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The cake was cut by Greg and Geraldine Kasper, and Lynette Murphy (right).
Performing one of his last duties as MP for Rodney, Mark Mitchell unveiled the plaque commemorating the hotel’s return to service.
The doors of the 156-year-old Warkworth Hotel officially reopened on Friday, October 16, following a more than $3 million restoration project, which took about 18 months to complete.
Owned by the Real Living Group, the hotel is part of the Oaks on Neville retirement village complex.
The downstairs, which not so long ago accommodated a tattooist, sushi bar and billiards room, has been transformed into a modern bar and dining room. The upstairs area will provide a social venue for village residents, with the intent that it will be available for public hire as well.
After a welcome by Real Living director Chris Murphy, a few words by director Greg Kasper and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by MP Mark Mitchell, guests were invited to tour the downstairs area. Praise for the restoration was unanimous.
The hotel was built in 1864 by John Southgate, who was a pioneer in the manufacture of hydraulic lime for the building industry in Auckland. Originally from Glasgow, his first tavern and accommodation establishment was on the Mahurangi River, just below where the cement works now stand.
When he built the two-storey hotel in Queen Street, the property covered four acres. It had adjoining stables and Southgate brewed his own beer to ensure a reliable supply, and it was Southgate who planted the landmark Norfolk pine at the front of the building.
In his obituary, he was recognised, along with John Anderson Brown, as one of the founding fathers of Warkworth. The obituary stated that, “Mr Southgate’s generous and liberal nature will long be remembered by all the old settlers of this district; for, whenever an emergency of any kind occurred, Southgate was the man to extricate any unfortunate from the difficulty.”
He was married twice, fathering 10 children with his first wife, who died in childbirth, and three children to his second wife.
The next publican was Walter Bartley Montgomery, of Auckland, who purchased the hotel for £500. Southgate apparently put the business on the market after “getting religion”. Less than a year later, Montgomery sold the pub to John Brebner for £900. Brebner subsequently sold to Andrew Irwin, and by 1879 the hotel was in the hands of George Such, an old Crimean campaigner who was known to have a stock of stories from the “Rooshin (sic) war” that he was happy to share across the bar. Henry Kerr bought the hotel from Such in 1901 for £2000. Arthur and Jennie Holliday leased the pub from Kerr for many years before purchasing it and then selling to D. and E. Smith, who were the last private owners before NZ Breweries (a forerunner of Lion Breweries) took it over in 1939. For many years, it was run by managers.
In 2003, Rod Jones sold to Rob and Trisha Vincent, who also bought Warkworth Mitre 10, which operated behind the hotel for a few years.
The hotel became the centre of community concern in 2006 when Winslow Properties unveiled plans to cut down the oak trees in Neville Street and build a six-storey hotel complex on the site. The project was quickly christened ‘Son of Nautilus’. The Rodney District Council subsequently stepped in and made the controversial decision to purchase the land and hotel for $4.2 million in 2007. Council sold it to the current owners in 2010 for the bargain price of just over $3 million.
The hotel has had several name changes over the years including Southgate’s Inn, the Mahurangi, the Warkworth Inn, the Establishment, and the Hotel.
It had a long association with the Freemasons until the Masonic Lodge was built in 1883 in Baxter Street.
From austere beginnings, the original hotel has been enlarged and refurbished. In 1900 and 1910, verandahs were added on both levels, along with a billiards room and fire escapes.
The hotel has been a focal point of the town, with many socials held there after local yacht races, the A&P Show, and the Kowhai Festival. It was a favourite watering hole for American servicemen stationed in the area during World War II, and even the odd rodeo horse has been entertained at the bar.
In 1953, the room tariff was 29 shillings and sixpence a day.
When world-famous cellist Theo Saltzman dined at the hotel in the 1950s he commented: “When anybody in England asks me where in New Zealand I can obtain a good meal, I shall say ‘In Warkworth’.”
Since 1982, the hotel has had an Historic Places Trust Category 2 listing.
“After the first ploughing match, more than 70 gentlemen dined at Southgate’s hotel and the following year, a diner wrote, “Accustomed as I am to the excellence of Mrs Southgate’s cuisine, on this occasion she has surpassed herself”. Catering for large groups was not uncommon. In 1901, Mr Kerr produced meals for 64 officers and men, and fodder for 64 horses when the Northern Wairoa Mounted Volunteers spent a night in the Masonic hall. – 1866”
While working as a housemaid at the hotel from 1958 to 1961, Rosalie Bradnam’s job was to wake guests up at 7am with a cup of tea. “The rules for staff were quite strict. Men were not allowed in our rooms under any circumstance.” Rosalie is now a resident at the Oaks on Neville Village.
Place of employment
Mavis Russell (nee Langman) worked at the hotel from 1960 to 1964 as a maid, waitress and cook. She remembers the hotel being a busy place, full of travelling salesmen during the week and sportspeople on weekends. The salesmen were peddling everything from cigarettes and linen to farm machinery. Three barmen lived-in downstairs, and two rooms upstairs were also for staff. The other nine rooms could accommodate up to 12 guests. Mavis’ wedding reception was held in the dining room in 1964. She then left the employ of the hotel, which was a common practice for young married women in those days.
References: Warkworth Museum archives, archivist Judy Waters, Warkworth Roundabout by Harry Bioletti, Papers Past, Mavis Russell, Jack Keys’ Mahurangi: The Story of Warkworth
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