Theatre build unearths hospitality’s lost history
Excavations for the soon-to-be-built Waikato Regional Theatre in Hamilton’s main street have revealed a surprise – a long-buried beer cellar.
Hidden under the site of the old Hamilton Hotel, which famously burnt to the ground in 1922, the discovery offers a fascinating insight into the early days of the city’s hospitality industry.
However, it could be said to have been in an extremely inhospitable state when it was unearthed by the team building the new theatre – filled with dirt, old bricks and other debris from the fire.
But, among the trash, some treasure has been found. The old cellar has proved a veritable trove for archaeologist and researcher Caroline Phillips, who has been employed as a consultant on the site during the demolition and excavation phase of the $80 million theatre project.
The debris of the old hotel, along with the remains of its predecessor – also on the site, and also destroyed by fire – were, apparently, bulldozed into the underground cellar before a third version of the hotel was built over the top of it, Phillips said.
‘‘It was completely filled with debris, mainly bricks and a few bottles ... It seems like they simply decided to just push it all into the ground after the second fire.’’
Sadly for Waikato’s large population of beer enthusiasts, no actual beer was found amid the flotsam.
However, pieces of fancy crockery indicated the hotel would have been a decidedly well-to-do venue before its destruction. There were also clues that the cellar had been a busy part of the business.
‘‘There would have been an entrance coming in from the pavement [in Victoria St] . . . that would have been where they would have brought the beer in, in barrels, which they would have rolled down.’’
But Phillips relied on more than just the debris to reveal the cellar’s history. A story in the Waikato Times in October 1903 suggested the cellar was built that year, in the then newly constructed second hotel: ‘‘The sample rooms have been extended at the rear and are now large and handsome chambers in keeping with the growing requirements of Hamilton.
‘‘The right-of-way between the sample rooms and the main building has been absorbed into the structure, a cellar being excavated underneath, while a new bar and sitting-room are located on the ground floor, and additional rooms above extend over the whole area of the sample rooms and what was the carriage way.’’
An account of the 1922 fire in another newspaper indicated there may have been more than one cellar: ‘‘The hotel contained an exceptionally large stock, one cellar alone having in it liquor valued at over £1000.’’
Phillips said it was impossible to tell whether the cellar had been part of the first hotel – Gwynne’s Hamilton Hotel – which was built in 1865 and, destroyed
by fire in 1898. After the second fire that famously claimed the life of Sapper Horace Moore-Jones in 1922, the hotel was rebuilt again, this time in masonry and brick – and the old cellar was filled in.
The new hotel was also the scene of many notable events, including being used as lodgings by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip when they visited Hamilton in December 1953.
But now a new era beckons. Due to open in mid-2024, the Waikato Regional Theatre will be a venue for the quality shows and performances by big-name entertainers who have been absent from the city in recent years.
The new building is being constructed by local firm Foster Group. Its work on the theatre site, on the corner of Victoria St and Sapper Moore-Jones Place, has reached the end of the demolition phase – a phase that has taken nine months to complete, as it has included the careful dismantling of the hotel so that many of its heritage elements can be incorporated into the new complex. A facade retention frame has been installed to support the street frontage of the old hotel while the construction of the new theatre gets under way.
While the project is mostly funded, people can still play a part through Momentum Waikato’s Share the Stage campaign, which aims to finance the final $5m needed to ensure the theatre can open on time and debt-free.
Currently, about $1.9m is needed before that goal is met.
The campaign includes initiatives like Take a Seat, through which, by donating $1500 to the theatre either in one go or over several scheduled payments, the names of people, their families, or their business or group title will be permanently displayed on a plaque on a seat in the main auditorium.
To donate or just find out more, people can either visit sharethestage.co.nz/takeaseat or contact Momentum via momentumwaikato.nz/contact.
Over the summer more changes will be seen on the site.
A mural will appear on the fenceline around the site that will depict its history from the 1800s to modern times.
Cranes will be erected, signalling the start of the construction phase of the project.
A general manager for the new theatre will be announced in the near future.