The summary below is from the registration report (Heather Bauchop, NZHPT, 21 May 2010).
The iconic mud brick Vulcan Hotel is located in the main street of the small Central Otago settlement of St Bathans. The Hotel, dating from the 1880s when it was a bustling gathering place for thirsty miners and local wheelers and dealers, nestles on the main street alongside the other surviving buildings from the gold-mining period which serve as a reminder of the people who lived in this once lively town. Overlooking the dramatic landscape carved out of this arid area by the toil of many gold miners, the diminutive hotel, with its now intimate homely air, is a special reminder of that history.
The gold rushes had a profound effect on the history and the landscape of the Otago region. There were an estimated 78 goldfields in Central Otago; boom towns sprung up to service the gold diggings and disappeared just as quickly as the gold returns for the itinerant miners. Publicans were important in these developing communities and were among the earliest residents. In 1863 gold was discovered at what would become St Bathans, leading to the birth of the town. At the height of the rush, the population was around 2,000, with thirteen hotels serving parched locals in the 1860s.
The first hotel on the site of the current Vulcan Hotel was the Ballarat Hotel. A newspaper report from July 1868 records that Patrick Hanrahan opened his 'new house', a replacement for his earlier hotel the Cornwall Arms (also recorded as Cromwell Arms) which had burnt down some weeks previously. The Ballarat Hotel was constructed of corrugated iron with false fronts proclaiming 'The Billiard Saloon’ and ‘The Ballarat Hotel, P. Hanrahan.’ The hotel was rebuilt in mud brick by Hanrahan in 1882. The Ballarat Hotel had a succession of owners. In the early 1930s the name of the Ballarat Hotel was changed to the Vulcan Hotel, after the Vulcan Hotel (around the corner to the north-west of the Ballarat) was destroyed by fire. As mining declined the population dwindled and St Bathans slowly declined. Where the main street once had some forty businesses, there remains a small straggle of original buildings still standing and the isolated ghost town became an attraction in itself, with the Vulcan Hotel the centre of that experience. In the 1990s and early 2000s the Vulcan gained some notoriety for its ‘resident ghost.’ Articles appeared in the Otago Daily Times and the Hotel featured in the 2005 television series ‘Ghost Hunt.’
The Vulcan Hotel is a single-storied mud brick building with a false front to the street. The false front is timber, and bears the name of the Hotel across its length. Behind the false front the building has three parallel gabled sections running perpendicular to the street. The billiards room has a weatherboard façade and corrugated iron roof. The interior has timber panelling on the walls and is notable for its original fittings.
With its mud brick construction and façade opening directly onto the footpath, the Vulcan Hotel demonstrates the characteristics typical of buildings thrown up in frontier towns to cater for the arrival of large, transient populations. However, this building has survived for over 100 years and still plays a vital role in the town, not only in maintaining the visual integrity of the main street but also providing accommodation for the town’s tourists and a gathering place for locals. With its mud brick construction and vernacular style this building forms a special part of the historic fabric of St Bathans’ main street.
The iconic mud brick Vulcan Hotel is located in the main street of the small Central Otago settlement of St Bathans. The Hotel, dating from the 1880s when it was a bustling gathering place for thirsty miners and local wheelers and dealers, nestles on the main street alongside the other surviving buildings from the gold-mining period which serve as a reminder of the people who lived in this once lively town. Overlooking the dramatic landscape carved out of this arid area by the toil of many gold miners, the diminutive hotel, with its now intimate homely air, is a special reminder of that history.
The gold rushes had a profound effect on the history and the landscape of the Otago region. There were an estimated 78 goldfields in Central Otago; boom towns sprung up to service the gold diggings and disappeared just as quickly as the gold returns for the itinerant miners. Publicans were important in these developing communities and were among the earliest residents. In 1863 gold was discovered at what would become St Bathans, leading to the birth of the town. At the height of the rush, the population was around 2,000, with thirteen hotels serving parched locals in the 1860s.
The first hotel on the site of the current Vulcan Hotel was the Ballarat Hotel. A newspaper report from July 1868 records that Patrick Hanrahan opened his 'new house', a replacement for his earlier hotel the Cornwall Arms (also recorded as Cromwell Arms) which had burnt down some weeks previously. The Ballarat Hotel was constructed of corrugated iron with false fronts proclaiming 'The Billiard Saloon’ and ‘The Ballarat Hotel, P. Hanrahan.’ The hotel was rebuilt in mud brick by Hanrahan in 1882. The Ballarat Hotel had a succession of owners. In the early 1930s the name of the Ballarat Hotel was changed to the Vulcan Hotel, after the Vulcan Hotel (around the corner to the north-west of the Ballarat) was destroyed by fire. As mining declined the population dwindled and St Bathans slowly declined. Where the main street once had some forty businesses, there remains a small straggle of original buildings still standing and the isolated ghost town became an attraction in itself, with the Vulcan Hotel the centre of that experience. In the 1990s and early 2000s the Vulcan gained some notoriety for its ‘resident ghost.’ Articles appeared in the Otago Daily Times and the Hotel featured in the 2005 television series ‘Ghost Hunt.’
The Vulcan Hotel is a single-storied mud brick building with a false front to the street. The false front is timber, and bears the name of the Hotel across its length. Behind the false front the building has three parallel gabled sections running perpendicular to the street. The billiards room has a weatherboard façade and corrugated iron roof. The interior has timber panelling on the walls and is notable for its original fittings.
With its mud brick construction and façade opening directly onto the footpath, the Vulcan Hotel demonstrates the characteristics typical of buildings thrown up in frontier towns to cater for the arrival of large, transient populations. However, this building has survived for over 100 years and still plays a vital role in the town, not only in maintaining the visual integrity of the main street but also providing accommodation for the town’s tourists and a gathering place for locals. With its mud brick construction and vernacular style this building forms a special part of the historic fabric of St Bathans’ main street.
