POOR STANDARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27345, 22 March 1950, Page 4

POOR STANDARD

Accommodation At Queenstown

Licensed Hotels

REPORTS TO COMMISSION

Staff Reporter QUEENSTOWN, Mar. 21. With the exception of the White Star Hotel, the standard of accommodation of the Queenstown licensed hotels was below what was required at such an important tourist resort, stated evidence presented by the police and health witnesses to the Licensing Control Commission at Queenstown today. In the case of Mcßride’s Hotel, it was said that the building was beyond repair. The Mayor of Queenstown, Dr W. A. Anderson, said that retention of all four licences was necessary, and other witnesses presented the case for hotels scattered round the district. The members of the commission are Mr A. M. Goulding, S.M., chairman, Colonel B. Barrington and Mr L. C. Nisbet.

Appearing for Mrs Sarah Lewis, owner of the Welcome Home Hotel at Long Gully, Mr B. P. Sheehan said that Mrs Lewis would be surrendering the licence. The chairman said it would not be necessary for the commission to hear formal evidence. Under the regulations, Mrs Lewis could surrender the licence and still get compensation as the commission thought fit. Condition of Hotels Inspector H. H. Russell produced police reports on the hotels in the area under review. Regarding Eichardt’s, it was said that the hotel was owned by the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company and had been erected in 1871. The hotel, which used to have a world-wide reputation, was in a poor state of repair. Replastering work was now being done to the frontage of the building, and some interior improvement had been carried out in recent years. The reporj; said that the company was “ in a big way ” as a transport operator, and throughout the years its interest and been concentrated in transport and not in - the hotel.

Of the Mountaineer Hotel, the report said that the hotel was built between 1860 and 1870, There had been some improvements in the last 10 years, but the standard of accommodation was only fair. Plans and specifications for a new hotel had been prepared some years ago by the former licensee, but he did not proceed with the idea. Mcßride’s, which was built in 1860-70, was in poor condition, and the police and health authorities were agreed that the building was beyond repair.

The White Star Hotel, the report continued, had been renovated completely in the past four years and was the only hotel offering accommodation approaching the expected standard. Dealing with hotels outside Queenstown proper, the report said that the hotel at Kingston served a useful purpose as a rail and boat terminus, while the hotel at Glenorchy justified retention of the licence there. Arthur’s Point Hotel

“The Arthur’s Point Hotel, which is a relic of the early days and was bunt in 1870 or, earlier,” the report.continued. “ The building is in a *poor state of repair, and the population of the district is very small. The hotel is considerably below a reasonable standard, and repairs or renovations are out of the question. Retention of the licence would demand a complete •rebuilding.” - . '

Cross-examined by »Mr J. R. Mills, counsel for the licensee, Constable P. D. Dougherty, who presented the report on the hotel, said if there were good accommodation at Arthur’s Point the hotel would be an asset to the district.

The chairman: If there were adequate accommodation, would anyone go to Arthur’s Point? Witness: I should not imagine so. The hotel was used a lot in the ski-ing season, he added. If visitors could not get other accommodation anywhere else, they were forced to go to Arthur’s Point.

The chairman: If a new hotel were to be built, would it be better at Queenstown? Witness: Yes. Praise for Licensee

The Ferry Hotel, Shotover, was very old, but was in a fair state of repair, said Constable G. S. Ogilvie, presenting the report on the hotel. “The present licensee has few equals in New Zealand,” the constable told the commission. “The hotel is well patronised by the travelling public, but were it not for the present licensee the hotel would serve little useful purpose.” Robert McCone, district inspector of the Southland Health District, said he confirmed the police reports on the Queenstown hotels. He commented on the “ little bit of overcrowding ” in the bedrooms. Frederick John Lucas, managing director of an aerial transport company, in giving evidence of the value of the Ferry Hotel at Lower Shotover, in accommodating visitors arriving by air at the Frankton airfield, said that the company would carry six or seven passengers a week. “The company is in process of starting an air service to Dunedin,” Mr Lucas told the commission. "We are now awaiting the licence, and we should make three trips a week. The company will be going in for twinengined aircraft.” Development of Queenstown

Dr W. A. Anderson, Mayor of Queenstown, said it was estimated that the population of the borough of Queenstown was about 1000. The last census showed it at 854, but a steady increase had been noted since then. At peak holiday periods the ’town accommodated between 6000 and 7000 people at one time. “The Queenstown Borough Council nas set up a committee to watch the future developments of the town, and it is visualised that a considerable area will be taken into the borough in the near future to cater for the great demand for building sections,” the Mayor said. “ Queenstown is becoming a popular choice with many who wish to retire here, and sections in the town are at present unprocurable. “ Queenstown is a tourist resort of world renown, and is growing in popularity yearly,” he continued. “It & estimated that 70,000 to 100,000 tourists pass through the town annually, and some 7000 to 10,000 cannot be catered for through lack of accommodation.

