Tales tall and true about the Commercial Hotel, Dargaville...

One of the oldest standing hotels in New Zealand with connections back to the founding father of Auckland, Sir John Logan Campbell, is up for tender with Bayleys and the Dargaville landmark is ripe for a new life.

Marketed by Mike Adams of Bayleys Auckland and David Beattie of Bayleys Whangarei, the Commercial Hotel - built in 1875 for Sir John Logan Campbell - is just a few minutes out of Dargaville’s town centre on River Road which runs parallel to the Northern Wairoa River heading west, and is registered on the Kaipara District Council Plan as a building of Heritage Value.

On a 2464sq m freehold level site, the river front hotel’s doors are now closed and the property which has a CV of $560,000 will be sold with vacant possession.

“The current owner has moved to Auckland and is motivated to sell so there is now the opportunity for someone to ‘reinvent’ the building as, realistically, the building presents opportunities other than a hotel. The wider Kaipara and Hokianga areas are seeing an upsurge in visitors and tourists so the premises do have potential for accommodation or tourism uses,” says Adams.

“The property is zoned commercial under the Kaipara District Council Plan which makes provision for a wide range of activities and it could easily be converted into a backpacker’s lodge, restaurant, art and craft gallery, family home, offices – or any combination of these.”

From the front door of the substantial character building you walk into an area that was the original cloakroom and then through to the main entranceway with an impressive carpeted staircase which leads to the former accommodation level. Original polished Kauri flooring features throughout the ground floor areas with timber panelled walls and trims painted in neutral taupe and white and original high ceilings retained.

The ground level comprises several rooms divided by double French doors and includes lounge areas, a wine bar with a corner alcove and fireplace, dining room, kitchen, office space and the main bar area which features a colonial wrap-around bar with hunting trophies still adorning the walls. Original Kauri fireplace surrounds are still intact and character features have been preserved. The kitchen, while functional and having a current food licence, is in need of an upgrade.

A garden bar area leads off the dining room and beyond this, is a free-standing caretaker’s cottage which has been recently upgraded with a new roof, paint and guttering. It comprises one bedroom, bathroom facilities and a living area.

A humble 1900s tin shed – the original wash house complete with old coppers – is also on site, along with an open-sided car port for five vehicles.

Upstairs in the hotel building, there are 12 bedrooms of varying sizes – four with ensuite facilities and the rest with shared amenities - and generous balconies around two sides of the building.

“There is definitely an opportunity here for someone to secure a piece of New Zealand history and create something special,” says Adams.

“Over the years the building has had various uses including a bank, trading post and an eating house believed to have been run by John Logan Campbell’s wife. It has never burnt down and been rebuilt as so many of New Zealand’s old hotels have been, however, fierce winds that tore through Dargaville in October 2007 ripped the front off the building and that has been carefully rebuilt to ensure the character of the building was maintained.”

Tenders for the Commercial Hotel close on 20 August (unless sold prior by Private Treaty).

A full chattel list is available on request.

Further notes of interest:

• Sir John Logan Campbell had business interests in the Kaipara and Hokianga areas based around landholdings and the kauri industry. It is understood the hotel was mainly frequented by visiting seamen, bush men and forestry workers with loggers coming down from the hills on horseback and tying up at the stables that were originally at the back of the property.
• In 1890, the hotel was in the spotlight when Constable Neil McLeod became the first New Zealand police officer to be shot and killed, near the Mangawhare Wharf which originally belonged to the hotel.
• Many tales tall and true have been spun about the hotel with the current owner saying it is hard to separate fact from fiction given that most stories were told late at night by patrons who had often consumed copious amounts of alcohol, but this only adds to the intrigue of the Commercial Hotel.