WAITAKI HOTEL — THEN & NOW
OUR PAST
The story of the Waitaki Hotel is inseparable from the story of Kurow itself.
Kurow grew rapidly in the late 19th century as the railway pushed into the upper Waitaki Valley. Surveyed in 1880 and established as the railhead by 1881, the town quickly became a busy service centre for surrounding farms, railway workers, and travellers. Many of Kurow’s distinctive limestone buildings date back to this hard-working era.
Hospitality arrived early. In 1860, The Bridge Hotel opened on what is now Liverpool Street, near the Kurow railway station. The hotel’s history was eventful, with changing owners, shifting licences, and fires. Around 1894 to 1900, J. O’Neill was the proprietor. On 6 October 1908, the hotel was destroyed by fire, when the owner was Mrs Delargy and the licensee was Mr J. Cahill. William Goddard, a Yorkshire-born coach operator who moved to Kurow when the railway arrived, was closely associated with the Bridge Hotel during this period.
Behind the present-day Waitaki Hotel stands the Stone Outbuilding, believed to have been built in the early 1880s as part of Goddard’s Bridge Hotel complex. Used in connection with the hotel’s stables and service areas, it is one of the last physical links to Kurow’s earliest hospitality history and remains on the site today.
The original Bridge Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1907–1908, closing an important chapter in the town’s development. A new era followed with the construction of the Waitaki Dam in the late 1920s and early 1930s, bringing renewed growth to the region. In 1940, the Waitaki Hotel was built to replace the earlier hotels, continuing the tradition of welcoming locals and travellers alike.
Designed in the bold Art Deco style of the time, reflecting the optimism of the dam project, the Waitaki Hotel became a landmark in Kurow and remains a central part of the town to this day.
OUR PRESENT
The Waitaki Hotel has continued to evolve alongside the Kurow community.
Following its construction in 1940, the hotel operated for many years under different owners and, at times, under different trading names. For a period, the hotel was known locally as the Tui Hotel, a name remembered by many in the community and reflecting a later phase of the building’s working life. In more recent years, the hotel returned to the name Waitaki Hotel, reconnecting it with the wider district and its history.
In mid-2022, the current custodians began the latest chapter of the hotel’s story. The focus has been on maintaining the building’s role as a central meeting place in Kurow, while updating its facilities and offering to meet the needs of today’s locals and travellers.
The hotel continues to operate as a public bar, dining venue, and accommodation provider. It serves a wide cross-section of the community, including local residents, workers, and visitors passing through the upper Waitaki Valley or travelling the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail. Food and drink offerings emphasise a broad, approachable selection, with attention given to local and regional producers.
More than 80 years after it was built, the Waitaki Hotel remains a working hotel, carrying forward a long tradition of hospitality on this site that stretches back to Kurow’s earliest days.