“ There are four licensed hotels in the township,” he added, “ and with the exception of one hotel they offer very little in the way of modern amenities as is expected by tourists in a resort of this class. Although Queenstown has a number of private boarding houses and bed and breakfast establishments, and many private residences take in sleepers, there is still a sad lack in accommodation. “ The accommodation offering today is probably less than that of 20 years ago,” the Mayor said. “ I have no hesitation in stating that the demand in Queenstown is for definitely more accommodation and accommodation of a superior type to fulfil the requirements of the tourists and especially the overseas traveller. Two camping grounds cater for a large section of the travelling public. The Queenstown Borough Council camping ground alone accommodates over 2000 people at peak periods. The Mountain View pri-vately-owned camping ground offers a superior type of cabin. The huts and cabins in both of these grounds are always booked well in advance for peak periods as well as being kept occupied by the travelling public for the greater part of the year. The Mayor said that Queenstown, which had only a seasonal trade a few years ago, could now boast of a practically all-year-round trade, with the opening up of one of the finest ski-ing

grounds in the country. Many conferences would be held at Queenstown if it were not for lack of accommodation, the Mayor added. Many tourists had prophesied that Queesntown was only in its infancy as a resort, and with air travel coming into its own, together with better access roads, the call on the town would be increasingly greater each season.

“The Queenstown Borough Council strongly recommends that the existing publicans’ licences within or adjacent to the borough are a necessity,” the Mayor declared. “In many cases the hotels at Arthur’s Point and Lower Shotover and the two hotels in Arrowtown accommodate the overflow from Queenstown as well as serving the needs of their respective surroundings. The council suggests that additional tourist house licences should be allocated in this town, as many over-, seas tourists cannot secure accommodation at the licensed premises, and consequently have to stay at private boarding houses. Nearly all ’ these tourists expect the services obtainable at a licensed hotel at their disposal. The council considers that the existing bhr accommodation is meeting the reasonable needs of the public.” Plans for Tourist Hotel Cross-examined by Inspector Russell, Dr Anderson said that the general amenities of the licensed hotels in Queenstown were not up to standard. Asked by the chairman who would be prepared to build a large tourist hotel, Dr Anderson said it was generally understood that the last Government had the plans and site ready. The chairman: It looked like a foregone conclusion that the Government was contemplating a modern tourist hotel?

Witness: Yes, with 200 bedrooms and a restaurant with a bar attached.

Mr B. P. Sheehan, counsel for j two Queenstown licensees, asked witness whether the Queenstown Borough Council had received a letter from a local licensee asking for a stretch of land along the waterfront near the wharf to build a modern hotel. Dr Anderson said that the letter had been received but had been too late for the last meeting and had not yet been considered by the council. It was an area of about three-eighths of an acre, which was at present laid out in lawns.

t ?uy Haslam Bleakley, clerk of the Lake County Council, said the hotels in the area around Queenstown were of great historical interest. There were many people who wanted to stay at hotels, not of the four or five-star standard,, but in quiet places, where they could relax. These small country hotels were a definite necessity for the travelling public and local inhabitants.

Application for House Licence

The private guest house was taking the burden of the accommodation demand in Queenstown, but the publican was reaping the profit. The granting of licences to suitable guest houses would do something towards solving Queenstown's accommodation problems, said Mr J. C. Parcel!, of Cromwell, in a submission on behalf of Charles Lloyd Veint, of the Golden Terrace Guest House, who was applying for a house licence. Veint said there was a demand for liquor by his guests. Many.of them brought their own supplies, and there was frequently a demand for a jug of water and some glasses. 'A proportion of the overseas tourists wanted liquor. The chairman of the commission said that if it were decided to grant a tourist house licence the commission would possibly fix an area such as the borough of Queenstown, and it would then be left to applicants to come forward to the Licensing Committee.

Mr Parcell said that licences should be put where they were most attractive. “Putting them m a back street will do nothing towards building this town up,” he declared. Wholesale Licence Wanted

Evidence in support of a wholesale licence for Queenstown was placed before the commission. Two petitions signed by the hotelkeepers of Queenstown and the surrounding district, and by residents, were preesnted. j., Ra \^^ ai P es Buchham, proprietor of the Wakatipu Cordial Factory, said that if the granting of a licence was authorised he would make application for it.

During the hearing the chairman remarked that the commission contemplated one wholesale licence for every 10,000 of population. Queenstown hardly had the population to justify a licence.

Witnesses pointed to the pressing need for a wholesale licence for the scattered districts of Central Otago.