Pennington’s short stint at the Hamilton Hotel

Joseph Pennington 1832 - 1912

Pennington was not the first proprietor of the Hamilton Hotel (that honour goes to Captain WE Turner), nor even the most disreputable (this was surely James Harper who ran the hotel from 1872 to 1874 and about whom the Waikato Times said:

‘‘We are glad to learn that Mr Harper has sold out of the Hamilton Hotel, and we trust that he will enter upon a new sphere of business better suited to his habits and capacity.’’)

Pennington owned the hotel from January 1868 until November 1870, though he only ran it himself for just over a year.

Nor was the Hamilton Hotel Pennington’s first hotel – from late 1866 he ran the short-lived Reserve Hotel, one rarely mentioned in Hamilton histories.

It was located ‘‘below’’ Hamilton West redoubt, which was situated where the Cathedral Church of St Peter now stands.

There are no known images to show where it was, but one possibility is on the ‘‘Redoubt Reserve’’ on the corner of Victoria and Bridge Sts.

Pennington was only in Hamilton for about four years, but he was a prominent resident, involved in setting up a school committee, holding picnics for school children ‘‘on his paddock’’, fencing in his paddock as overnight grazing for cattle being driven through, and hosting meetings at the hotel.

In 1871 he was the prime mover at a meeting to discuss establishing Hamilton West as a highway board, the local body that preceded councils.

Another important role Pennington held was quarter-master for the Armed Constabulary in charge of stores.

He erected the Wesleyan church in Hamilton West, in 1868, and his wife helped with catering and fundraising for the church.

When the Governor, Sir G. Bowen, visited the Waikato in May 1868, it was Pennington who superintended the street decorations; he also attended the formal dinner with prominent residents and Maori chiefs.

The land on which the Hamilton Hotel was situated was on the corner of Victoria St and what is now Sapper Moore-Jones Pl.

This was part of Colonel Moule’s oneacre town allotment; in 1870 Pennington purchased the rest of the acre, along with Moule’s house.

In July 1870 he advertised it for sale. The hotel was then much as seen in the photograph, ‘‘16 rooms, together with a large store, detached kitchen, stabling etc.

‘‘The house is doing a good business and is let for £108 per year.

‘‘Also, all that [Moule’s] Dwelling-house adjoining, with two-thirds of an acre of land well laid out, and at present let to Col. Lyons for £30 per year.’’

In common with many other hoteliers, Pennington flitted about a bit.

He went to Alexandra (now Pirongia) in 1869 to run the Doncaster Arms, but in 1871 he took over the Prince Arthur Hotel in Auckland.

A few months later he relinquished that licence and was off to New Plymouth.

This was his wife Hannah’s home town: she was a daughter of Richard Rundle, contractor and bridge builder.

Pennington then gave up being an hotelier.

He set up as an auctioneer, in partnership with a Rundle (father- or brother-in-law), and built stock yards beside his auction house, mostly dealing in cattle and horses.

He had a stint as a shopkeeper, an accountant, coroner, town clerk for the Inglewood Town Board, and farmer at Opunake and Waitara.

He was a Justice of the Peace and wellrespected in northern Taranaki.

Obituaries in Taranaki newspapers stated Pennington served in the 57th Regiment in India and during the Waikato and Taranaki wars, and had previously been in the Grenadier Guards.

He held the positions of sergeant-major and musketry instructor and was ‘‘a fine stamp of a British soldier’’.

When his regiment was ordered home, he took his discharge and began a busy working life in New Zealand.

Joseph Pennington died at Inglewood in June 1912 aged 80 years and was buried at Inglewood Cemetery.