SALE OF HOTEL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19453, 12 October 1937, Page 4

SALE OF HOTEL

MATAWAI PROPERTY HOUSE WITH A HISTORY SPEC] AL LEGISLATION MR. R. G. CAULTON RETIRES The retirement of Mr. R. G. Caulton from the management of the Matawai Hotel, announced in yesterday’s issue of the Heralu, coincides with the completion of a deal by which the house becomes the property of Messrs D. .1. Barry, Ltd., Gisborne, and New Zealand Breweries, Ltd., jointly. The hotel is located on the main north highway, and is an up-to-date and highly convenient hotel, with a reputation for first class service to district residents and the travelling public.

Few hotels in the district—or in the North Island —have had a more interesting history than that involved in the sale from Mr. R. G. Caulton to the well-known firms named as the new owners. The hotel was founded in 1889, when Mr. Christian Hansen took up land at Motu, adjacent to the ford at the Motu River on the military road to Opotiki.

Mr. Hansen's purchase of the land from the Government was made on the condition that he erected an accommodation house there, and for a time meals and accommodation were made available to travellers in a rough shack on low ground near the river. This site was susceptible to flooding, however, and Mr. Hansen later moved it to higher ground, timber for the new building being pit-sawn from the heavy standing bush which had to be felled to clear the site, and roof iron being packed from Gisborne, an arduous and exhausting process which the Motu pioneer took in his stride. Difficulties in the Early Days As an indication of the difficulties faced by Mr. Hansen in the early years of his venture, it may be mentioned that the nearest cleared land to Motu was at Poututu, 25 miles away; and that pack-horses required for Mr. Jansen's work were pastured there, being taken to and fro whenever their services were required. If a load was to be conveyed from Gisborne, Mr. Hansen would tramp afoot the 25 miles from his home to Poututu, catch his horses, ride on to town, load up, drive his team pack to Motu over many miles of muddy track, and, having unloaded, return them to Poututu.

After that was accomplished, he faced the 25-mile journey afoot back to Motu. Each of these excursions occupied a week, but despite the delays Mr. Hansen’s new accommodation house, a building of eight rooms, was completed in good time, and became a most popular hostelry, serving a continually increasing volume of traffic on the road between Gisborne and Opotiki. The erection of a saw mill in heavy bush near the township was another enterprise undertaken by Mr. Hansen, and in time the surrounding country became settled and the bush cleared, Mr. Edward Richardson being the first to farm land in the Motu Valley. Changes in Ownership In 190 G, Mr. Christian Hansen disposed of his interests in the Motu Hotel to his son, Mr. Fred Hansen, and Mr. W. Bright, the partners subsequently disposing of the house to Mr. Alex Caulton, who in 1914 built the new Motu Hotel, in which a portion of the older building was incorporated. He held the house until 1922, when Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Caulton bought the hotel and took up their residence there. Under their management, it continued to prosper and maintained a reputation for being one of the most up-to-date hostelries in the country districts of New Zealand.

The construction of the new highway through the Waioeka Valley, and the diversion of traffic by that route, spelt the end of prosperity for Motu township. The volume of through traffic on which the hotel had thrived for many years now branched off at Matawai, and though the house still enjoyed popularity with holiday-mak-ers from Gisborne, it was realised that Matawai was the logical location for an hotel built to serve the travelling public. Transfer to Matawai Repeated petitions by Mr, R. G. Caulton for a transfer of the permit failed, but in 1934 the House of Representatives adopted a legislative amendment empowering the Bay of Plenty Licensing Committee to deal with the application, on the general grounds that the license was intended to provide travelling people with accommodation and other necessaries of comfort,, and that by placing the hotel at Matawai that purpose woula be more amply served. The change was supported by public opinion and followed the strongest possible representations in Parliament.

Not much time was lost in making the change, and the large two-storied building which for so long had been a landmark of Motu township was taken down in sections and the materials removed to Matawai, where they were employed in the erection of the fine building of modern design now serving its purpose at Matawai. During their long association with the hotel, Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Caulton have been highly popular, and the retirement of Mr. Caulton from the hotel business owing to ill-health will be regretted by all who have gained his acquaintance in private or business connections. Mr. Caulton has been in the business of hotel-keeping for 3C years, and has an exceptional record ,in regard to the orderliness and good management of the premises for which he has held licenses during that lengthy period.