former glory, not just for the hot pools themselves but for the flow-on benefits the entire community felt.

"I feel for businesses because there's just nothing around," she said.

While local businesses had experienced a downturn since the busloads of tour groups disappeared, there had been visitors of another sort, with films and TV shows such as Cowboy Bebop shooting onsite, and police using the grounds for training exercises.

Now, all that had come to an end, with demolition company Union Demolition moving in.

Contractors said they had nine weeks to get the job done - no mean feat considering the scale of the 1.7-hectare park and all the infrastructure it contained.

In the office building at the entrance to the pools, Checkpoint entered a file room which vandals had trashed.

Inside, a treasure trove of history was strewn about: Documents detailing decades of transactions, pictures showing the resort in its heyday as a spa facility, rolls of film providing a glimpse into parties of the past.

There were lifeguard uniforms, potentially ditched on the last day the pools were in operation in 2017, and perhaps the saddest of all, plans for the resort's future left discarded on the floor.

However, current owners Urban Partners were now looking for new opportunities for the site.

Chief executive officer Greig Staples said Waiwera held a special place in the hearts of Aucklanders.

"The prospect of a much-needed upgrade in 2018 initially brought excitement, but when the operators went into liquidation the resort was in an unviable state."

In the last five years, vandals had damaged the property further, he said.

"It is now at the point where the existing structures offer no value to a buyer, and it will be a positive for the wider community to remove what is left of the buildings."

In 2022, realtor Colliers was tasked with finding a joint venture partner or buyer for the resort, including the thermal facilities and campground.

Colliers director of site sales Josh Coburn said since then, the site's dereliction had been a big hurdle for any interested parties.

"A sale fell through and the need to take a slightly different approach became obvious," he said.

"It became clear to us over the course of that advertising that the dilapidated infrastructure up there was really not going to feature in any way in any redevelopment.

"In the interest of the community up there, cleaning the place up and [giving it] a fresh start - we felt that was the right thing to do, to give a blank sheet of paper for the next developer to cast their impression on."

While an outright sale was not completely off the table, Coburn said the site could also be split up for three different developments, and had potential for a range of tourist attractions, hospitality ventures, and accommodation.

"Undoubtedly, parties are going to use the thermal waters - it's a big plus, a big selling point at the site - but probably not in exactly the same way that they were being used previously.

"It's really exciting to see what's going to take place."