Embedded Files
The Island Bay Hotel was built in the early 1880s and was one of the first large European buildings in Island Bay, becoming a major seaside landmark.
Established by early settlers and later run by licensees such as Mrs Wilkinson, it served as a popular destination for day-trippers, holidaymakers, and racegoers from the nearby Island Bay racecourse, as well as a social hub for locals.
When Island Bay voted to go “dry” under local prohibition laws in 1905, the hotel could no longer operate as a licensed premises and its role gradually changed, with the building eventually converted into flats in 1937.
The hotel was demolished andapartments built on the site in 2020
What lies beneath? – not much!
What lies beneath? – not much!
First published in Ngā Ākau ki te Tonga Southern Bays 18 2022
First published in Ngā Ākau ki te Tonga Southern Bays 18 2022
Heat of the Sun
A detailed archaeological report on the site of the now-demolished Island Bay hotel at 20 Trent St was eagerly-awaited by the Society. We had written to the City Council urging such report. The Hotel was built in the early 1880s and was one of the very first, if not the first, large European building here
In its glory days – c1909 ATL PAColl-9044
Before Demolition
The site today
A detailed archaeological report on the site of the now-demolished Island Bay hotel at 20 Trent St was eagerly-awaited by the Society. We had written to the City Council urging such report. The Hotel was built in the early 1880s and was one of the very first, if not the first, large European building here
The building and property were classified as archaeological under the terms of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act (2014) and an archaeological authority was acquired before work started. Under the authority detailed records of the building were required to be made, as well as monitoring as earthworks took place.
Archaeologist Victoria Grouden carried out the work with exacting care but her physical finds were, well, less than exciting given what seemed to be the potential of the site.
The New Zealand Graphic in 1909 recorded that the carrying of prohibition in the electorates of Wellington Suburbs and Wellington South would compel 11 hotels to close their doors by the end of June. The Island Bay hotel is first left, second row. The others are (with original spelling):
The Newtown Hotel (H. G. Houldworth, licensee). Newtown. 2. Ngahauranga (T. W. Chapman). Ngahauranga. 3. The Park (J. A. Lutz). Newtown. 4. Island Bay (Mrs. Wilkinson). Island Bay. 5. The Kilbirnie (G. M. Harden). Kilbirnie. 6. Grosvenor (S. Sweet). Corner Wallace and Taranaki Streets. 7. All Nations (W. W. Middleton), Kaiwarawara. 8. Esplanade (Mrs. Prictor). Thorndon. 9. Star and Garter (H. Dooly), corner Cuba and Webb Streets. 10. White Horse (John Shortis). Ngahauranga. 11. Railway J. J. Ahlers), Johnsonville.
The limited archaeological evidence for the use of the property as a hotel. Some bottles found were dated to after the time the hotel was ‘wet’. Where did the bottles go?
Finds of tea and breakfast ware
Pots and fragments of pots used for personal grooming and toileting
The Island Bay Hotel was a destination for day-tourists, for people wanting a few days off, and for thirsty people enjoying a drink during the time the Island Bay racecourse was operating around what are now Medway, Derwent, Humber Streets and The Parade. When the area went ‘dry’ (voted for local prohibition of the sale of alcohol) in 1905, the hotel could no longer function in the same way, its accommodation finally becoming flats in 1937.
But it could be expected that there would be lots of evidence of the hotel’s quarter-century as a place where alcohol formed a major part of the attraction. Alas, no. Archaeology uncovered what may be a world record for scant evidence of drinking at such a place – just eight alcohol bottles or parts – two black beer bottles, one black Schnapps bottle, one full-sized and one half-sized wine, and one champagne. Clearly, re-use and re-cycling were popular in Island Bay long before the present day – or possibly the hotel had its rubbish carted elsewhere.
Evidence of early Māori use of the land close by raised hopes of finds hundreds of years old and adding to our scant understanding of how the Island Bay area was used before modern times. But nothing was found.
“Initial excavation work concentrated on the area behind the hotel site, on the sloping bank below the rocky outcrop where the location of the Māori kāinga Motu-Haku was potentially identified on the Wellington City District Plan. Turf and topsoil on the lawn and bank area behind the hotel site was systematically stripped down by a depth of up to 300mm along the length of the bank to ascertain whether or not there might have been Maori occupation there. While the soils were fairly dark and rich, this was consistent with use of the area for general gardening and lawn growth. There was nothing to indicate specific Māori occupation that would be typical of a coastal environment like this one, such as shell and/or bone middens or burnt or blackened soils containing rocks and charcoal (earth ovens). The general conclusion was that the Motu-Haku site was unlikely to have been in the specific location of 20 Trent Street”.
ATL 1/1/-00101020-G. Hotel circled.
The results, or lack of them, of this research provide a valuable addition and reinforcement to the work done by the late architect Gerard Hoskins on the history of the Hotel. His research is available at the Society’s collection and we hope will soon be available more widely. The Hotel was ‘Island Bay’ in the minds of many who came to visit in the late 1890s and the early 1900s; along with other entertainment centres such as Cliff House, the Blue Platter and the Crow’s Nest – all businesses trading off the attraction of sea and surf for residents of Wellington.
Victoria Grouden’s work should encourage us, developers, and the Council to look for further opportunities to literally dig into our history. But please – let’s do it professionally and record the findings. Some of the things we might one day find include:
Evidence of the Island Bay Racecourse and grandstand
The remains of past tsunami
Further evidence of Māori use of the area before Pākehā settlement
Traces of early fish processing
Knowledge of when the original forest cover was lost
Marks of the early tramways
Paths of the bullock (?) carts that brought the timber for the early houses
Scars of quarrying of hillside spurs around the valleys
Old tip sites…and much more
Underfloor archaeology. A seemingly original linoleum-type floor covering patterned as a rug beneath lino of a later date
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