Location:
Corner Seddon Street and Rosemont Road
Waihi 3610
This is one of the oldest buildings standing in Waihi and dates back to the early years of what was to be New Zealand’s biggest 'Gold Boom' town in the early twentieth century. The first owner was John Flett who had come to New Zealand from the Orkney Islands via Australia where he arrived in 1856.
Flett spent time mining on the West coast and at Thames and was proprietor of the Rob Roy Hotel at Parewai until 1895. The Hotel was built in 1896 and contained 60 rooms including 40 bedrooms. It closed in 1909 following prohibition and ran as a boarding house until the restoration of liquor licences in 1926. Wong's Fruiterer and a billiard room were installed where the bars had been.
The building is an important Waihi landmark which is situated at the cross roads in the centre of town. Although the builder and architect are not known, the building is significant as a well preserved example of the turn of the century New Zealand Hotel which features decorative fretwork on the top veranda and a prominent porch on the central street frontage.
