Index

THE HISTORIC HOTEL ROYAL

GRAHAMSTOWN,THAMES, NEW ZEALAND. 1904-2008 Formerly the Theatre Hotel Royal and Cafe C1864.

THE HISTORIC EDWARDIAN HUTCH ROYAL HOTEL GRAHAMSTOWN THAMES NEW ZEALAND c 1908

2nd picture ROYAL HOTEL c1906

I I lived for 35yrs in WAIHI another early day gold mining NZ town which was home to the largest open cast mine in the Northern Hemisphere, the MARTHA GOLD MINE. I have a English mate Shirley and we both have a love of old buildings, history and collect old bric a brac........one day in 2000/1 we took a trip to coastal THAMES, and while looking around Grahamstown which is quite historical, with its turn of the century quaint cottages and shops, we ventured into Williamson Street, and straight before us standing in isolated beauty, a becalmed vision of pink and patchwork weatherbeaten wood , was a large turn of the century HOTEL! Wow we couldn't believe our eyes, it looked like something out of Rip van Winkle land, frozen in time ! empty, desolate, looking so time worn and weary....how we would love to have this building and restore it. We were amazed at the sheer neglect, and total lack of maintenance, surely it was a Historic Building?, it looked so very old to us, and also very dilapidated, rotten boards,roof ,with totally rusted out guttering to the fore, what little paint there was, hardly covering the weather worn boards beneath, what a crying shame.

Later on uptown in the main street of Thames, we found out the owners name, who lived on Waiheke Island. We contacted him and made plans to visit and look over this derelict beauty. To cut a long story short, ( I have already written a more in depth story on this..

('A RIGHT ROYAL TALE'), we had a jolly good look over the building from top to bottom!.

It was just so amazing, caught in a time warp, everything was much the same as it had been at least 50yrs ago, I mean to say, hand carved wooden handles? , never saw that before but most fittings had been totally stripped over the years.. Kitchen bare as a pauper's cupboard, no baths, basins, benches, cupboards, light fittings, there used to be a chimney in the far end of large kitchen for the coal range, long gone now. Only one grotty non working toilet, nil in the way of Edwardian fittings to be seen anywhere ..except for some kauri roses on the ceilings, nearly all the fireplace iron registers and tiled surrounds had gone, leaving only the bare mantles. One could feel a tangible presence of history wrapping around one, the silent waiting atmosphere , a hint of tobacco and rustle of silk .....teasing shifting shadows..the Royal Hotel was down but not out!

There was a gorgeous Kauri stair case leading up to the top floor, but minus its grand newel post and the balustrade/screen at the top landing was also missing, it was very ornate by all accounts. One big stained glass window above the stairwell had vanished and was boarded up, with the roof above leaking like the proverbial sieve! New electrical wiring was being put in upstairs, plus a bit of white paint splattered here and there..

By the bedding, half burnt candles and bits and pieces upstairs and down we could see squatters were in residence, with no electricity, cooking or working toilet facilities.....squatters were unfortunately a continuing blight over the years and it is amazing that there were no major fires ...not being up to Council resource residential standards no one should have been living there, or indeed at this present point time.

The owner wanted to sell, and it was low GV at the time, only $100.00, but our offer was not accepted, so time went on, and we often sadly wonder what had happened to our dear old ROYAL....

7 yrs later in Nov., 2008 I see its up for sale once more, so its off to Thames again.....coming around the corner into Williamson Street, there is our lovely gracious ROYAL, looking much the same as she did 7 yrs ago. The blue flowering weed was still growing under the front windows, someone is painting over the pink boards, and busy painting inside and out..WHITE!!, some of the dark paneled wood, ceilings, firemantles..calamity!! The white paint makes the place look bleak & cold. Now both stained glass windows were now gone, with the staircase newel post, the wooden fire escapes, plus one chimney top, hmmm wonder who has that? My friend and I would dearly love to restore this once beautiful thriving HOTEL back to her former beauty and ambience, but......has her haunting EDWARDIAN character now been lost forever? For slowly but surely as a Vampire drains its victim's life blood, the Royal Hotel has been stripped systematically over the years with only the bones remaining. And with the colourful history of deaths, suicide and attempted murder, what do the resident ghosts think of it all? Would they welcome change, or would they rather the present atmosphere of faded decadence & decay of rotting grandeur?

