Located in central Temuka at 141 King Street, the Temuka Hotel, is a two-storeyed plastered brick structure constructed in 1907 as a replacement for a timber hotel building of the same name. The building has historical and social significance as well as architectural value. As Temuka developed as a town in the mid nineteenth century, a number of hotels were erected. Hotel accommodation was very important for travellers throughout the country. As the Temuka Leader stated in 1907, ‘Hotels in the eyes of some persons are objects of scorn and contumely, but what would the travelling public do if they did not exist’. By the 1870s hotels in Temuka included the Royal Hotel, Crown Hotel, Star Hotel and the Caledonian Hotel. By 1880 the Caledonian Hotel had become the Temuka Hotel and improvements were carried out around this time. The building was timber and of two storeys. In 1882 Robert Fenton, a Christchurch hotelkeeper, was the owner. Various licensees ran the accommodation hotel, including J M Ollivier, T McGuire, H J Bowles, R Chute, H Rothwell, P Lyons and M Cahill.In 1907, with Matthew Crannitch as licensee hotelkeeper, and S Manning and Company the owner, a new Temuka Hotel building was constructed. The Temuka Leader in June 1907 reported that ‘the latest addition to the excellent accommodation Temuka can afford is the Temuka Hotel, which is at present undergoing the final touches, and will soon form one of the most interesting landmarks of the town’. Replacing the previous timber building, the new 1907 hotel was built and designed by Mr Ottley of Christchurch. Situated at the northern end of the principal part of the main street, the Temuka Hotel is a two storeyed plastered brick structure, with a corrugated iron roof. It is described as being of the composite order of architecture, a two-storeyed edifice with two entablatures on the main façade, supported by pediments. The course which distinguishes the second storey from the first is supported by pilasters with floral capitals, and decorative brackets make up part of the upper cornice. There are two entrances on the main façade (originally these were a public one and a private one). A fire escape, consisting of a landing and iron ladder, runs under window height on the first floor. In September 1907 there was a destructive fire at Temuka where a block of four timber buildings were totally destroyed but the newly erected Temuka Hotel’s brick wall saved it. Alterations or extensions may have been carried out in 1919, but this has not been confirmed. In 2018 the Temuka Hotel functions as a bar and gaming venue.