Vulcan Hotel, St Bathans NZ

Today's Vulcan Hotel at St Bathans in Central Otago, New Zealand began trading as the Ballarat in 1882.

A brief overview follows to set the scene:

Fire destroyed the original Vulcan situated on Block II, Section 1 on the morning of 27 September 1931. The prospect of losing the hotel licence was therefore looming unless alternative premises could be found. In order to maintain trading uninterrupted, the Vulcan hotel name and liquor licence were transferred to the then-vacant Ballarat hotel, a mere three sections away. The hotels' histories are somewhat entwined as will be gleaned from the timeline that follows.

When the Ballarat was constructed in 1882 it was reputed to be the first adobe-built hotel in Otago, if not the country. The Ballarat site stands on Block I, Section 16, Town of St Bathans.

If anyone can add to these historical notes, please email me. The above photo of the current Vulcan hotel was taken during my visit in 2001.

Timeline

1864

Samuel Spencer Hanger arrived in New Zealand on the Aldinga in November 1862 (fact). As a precursor to the more permanent hotel which he later built and named the Vulcan in 1869, there is a suspicion that Samuel may have opened his first public house c1864 (unconfirmed).

Under canvas would have been the order of the day then - not what you would call a long term, robust structure. But the temporary facility would have served its purpose for dispensing liquor to the thirsty miners arriving in search of gold following its discovery the previous year. Mary, his wife arrived from Melbourne in January 1864.

Dunstan Creek, as the settlement was then known became St Bathans in 1866. Samuel, a blacksmith by trade, was not entirely new to the hotel industry nor was he without experience, having managed the Sir Robert Nickle hotel in Upper Hawthorn, a Melbourne suburb, from 1855 to 1858. He was the licensee of the family-owned hotel belonging to his father-in-law, Joseph Pattison.

St Bathans' humble beginning was typical of many gold mining towns which took shape overnight. The first shelters were mostly tents or primitive sheds that were never intended to last too long, given the fickle nature of gold mining.

Source Otago Daily Times, 30 September 1931 P10
Clyde Notes

Three fires are said to have caused damage to the original Vulcan hotel. Details of the 1889 and 1931 fires are known. It's such a pity that no details have yet emerged in respect of the 1914 fire. This could be due to the effects of WWI?

1869

Samuel Hanger's Vulcan Hotel

During the 1860s the town became a temporary home for some 2,000 miners who slaked their thirsts at any one of 13 pubs1 which were soon joined by other commercial interests like banks, a gold office, stores, blacksmiths, ironmonger, bakery etc that sprang up virtually overnight.

The Montezuma hotel was Samuel's rival and by 1868 it soon became evident that a more solid structure was needed to attract punters. Samuel opened his new Vulcan public house made of corrugated iron walls and roof in 1869.

The article titled Dunstan Creek in the Otago Witness of 29 October 1864 (above) states there were 40 businesses, of which 10 were hotels and it can be safely assumed that Hanger's "hotel" was there among them in some shape or form.

In Roman mythology Vulcan was the god of volcanoes and fire, especially the forge; he was also the patron of all craftsmen. In his statues, Vulcan, the father of the blacksmiths, holds a hammer in the right hand, and pincers in the left. The Vulcan was the name given to Hanger's more permanent structure. Naming the hotel is made clear when we learn that blacksmith was Samuel's trade or calling. "Like a vulcan in a smithy" is a simile once heard to describe a blacksmith's hot blazing forge.

Dunstan Times 31 December 1869 P4

1874

The Vulcan hotel was very popular with the locals and to meet an increasing trade, an annexe comprising a billiard room and stables was constructed across the street, opposite the hotel.

This annexe on Block II, St Bathans Town Section 16 was constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, a break away from the parent structure, described in the Mount Ida electoral roll "as being of corrugated iron and wood construction."

Samuel Spencer Hanger was granted title over both parcels of land in 1874. In more recent years the land has passed to private ownership and the building's use changed to that of a holiday home.

1875

In 1875 the hotel's construction is once again described in the Mt Ida Electoral Roll as being of corrugated iron and wood construction which suggests that no structural changes had occurred in the intervening year.

1879

In this photo (far right, courtesy DOC) the Vulcan is on the extreme left; the sign above the hotel's two- doors and two-windows identifies it as the Vulcan Hotel beneath which appears the name Samuel S. Hanger. Pyle's store is left of centre; the general store and Montezuma hotel is right of centre, next door to the Catholic church which was relocated in 1892 to its present location. A close-up of the Vulcan is depicted below.

1881

A Vulcan Makeover

The Proprietor, now Mrs Hanger following her husband's demise, announced on 24 November 1881 in The Mount Ida Chronicle (page 1), that she had rebuilt the hotel. This redevelopment would account for the change in the hotel's appearance which now included a timber façade, replacing the earlier corrugated iron.

The Vulcan's new look becomes evident in later photos of 1883 and 1885 below.

The rival Montezuma at this time was showing a modern timber frontage and it is suggested that as hotel trade was as competitive then, as it is everywhere today, it would have been in the Vulcan's best interests to follow suit, thus "keeping up appearances" to attract patronage - old and new!

1883

The new-look Vulcan hotel now features a timber façade, lintel, two central entrance doors flanked by four symmetrical sash windows. This was an upmarket move from the former corrugated iron (CI) frontage. The false front bears in unmistakable size lettering the hotel's name across the width and proclaims the inclusion of a billiards saloon. Behind the façade, we espy a single-storied structure with two parallel gabled sections complemented by the ubiquitous corrugated iron roof and external walls.

This photo, courtesy Alexandra Museum, was kindly donated by Heather Wilson.

