A right Royal Hotel in Lumsden
When thinking about his stay in the Royal Mail Hotel in Lumsden, John Husband is reminded of the smell of steamed tea and wine biscuits.
That was the smell to wake him up somewhere in the 1950s-1960s. He would often stop by Lumsden on his travels.
‘‘The days when a lot of the roads from Dunedin and Invercargill that led to the lakes were a mixture of narrow tar seal and gravel and a break was welcome.’’
The hotel was established in 1875, but there does not appear to be any information about its construction or the architect.
All remained relatively quiet for the rest of the hotel’s days, but excitement ran rife at the turn of the 20th century when a fire destroyed the original building.
On September 18, 1900, a fire broke out Mystery surrounded exactly what had happened and in November an inquiry was held.
The Mataura Ensign report reads like a murder-mystery novel, introducing potential guilty parties, each with their own account of what happened that fateful night.
A jury of six, alongside a coroner patiently listened in to the story at the courthouse.
The Royal Mail Hotel housemaid, Jessie Mason, was called on to detail her account of the day.
The hotel’s owner, known only as Mrs Kenning in the article, was said to have left for Invercargill by train about 4.50pm, accompanied by her son, James, and daughter, Abigail.
She had taken over the hotel two years prior.
‘‘Everything went right, and the house was closed at 10pm. Could not say who was the last to leave the house before closing,’’ the article says.
Three boarders were in the house, who were all reported to have gone to bed just after 10pm.
Kenning’s daughter, Maude, and Mason went to bed in the same room, but soon after heard something eerie out in the hotel.
‘‘Just after going to bed they heard a noise of kicking and breaking in of a door. They called Mr Martin, who was sleeping in the next room to see what was the matter. Next heard windows being smashed in and someone calling out ‘fire!’’’
The detailed account recorded by the Mataura Ensign goes on to say the ‘‘inmates’’ managed to escape outside only to see a raft of flames devouring the dining room.
The witnesses were uncertain of where the fire started, or how.
But then turned up a suspicious box owned by Maude, which miraculously survived the devastating fire, Mason says.
In her witness statement, Maude says the box had been in her room for months before the fire.
The morning after the fire, Maude took the box to town.
‘‘She thought it better to go than wire. Mr Paterson lent her the money to pay the fares, but several offered her the money.’’
The article rouses suspicion about the box, but it appears the box was simply filled with items belonging to Mrs Kenning.
It was later established the fire started at the top of the window in Mrs Kenning’s bedroom.
‘‘The Coroner told the jury that not a tittle of evidence had been given to cast suspicion on any one in connection with the fire, and the coincidence of the boxes being sent away on the day of the fire had been explained.’’
The jury established the fire had not been caused by sparks from a locomotive, the article wound up.
The hotel survived the 20th century and it became the local watering hole for the locals of the small town.
In May 2005, The Southland Times reported on its final pint poured and put the closure down to ‘‘time and circumstances catching up with the aging icon.’’
‘‘The no-smoking law (introduced in December 2004) did affect us. Some of our clientele who had been coming here for years found it hard to adjust to going outside for a smoke,’’ former owner Brian Chamberlain said at the time.
In the 15 years leading up to its 2005 closure, Chamberlain said the hotel had provided meals for the Lumsden Maternity Unit, Meals on Wheels and day care for the elderly.
At the time, the building was sold to a Lumsden company which ‘‘planned to expand its consultancy business and convert the hotel into more spacious offices and conference areas,’’ The Southland Times reported.
Later in October, it was reported the hotel would become a rural hotel and conference centre.
These days, the hotel is used by farm management and consultancy business, FarmRight.
Its distinguishing features remain intact.
Windows that once sat in front of hotel rooms, a pointed roof shooting up from the middle of the building, and green and white striped over hang that sits on top of the doorway.
Before the Lumsden Hotel was closed for renovations, it was one of two hotels in the township.