My interest now fully aroused by this very neglected building, I looked online and could find nary a whisper of the ROYAL HOTEL. Oh you will find data on the JUNCTION ,SALUTATION, BRIAN BORU and other Thames hotels but you will not find anything about the gracious ROYAL HOTEL who waits so patiently for loving hands to restore her. But if you are really interested in this elegant Edwardian Lady, go to GOOGLE MAPS, 103 Williamson St., Thames 3500, then Street view, great shots here taken about July/August 2008 going by the autumn leaves, she's still in her shabby 'pink mode', have a good look around, its fascinating!

There were plenty pubs/hotels in THAMES in those vibrant heady days of gold discovery. In the late 1800's nearly 20.000 people and 200 pubs, then it was down to 6 Hotels the end of an era, and the ROYAL HOTEL was one of the victims. I was just amazed to find out so much incredibly exciting history about this beautiful desolate seemingly forgotten building.

A & G PRICE FOUNDRY once owned the ROYAL HOTEL. They used it as storage and accommodation for their Polish workers. I was told by the gentleman who showed us over that it sold in 1991 for over one million dollars- phew! and that it was also used by the THAMES ELECTRICITY DEPT., for storage at some time. From the time the ROYAL HOTEL sold in 1991, for over $ one million dollars, to the time we tried to purchase it in 2002/, a space of 10yrs, the capital value had dropt to a mere paltry $100.000, that in itself speaks volumes. Being a Heritage building it can't be pulled down, next best thing is let it ROT! and rot it surely did...

Anyone can get the latest rates info online @ Thames Council & GV etc., from valuation etc., QV reports.

Here I must add that the present owners are making a valiant effort to tidy up the building, and breath a bit of life back into the old girl, good on them but after years and years of very minimal maintenance its like bailing out a sinking ship with a teacup..

The original Theatre Hotel Royal was built in 1869,and burnt down in July 1903, was rebuilt as the HOTEL ROYAL in 1904/1905. I found an amazing lot of vibrant exciting early history of THE ROYAL & THAMES in PAPERPAST. and the Thames District Council has very helpful with info re the old ROYAL HOTEL .

The flood damage in Grahamstown c 1914 which caused most businesses to relocate to the SHORTLAND, spelt the death knell for Grahamstown and flooding has been an on going problem in the area. There was a state of Civil Emergency called in April 1981. Auda, a girlfriend of mine who was bar manager at that time said the flood water level in the LADY BOWEN was 6ft high. The ROYALHOTEL was also flooded ...a flood water level mark was/is visible on an outside wall, when we inspected it IN 2002. The flood insurance for the area of Thames, Paeroa and Waihi was a staggering $ 19.82 million..

Looking down Brown St., Grahamstown, to the left, you can see the former WHARF HOTEL, now a gracious private residence, further down on the right is the original LADY BOWEN..... now a popular back packers, and at the end across the road stands the time battered, sadly neglected dear old ROYAL Hotel, in all her lonely isolation still clinging valiantly to the pages of Thames History.......

I am a member of 'Historic Places Trust', with a love of Victoriana and the preservation of our Historical Heritage.......

This is my salute to a wonderful classic Edwardian building clinging desperately to the pages of Thames History.

Let me tell you a story of the rip roaring early days of gold mining in

THAMES NEW ZEALAND, and the story of a beautiful Edwardian Hotel slumbering , neglected forgotten, a piece of historical flotsam caught in the leaves of history....

the HOTEL ROYAL, built in c1904...original building 1864.