Secrets which have lain hidden for more than 100 years have been uncovered in Dunedin yesterday. Nigel Benson explores a grand old hotel.
A Dunedin landmark has been revisited by its past.
The Southern Cross Hotel on Princes St was known as the Grand Hotel when it was built in 1883 by brothers James and John Watson.
Three descendants of the Watson family visited Dunedin on Friday to explore their ancestors' grand design.
David Watson (69), Lynnette May (66) and Gordon Watson (59), of Auckland, are great-grandchildren of James Watson and were given a tour of the original building remains by Scenic Hotel Southern Cross general manager Richard de Graaf.
"It's brilliant. Absolutely marvellous. It's 120-odd years since a Watson walked in here.
It's a bit spooky, actually. It's like walking in our ancestors' footsteps," Gordon said.
"You get a real sense of belonging. A lot of people go through their lives and don't know where they came from. This is where our New Zealand roots began. I feel like I belong here."
William, James and John Watson arrived in New Zealand in the early 1860s with the surname Calcraft.
However, they soon decided that having the same surname as notorious English hangman William Calcraft was not going to be good for business.
Calcraft was still practising his black craft in England at the time and people whispered his name.
"We could be related to Calcraft the hangman. We're not sure. But the association with the name would have been enough for the common man to make that assumption.
"There were many British immigrants who were familiar with that name," Gordon said.
The brothers subsequently adopted their maternal grandmother's surname, Watson.
From 1870 to 1883, they ran the Royal Hotel, Empire Hotel and Commercial Hotel on the site where the the Southern Cross stands today.
The Otago Daily Times reported the opening of the opulent new hotel on October 8, 1883.
"It is estimated that fully 6000 persons visited Messrs J. and J. Watson's Grand Hotel on Saturday, when the proprietors threw it open for public inspection.
"Everybody was astonished at the magnificence and taste of the interior work and fittings. There seems to be no question that Dunedin can claim in the Grand Hotel a hotel decidedly unequalled in the Australasian colonies."
The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand was even more effusive in 1901.
"The whole hotel is furnished with a degree of luxury and taste seldom seen, except in the leading hotels of Europe.
"Two beer cellars and a large wine cellar are in the basement and are stocked with the best and most expensive brands of wines, liquors and cigars.
"The whole of the fittings are the work of local tradesmen and were manufactured entirely in Dunedin. The Messrs Watson in this respect having evinced a commendable desire to encourage local industries.
"The great advantage of the work being done by local firms being that they are always on the spot to answer for the success of their handiwork ... instead of people being compelled to send the English article home to the makers for repairs."
The contemporary Watsons were in awe of the original vestiges of the hotel which remain in use today, including the staircase and ornate mosaic floors.
"You can see the women coming up the staircase in their long dresses and the men in their suits," Mrs May said.
"It's just magnificent. It closes the circle for us."
The Watson brothers leased the land from businessman John Sidey for an annual rent of 1965.
But due to a "ratchet clause" in the lease, which linked the rent to the hotel profits, they were forced into bankruptcy 10 years later, in 1893.
"They didn't own the land and the 'ratchet clause' ruined them.
"They owed about 6000, but the lender who loaned them the money on-sold the debt to the landlord, who evicted them. So he got the whole lot for 6000," Gordon said.
"To today's businessman, that would be a foolish thing to do. Why put that much money into something on land you didn't own? 40,000 was an absolute fortune in those days.
We think they made most of their money in the Otago goldfields," David added.
"But it's wonderful to be here. There's such a great sense of history here for us."
William Watson was killed in 1899 in a shunting accident at the Burnside railway yard, while James died in 1901 and John in 1915.
The hotel was renamed the Southern Cross after a 1968 Evening Star competition, which attracted more than 2400 suggestions.
The Watson siblings return to Auckland tomorrow.
Their ancestors' grand hotel remains - still one of Dunedin's premier hotels 129 years on.
History
- The first hotel on the site at 118 High St was the Empire Hotel, established in 1862.
- It was demolished in 1880 to make way for the Grand Hotel, which was completed in 1883 for brothers James and John Watson for 40,000.
- Designed by prominent Italian architect Louis Boldini, it was considered at the time to be the most luxurious hotel in the southern hemisphere, with fittings including the first Otis lift in New Zealand.
