The first hotel on this site was built around 1873 or 1874, for proprietors Mr and Mrs Joseph Murphy; however it burned down before the end of August 1877. Joseph Murphy died and the lease transferred to Mr Jenkins. In June 1879 the lease was transferred to James Gray. Wood supplies for the hotel rebuilding were swept away by a flood in September 1878. Joseph Murphy died soon after, and the lease was transferred to Mr Jenkins. In June 1879 the lease was transferred to James Gray. The rebuilding was still under way on 21 October 1879 when the Kaitangata Mine Disaster occurred, and the bodies were taken to the partly built hotel for identification. This second hotel was also burned in 1889, and a third one built for Mr and Mrs James Gray. (Information from Irene Sutton and Bill Proctor's "History of Kaitangata, 1800s-2004" (Dunedin, 2004), pages 386-387, and from Papers Past website)
Bridge Hotel (Kaitangata, N.Z.)
Aubrey, Christopher, fl 1868-1906 :Kaitangata, South Otago. 1878
Date: 1878
By: Aubrey, Christopher, active 1868-1906; Pennell, Charles, active 1962; Bowmar, Keith, active 1962
Reference: C-158-001
Description: Shows a view of a small South Otago township, with a large house, probably a hotel, at the left. Beyond are smaller buildings beside with a steam train is moving. In the right background is the Presbyterian church. A river (probably the Kaitangata Creek, possibly at the confluence with the Clutha River) flows by on the right occupying much of the right foreground. There are green hills, bare of tree cover in the background, with a road that climbs up and across to the left centre. At the far right is a drilling rig, probably for use in the extraction of coal. The date on the verso of the painting is 1878. The railway first came to Kaitangata in 1876. The first Bridge Hotel burned down before the end of 1877, and rebuilding was not complete until after October 1879. (See Irene Sutton and Bill Proctor, in "History of Kaitangata, 1800s-2004" page 386-387). Aubrey is known to have painted sites after the time he visited them, so it is possible that the hotel shown is the first hotel, burned in 1877. This would tie in with the statement on the verso, that the painting was made from an original photograph (although the whereabouts of the photograph is unknown). But it may be in conflict with the statement on page 121 of Sutton and Proctor, that the scene shows the Bridge Hotel after it had been enlarged towards the end of the 1870s. This may mean an inital enlargement before the 1877 fire, or a partial rebuild in 1878 or 1879. Note on verso states that this is a "painting off the original photo, and where this tavern now stands, and was given by Mr Charlie Pennell in 1962". This statement was written by "Keith Bowmar, first manager of the first tavern under the Clutha Licensing Trust in Kaitangata, 1962". Inscriptions: Recto - bottom right - [Signed and dated]; Verso - top centre - C Aubry 1878 Quantity: 1 watercolour(s). Physical Description: Watercolour, on board 382 x 478 mm. Processing information: Deframed by the Library.