1885

This is Block I, St Bathans Town Section 20. Witness the enhanced, larger hotel appearance sandwiched in between McConnochie's Drapery and William Pyle's general store. Note again the double gable, wider frontage, weatherboard façade including lintel and external lamp, four windows and two front entrance doors. The CI frontage has disappeared giving way to the new weatherboard look. The proprietorship is clearly evident by the painted sign identifying Hanger's Vulcan Hotel. In a few short years afterwards (1888), Mrs Hanger, by then widowed, bade farewell to her loyal customers and announced a hand-over of the hotel to the Thurlow Brothers, William and John.

Mount Ida Chronicle 10 October 1889 P1 (Supplement)

1889

Less than a decade later what we see is a transformed structure of sun-dried mud-brick. The recently refurbished Vulcan hotel now features two entrance doorways complemented by six large size windows. Still flanked by McConnochie’s Drapery, now fitted with an awning, and William Pyle’s General Store, the Vulcan has undergone a further change in appearance. You may ask what precipitated the latest round of structural improvements?

Fire, that's what happened. Both the Vulcan hotel and McConnochie's Drapery sustained severe damage due to the fire of 1 May 1889. The hotel's insurance amounted to £600; McConnochie’s loss was £4000 worth of stock and building. (See Otago Witness of Thursday 2 May 1889). The above photo is reported to be circa 1900 but I am more inclined to think a year closer to 1890. (Reuben and Richard Thurlow's letter to the Otago Witness of July 1892 references the fire of 1889).

1891

The Cambrians' Directory, in an advertisement under the names William and John Thurlow as joint proprietors, promotes the Vulcan hotel as:

"This new and commodious Hotel has been well furnished throughout and is now one of the most comfortable houses on the goldfields. Large Sample Room. Best Brands of Wines Spirits and Beers. New Stable with Loose Boxes. Under the Charge of an Experienced Groom."

This advertisement also lends support to the theory that both structures, ie the Vulcan and the adjoining McConnochie's store, replace the former structures destroyed in the fire of 1889. The Vulcan hotel shows eight openings and twin gables that compliments McConnochie's store: both frontages have a plaster finish (rendered).

1896

This photo purportedly captured in May 1896 shows Pyle's store on the lower side of the hotel. Note the corners of the hotel: the interlocking stonework suggests a more robust construction with an improved, reinforced frontage following the reported damage which "tore down the Vulcan's massive front" in the gale of 14 October 1895 which wrecked McConnochie's store to the tune of £500.

Thought to be c1900. The hotel's frontage remains unchanged except for the deteriorating plaster on the RHS. Susan (Froment) Thurlow (1839-1903) must have been expecting rain!

The wedding of Honora "Nora" Una O'Regan with Arthur Thomas Thurlow at St Bathans on 30 January 1901.

1902

With the death of William Thurlow in early 1902, his brother and co-proprietor, John relinquished his interest in the Vulcan hotel. On 19th April 1902, ownership of the hotel subsequently passed to Patrick Sexton who became licensee. Sexton's name appears above the hotel in these photos; the latter depicts an extended streetscape that provides glimpses of the adjoining buildings.

Gilbert O'Hara held the licence from 1907. Then followed a transfer of ownership to Ellen Sexton as principal "Mine Host" or jointly with another between 1914 and 1946. During the period 1921 to 1946 lessees were appointed to manage .

1904

The Otago football team departs from Sexton's Vulcan hotel (photo F. Pyle). Courtesy Otago Witness, 21 September 1904, page 44. (courtesy Keith and Pam MacD).

1914

Another Fire at the Vulcan

An alleged fire guts the hotel once again; this time the frontage is thought to have been rebuilt in red brick. The fire of 1914 presents a real conundrum. No official photo of the hotel, intact, or newspaper record seems to exist. If an intact photo does it remains elusive as all attempts to locate have failed.

I would welcome the addition of a photo if anyone has one; likewise a more accurate date of this fire.

A further fire may have occurred in the early 1920s but attempts to locate any evidence have been unsuccessful.

1931

Gutted again by Fire

Yet another fire is reported to have totally destroyed the Vulcan on the morning of 27 September 1931. The Vulcan name and licence are then transferred to the vacant Ballarat hotel situated 3 sections away in St Bathans' main street on Section 16, Block I.

These 1931 photographs (courtesy Peter James Becker) show the ruins of the Vulcan hotel that was reconstructed in 1914. Could the structure on the left be McConnochie's Drapery?

The ruins of the Vulcan Hotel directly opposite the hotel's billard saloon and stables

Built in 1882 as the Ballarat. The two photos below were taken circa 1902/3.

Purportedly the 1920s.

1988.

1 St Bathans boasted some 15 hotels in 1867 according to an early directory. They were:

Ballarat, E Dooley
Brian Boru, C Gerkins
Camp, M Houlihan
Commercial, J W Lynch
Cornwall Arms, P Hanrahan
Criterion, R Jones
Golden Gate, J Bridges
Montezuma, A Hill
Mount St Bathans, J Miller
Parks Hotel
Prince of Wales, Potter
Rising Sun, T King
Tasmania, Lefeare
Union, T Potter
Victoria, G Smith
Vulcan, S Hanger*

* (this points to its existence in some form before the 1869 construction)

Advertisements promoting both the Vulcan and Ballarat hotels.

A nostalgic look inside today's Vulcan

A report in Dunedin's ODT in 2009 suggests that the historic Vulcan hotel is proposed for sale in the new year. The latest and the new owners.

Mine Host at St Bathans

St Bathans' importance under- reported

This is not a Definitive Account but a historic snapshot of the Iconic Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans, Central Otago, New Zealand. It is a living document that is subject to change as information comes my way. 29 January 2022

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