Although the restaurants are no longer functioning, rooms of the Tavistock hotel are still rented out. Photo / Warren Buckland.
Although the restaurants are no longer functioning, rooms of the Tavistock hotel are still rented out. Photo / Warren Buckland.
It was a court house, a church, hotel and meeting place and was home to Waipukurau's first All Black, but what is the Tavistock Hotel's next purpose?
Built by Henry Russell in 1856, the 163-year-old building is for sale.
It's seen travellers from all walks of life cross the polishedwooden floors, enjoying a pint beneath the ornate ceilings.
As is the case with most country and small town hotels, the building has been tossed to the side in the modern age, suffering the hardship of changing licensing laws.
Travellers who once stopped by on horse and cart are now replaced with the hushed sound of cars brushing by.
The once-thriving hub featured in celebrations connected to the opening of the railway bridge on September 6, 1876 and catered for up to 900 guests, many of whom had travelled from Napier and Hastings for occasions.
A survivor of the 1931 earthquake, the building has now become a shadow of its former self, with rumoured ghosts lingering in the halls and upstairs, with a patron who was stabbed in the hotel apparently making his presence felt to staff and guests.
Others have reported hearing a distressed young boy crying in the bar area.
The building is currently owned by Jacky Cheung who lives in Australia and has rubbished any paranormal rumours.
"I've heard of these things, but I've never experienced anything strange in my time owning it," he says.
"Some people who live in the building say they've seen the ghost, I've not seen anything."
Resident Neil Sloane said this room would fill up with travellers from passing steam trains topping up on pints while the train made a brief stop in Waipukurau. Photo / Warren Buckland
The hotel has been on the market for about six months with Cheung saying there has been local interest in the building.
In the last decade it's been home to Breaker's Restaurant, The Oak Room, and Rosie O'Grady's Irish Bar, all of which are currently closed.
CHB resident Neil Sloane used to play in a band at the Tavistock about 25 years ago.
"It used to take off," he said, "I also used to sell papers out there when I was a kid."
"The bar that recently used to be the Oak Room, had a big horseshoe bar and when steam trains used to stop there to top up, the entire train would empty out and into the bar so they could have a top up themselves - the Tavi was famous for that."
Sloane said it also used to take off after the races and was a popular after-work stop for farmers and locals.
"People would pile in at 5pm and then leave at 6pm half chopped."
In 1916 the Tavistock Hotel was moved to its present location on Ruataniwha St.
It was again extended to become a double-storey wooden building with two dining rooms capable of seating up to 100 diners, a commercial room, a billiards room and a stable.
It was originally situated on Mt Herbert Rd opposite the Bowling Club.
In 1922 the hotel was under the management the Keyver family, and was followed by the Irvine family.
They produced Waipukurau's first All Black, Bill Irvine, a hooker whose nickname was Bull.
The Irvines stayed for some years up until the 1930s when they were succeeded by the Limbrick family.
In the last quarter of the 20th century, proprietor Rene Bartrum earned herself a warm reputation as a publican and a caring soul.
Bartrum was said to have died in the hotel, but in reality she had retired and was living in St Mary's Rd, Waipukurau, and died in the Waipukurau Hospital of blood poisoning, in the 1980s.
She came to Waipukurau in 1963, after owning the Maitland Private Hotel in Palmerston North.
Her hotel had been a popular stop for the Howard Morrison Quartet when they travelled the country, and they sought her out at the Tavistock Hotel when she moved, as they enjoyed her hospitality.
Rene was renowned for looking after her guests, paying bills and managing finances for long-stay tenants, and even acting as a banker for truck drivers, who would leave their pay packet with her and request that she manage their money.
It's rumoured "Ma" still resides in the Tavistock, looking after those who currently live there.
Colliers International director Danny Blair said existing the infrastructure in place for the bar and restaurant could be an easy set up for a hospitality provider looking to make the most of Central Hawke's Bay growing community.
"The rooms upstairs could suit seasonal works or be refurbished for boutique accommodation.
"The profile is huge we really just need someone to bring this building back to its former glory."
