A former classic Kiwi stone country pub dating back to the 1870s - and in need of a complete interior rebuild to acknowledge its heritage status - is on the market for sale, along with what could be a pending spot on the home rebuilding TV series Grand Designs New Zealand.
Built from limestone quarried from the Te Ngawa Gorge near the small township of Albury in South Canterbury, The Opawa Hotel was constructed in 1873 - and in its original state contained 13 bedrooms with a wooden floor dining room which could set 30 guests. In subsequent years, the pub was later renamed The Westmere, The Albury Tavern, and The Pig 'n' Whistle.
The property was vacated in the early 2008s, and has been derelict ever since. Its current owners bought the building a decade ago as a 'dream home' renovation project which they never began as their lives took them overseas.
The Abury pub building comes with 8.0431 hectares (more or less) of flat land - virtually next to what will soon be another trunk route on the immensely popular Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail.
Renovating this heritage premises is a project for someone with a design vision for the future - founded on a love and respect for New Zealand's rich pioneering past.
As a virtual bare shell structure, The Opawa Hotel/The Westmere/The Albury Tavern/The Pig 'n' Whistle in Albury is ready to be majestically reborn and rightly reclaim its place among New Zealand's finest and most historic country pubs as one of the few stone-built hospitality venues of its genre still standing. Or it could be a magnificent historic private homestead.
What are your Grand Designs for this incredible opportunity?
Please contact Hamish Lane or Georgie Murray for further information or download further information at www.propertyfiles.co.nz/property/5517129
IMPORTANT NOTICE: To attend this Auction at Bayleys Auction rooms, participants over the age of 12 years must scan their vaccine pass on arrival.